UFC president Dana White stated that perennial middleweight contender Michael Bisping would get a shot at Anderson Silva‘s championship belt if he could get through Vitor Belfort.
According to “The Phenom,” that scenario is little more than a pipe dream. Belfort discussed White’s comment on the latest edition of Ariel Helwani’s “The MMA Hour” (transcription via MMA Mania).
I don’t care. It doesn’t change anything in my life my friend. God is my provider and I have a fight and I’m winning. That’s the only thing I know, I’m winning. I already told Dana, choose another guy to face Anderson because he’s not going to get passed through me. That’s the bottom line.
Belfort, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, suffered an embarrassing first-round knockout when he challenged Silva for his middleweight title at UFC 126 in Feb. 2011.
The Brazilian is in the midst of a 5-1 run at middleweight, though his most recent fight was a losing effort against current 205-pound champ Jon Jones at UFC 152 in September.
While Belfort, who was a late replacement, was soundly dominated for four rounds, he nearly caught “Bones” in an armbar roughly one minute into the fight.
As far as “The Count” goes, he also has a 5-1 mark at middleweight dating back to May 2010, though he lacks a signature win against a top-five fighter at 185 pounds during that time frame.
Bisping‘s sole loss came at the hands of former two-time middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen, who has since moved back up to light heavyweight and will challenge Jones for the belt at UFC 159 in April.
Will Bisping make the mistake of looking past Belfort or will his boxing and underrated grappling game be as sharp as ever and get him past the former champion in impressive fashion?
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