After going 2-0 this year knocking off Middleweight contenders, former UFC champion Vitor Belfort regused to re-enter the division for anything short of a title shot. After Strikeforce transferee Tim Kennedy called him out this summer, Belfort refused any fight below 205 lbs. that wasn’t for the Middleweight strap. UFC president Dana White called Vitor ‘out of his mind’ for wanting the UFC 162 winner, but apparently it’s more reasonable after the rematch between Anderson Silva and champion Chris Weidman.
Speaking at a recent conference call, Dana White said Belfort is “definitely” next in line for a shot against the winner of the UFC 168 main event. However, that all hinges upon Vitor beating Dan Henderson in their fight on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 32 (via MMA Fighting):
“If [Belfort] loses to Dan Henderson, could he still fight for the title? No, I don’t think so,” White said.
“Vitor’s got to win the fight. This isn’t one of those fights where he’s moving up to light heavyweight to fight Jon Jones. He’s fighting another 185-pounder. They just decided not to cut weight, to fight at 205.”
Even though it could come under somewhat odd circumstances with Belfort just off a Light Heavyweight, it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t earned the position. Since losing his first shot at the belt in 2011, Belfort has gone undefeated at 185 lbs with 4 finishes over increasingly stronger competition. Most recently, he knocked out Luke Rockhold with a spinning back kick in the first round of their fight at UFC on FX 8.
As mentioned above, all this depends on Belfort making it through a very game opponent in Henderson on Saturday. The former Strikeforce champ hasn’t won since his Fight of the Year bout against Mauricio Rua at UFC 139, but his H-Bomb has been known to drop many opponents. The two will meet as the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 32 in Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil.