Vitor Belfort isn’t fighting in Brazil to cheat.
The “Phenom” defended himself on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, and Dana White addressed the media on the topic Wednesday night. During the UFC Fight Night 27 post-fight scrum, the UFC president said he would never let Belfort fight in Brazil just to do testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and stay over the limits.
“There is no way in f—–g hell I would let Vitor Belfort stay in Brazil if he was cheating down there,” Dana White said. “There is a commission there that oversees what we do down there too, it’s not run by us. Vitor Belfort is being tested, and Vitor Belfort is within the limits he’s supposed to be when he fights.”
Belfort meets Dan Henderson at UFC Fight Night 32 on Nov. 9 in Goiania, Brazil, and he believes the reason why he’s fighting for the third time in a row in Brazil is because he “sells a lot” there.
He does sell a lot in Brazil, but more importantly, he’s the fighter Globo requested.
“Vitor doesn’t pick where he fights,” he said. “He tries to pick who he fights, but he doesn’t choose where he fights. We put him down there. First of all, the second most important media that we’re in business with is Globo. Globo is very important. They have a big fight it’s going to be on Globo, and they want f—–g Vitor. So they want Vitor, they’re going to get Vitor. Vitor Belfort is not cheating, Vitor Belfort is not not being tested.”
White criticized the ones that believe the UFC would be ok with Belfort using illegal ways to prepare for a fight.
“You think that we would lie about that and risk the credibility of the sport, the UFC as a brand, so that Vitor Belfort can fight in f—–g Brazil and cheat?,” he asked. “So we’re going to flip this whole thing upside down so that Vitor, my best friend… it just makes no sense.”