Tag: Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort Injured, Wanderlei Silva to Replace Against Cung Le in UFC 139 Co-Headliner


(As it turns out, Belfort-brand bottled water mostly consists of hydrochloric acid. Good to know. Photo via LasVegasSun)

Due to an undisclosed injury, UFC middleweight Vitor Belfort will not be showing off his “powerful trunks” against Cung Le at UFC 139 (November 19th, San Jose). Dana White broke the news via Twitter, adding that Le’s new opponent will be another Brazilian legend — none other than Wanderlei Silva.

Silva vs. Le will serve as the co-main event of UFC 139, which will be headlined by the PRIDE-era fantasy match between Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua. Silva is coming off his 27-second knockout loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132, while Le will be making his Octagan debut 17 months after his rematch victory over Scott Smith.


(As it turns out, Belfort-brand bottled water mostly consists of hydrochloric acid. Good to know. Photo via LasVegasSun)

Due to an undisclosed injury, UFC middleweight Vitor Belfort will not be showing off his “powerful trunks” against Cung Le at UFC 139 (November 19th, San Jose). Dana White broke the news via Twitter, adding that Le’s new opponent will be another Brazilian legend — none other than Wanderlei Silva.

Silva vs. Le will serve as the co-main event of UFC 139, which will be headlined by the PRIDE-era fantasy match between Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua. Silva is coming off his 27-second knockout loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132, while Le will be making his Octagan debut 17 months after his rematch victory over Scott Smith.

After the booking switch was announced, Belfort tweeted that his injury isn’t serious, and he should be ready to roll again in December. But my God, Belfort’s string of bad luck is unbelievable. From a broken hand before his fight against Matt Lindland, to an injured shoulder before his fight against Anderson Silva, to a bout of hepatitis before his fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama, the dude can’t seem to string together a full year of good health. Lets hope the UFC has another good fight for him when he’s intact again.

Vitor Belfort Out, Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le Set for UFC 139

Filed under: UFCWanderlei Silva will make his return to the Octagon on November 19 in San Jose, when he takes on former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le at UFC 139.

UFC President Dana White announced today that Vitor Belfort had to pull out o…

Filed under:

Wanderlei Silva will make his return to the Octagon on November 19 in San Jose, when he takes on former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le at UFC 139.

UFC President Dana White announced today that Vitor Belfort had to pull out of his fight with Le because of an injury, and as a result Silva will step in and take it.

Although the fight was only booked because of Belfort’s injury, Silva vs. Le is actually a better fight all around than Belfort vs. Le. It should be a better draw for the UFC because Silva is such a fan favorite, and it should be a more competitive fight because, frankly, Belfort was probably going to put Le to sleep. Silva has a chance to do that, too, but he also has a chance of being put to sleep himself.

No matter who gets knocked out, Silva and Le promise to put on a highly entertaining fight. They’re too of the most exciting strikers in the middleweight division, and two guys who rarely if ever put on a sub-par performance: Win or lose, Silva and Le both deliver.

UFC 139 will be headlined by the return of Dan Henderson, who will fight Shogun Rua, and will also feature Brian Bowles vs. Urijah Faber, Jason Brilz vs. Ryan Bader, Kyle Kingsbury vs. Stephan Bonnar and Martin Kampmann vs. Rick Story.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Report: The Ultimate Fighter Bound for the Philippines in 2012


(Why am I excited about this upcoming season? I can’t quite explain it…)

According to a new report, the first international edition of The Ultimate Fighter is close to being finalized in the Philippines. Officials from ABS-CBN — parent company of Balls, the TV sports network that airs UFC programming in the Philippines — informed BloodyElbow that they expect to launch a local edition of the series in 2012. This shouldn’t really come as a shock, considering that rumors of ‘TUF Philippines’ have been circulating since February, and the UFC had just planned a publicity tour of the island nation for current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones following UFC 135.


(Why am I excited about this upcoming season? I can’t quite explain it…)

According to a new report, the first international edition of The Ultimate Fighter is close to being finalized in the Philippines. Officials from ABS-CBN — parent company of Balls, the TV sports network that airs UFC programming in the Philippines — informed BloodyElbow that they expect to launch a local edition of the series in 2012. This shouldn’t really come as a shock, considering that rumors of ‘TUF Philippines’ have been circulating since February, and the UFC had just planned a publicity tour of the island nation for current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones following UFC 135.

No details have emerged in regards to possible weight classes or coaches for the series, but one name that must be in the mix is none other than “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” himself, Mark Munoz. Coming off a big win over Demian Maia at UFC 131, Munoz has gone 6-1 since his drop to middleweight, with the lone loss coming to most recent title contender Yushin Okami. Pairing him with the winner of the Belfort-Le scrap could make for an interesting title picture at 185, and with Anderson Silva riding the pine until then, the division is in need of a few high profile fights to fill the void.

With the recent success of OneFC, there is no question of the potential talent that could become a part of this series; the likes of Eduard Folayang and Eric Kelly could present some intriguing match-ups at lightweight and featherweight, respectively, though the likelihood of the UFC doing two straight seasons of lighter weight-classes seems slim.  Then again, the last heavyweight season of The Ultimate Fighter didn’t exactly leave us begging for more.

-Danga

Its Official: Hendo vs. Shogun at UFC 139

Strikeforce Dan Henderson Rafael Feijao Cavalcante

It looks like former UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will be getting his wish. Multiple reports confirm that current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson and “Shogun” have verbally agreed to face one another, likely as the main event of UFC 139.

The originally penned headliner for this event, a heavyweight title match between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, was moved to the UFC’s debut on Fox, which takes place Nov 12th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. I think it’s safe to say that this will be a fair replacement; Rua’s last 5 wins have come by knockout, whereas “Hendo’s” last 4 wins have ended in similarly decisive fashion, the most recent being a first round knock out of former Pride heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko.

Strikeforce Dan Henderson Rafael Feijao Cavalcante

It looks like former UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will be getting his wish. Multiple reports confirm that current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson and “Shogun” have verbally agreed to face one another, likely as the main event of UFC 139.

The originally penned headliner for this event, a heavyweight title match between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, was moved to the UFC’s debut on Fox, which takes place Nov 12th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. I think it’s safe to say that this will be a fair replacement; Rua’s last 5 wins have come by knockout, whereas “Hendo’s” last 4 wins have ended in similarly decisive fashion, the most recent being a first round knock out of former Pride heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko.

Henderson’s last octagon appearance was highlighted by perhaps his most brutal finish to date over fellow TUF 9 coach Michael Bisping at UFC 100. Mauricio Rua on the other hand, is coming off a quick dispatching of Forrest Griffin in their rematch at UFC 134. A fight that has nothing but title implications written all over it, don’t expect this one to go to the judges, especially considering “Shogun’s” somewhat rocky history with them.

Speaking of title implications, UFC 139 will also feature former UFC light heavyweight champ and middleweight contender Vitor Belfort, taking on former Strikeforce middleweight kingpin Cung Le, as well as a bantamweight bout between former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber and former WEC bantamweight champ Brian Bowles. That’s a lotta (former) gold for one event, son. UFC 139 goes down November 19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

-Danga

MMA: Silva’s Injury, Belfort-Le, Ortiz-Lil Nog and the Week’s Biggest News

Another busy week for the world of MMA has concluded. A current UFC champion announced an injury that may keep him out for the remainder of the year, a former UFC champion will welcome a former Strikeforce champion to the promotion, and another fo…

Another busy week for the world of MMA has concluded. 

A current UFC champion announced an injury that may keep him out for the remainder of the year, a former UFC champion will welcome a former Strikeforce champion to the promotion, and another former UFC champ will battle a legend of the sport.

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva recently revealed that he suffered a shoulder injury prior to his UFC 134 title defense against Yushin Okami.  Silva defended his belt, but it looks like he may be forced out of action as a result.

Vitor Belfort announced his return to action against former Strikeforce middleweight title holder Cung Le at UFC 139 in November.

Former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz will lock horns with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 140 in December.

Begin Slideshow

Cung Lee: 5 Memorable Moments of his Career

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le has joined the short list of fighters whom have transitioned from the San Jose-based organization into their new adoptive home in the UFC.Le made mention of his wish to join the big leagues not too long …

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le has joined the short list of fighters whom have transitioned from the San Jose-based organization into their new adoptive home in the UFC.

Le made mention of his wish to join the big leagues not too long ago, and the the striking sensation got his wish in the form of former world champ Vitor Belfort. 

The duo will meet at UFC 139 this November, when the two will square off in a pivotal middleweight bout that will most likely serving as the main event of the evening.

The Vietnamese-American took the mixed martial world by storm in just eight professional bouts, but what have been those defining moments that have helped shaped his career up until this point?

Begin Slideshow