Earlier today it was announced that Nate Marquardt (30-9-2) would be replacing Vitor Belfort (9-8) at the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship event in Germany. Marquardt will square off against Japanese fighter Yushin Okami (25-5) at UFC 122 on Nov. 13.
Rumors swirled as to why Belfort was replaced on the card, and UFC president Dana White broke the news on his Twitter site.
Vitor is not injured. He is going to fight anderson for the title and the winner of marquart and okami are next.
Speculation is that the title bout between Belfort and Champion Anderson Silva (27-4) will go down on Jan. 1st in Las Vegas in the headliner for UFC 125.
MMAjunkie.com talked with Belfort’s manager, Fabiano Farah, about the title bout “We shall immediately sign the contract for the bout once the date is confirmed.”
Belfort has won his last five fights including his last bout, a 195 pound catchweight fight against Rich Franklin. Belfort has fought from heavyweight to middleweight throughout his career. Silva defended his title for the seventh straight time, earning a submission victory after being dominated by Chael Sonnen at UFC 117.
No word on whether the bout between Marquardt vs. Okami would remain a top contender fight. UFC 122 takes place on Nov. 13 at the Konig Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. The event will air on same-day tape delay on Spike TV.
Marquardt is coming off a first round TKO win last week over Rousimar Palhares at the UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares event in Austin, Texas. The win helped Marquardt bounce back from a #1 contender loss to Chael Sonnen at UFC 109. Okami, meanwhile has won his last two with wins over Mark Muñoz and Lucio Linhares. The Japanese fighter has gone 5-1 in his last six since losing a #1 middleweight contender bout to Rich Franklin at UFC 72.