Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (20-9) today annouced that he’ll be facing former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le (7-1) at UFC 139.
Belfort recently returned to the win column by knocking out Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133.
With the victory, Belfort rebounded from a February title loss at the hands of Anderson Silva and he’ll now face one of the most dangerous strikers in the middleweight division.
Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas is where Belfort calls home for training and he’ll continue to learn under the tutelage of Gil Martinez and Ray Sefo in preparation for UFC 139.
Le claimed the Strikeforce middleweight championship by defeating Frank Shamrock in 2008. He would later relinquish the title due to movie roles, but remained one of the organization’s biggest stars.
The San Shou expert will now make his Octagon debut against one of the fiercest strikers in all of MMA.
Since the UFC announced the trip to San Jose in November, Le has been active in lobbying for a spot on the card and it appears he’s been granted his wish.
With Le’s addition to the UFC roster, he joins fellow Strikeforce veterans Alistair Overeem and Nick Diaz as the latest high profile fighters to make the transition.
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