In an interview with Tatame.com, Lyoto Machida gave his thoughts on Vitor Belfort’s call to regain his spot as the UFC middleweight title challenger immediately.
Because of the TRT ban, “The Phenom” was replaced by “The Dragon” in the fight against champion Chris Weidman, initially booked for the UFC 173 and then delayed until UFC 175 on July 5:
I think his statement doesn’t make any sense. Once that the fight was put away, there was a new possibility, a new preparation, another athlete involved and I’m this athlete. I think Vitor has to wait a little longer. He for sure had that right of fighting but, for other reasons, he couldn’t do it. If he couldn’t give the answer in the right time, then he lost his turn. He has to wait my fight against Weidman and after that he will have his shot.
Dana White already ended Belfort’s hope and shut the door on his suggestion. After being made aware of his request, the UFC president told members of the press after post-UFC 172 conference that “he is wrong if he thinks that he’s ready to fight after doing two tests at his home, if that was what he did”.