On Monday, former UFC light heavyweight champion and middleweight contender, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (19-9) took to Twitter (@vitorbelfort) to let his fans know that he had contracted Hepatitis A.
– I have hepatitis a. This thing hurt so bad I pray that God will take cate off me . Don’t forget to pray for me
– I will keep u guys inform how things are going.but now I can promise I will watch every movie and I will twit a bunch . God is heeling me
– Guys I just want to let u know that this hepatitis A is easy to treat so don’t worry guys in 2 weeks I am back in the gym 08/6 ready to F
– I love Jesus. I know that this will make me more strong then before , please God burn hepatitis and send her to he’ll
The illness should not keep Belfort out of his upcoming UFC 133 bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia, but it will keep him from making the trip to Toronto this weekend to corner Randy Couture at UFC 129.
Some of the more common symptoms of Hepatitis A include fatigue, fever, abdominal pain, nausea, and loss of appetite. There is no specific treatment for the infection, so Belfort will simply have to get plenty of rest, eat a well-balanced diet, stay hydrated, and treat the symptoms (pain, nausea).
Belfort is coming off a first round knockout loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 127 last February. That loss ended a five fight win streak for “The Phenom.”