Late yesterday the internet was ablaze with reports that Vitor Belfort had dropped out of his upcoming April 10th bout with middleweight champ Anderson Silva, due to a shoulder injury. Well not only have those reports been confirmed several times over, but Sherdog.com is reporting this AM that Belfort has already had surgery on the injured shoulder. If you’re familiar with the ‘sporting world’ then you know that having your shoulder operated on isn’t like having a boil lanced; Belfort is going to be on the DL for a damn long time.
“I’m feeling good, and according to the doctor, in four months I can start returning to training little by little. Now I have a long journey of work with physical therapy every day. I think before the end of the year, I’ll be back in the Octagon. No matter if it’s fighting for the belt or not, I’ll be back 100 percent.”
Sh-tty. Note that Vitor’s not expecting to be back until the end of the year. So what now? Should Chael Sonnen start shining up his wrestling boots?
Dana White apparently told Yahoo’s Kevin Iole that Silva will stay on the April 10th card, which would mean that Sonnen would have to begin a camp ASAP, to fight at UFC 112. Just a hunch here, but due to the fact that Sonnen just shared his fists with Nate Marquardt last weekend, and is doing the whole ‘running for office’ thing, we’re thinking the UFC will throw Silva another notable light-heavyweight to devour.