Dana White interested in Weidman vs. Belfort but has to see how things ‘play out’ with the athletic commission

Dana White believes the logical opponent for Chris Weidman is the same one that was initially supposed to face: Vitor Belfort. Although it seems…

By: Karim Zidan | 9 years ago
Dana White interested in Weidman vs. Belfort but has to see how things ‘play out’ with the athletic commission
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Dana White believes the logical opponent for Chris Weidman is the same one that was initially supposed to face: Vitor Belfort.

Although it seems like an obvious suggestion, the Brazilian is in quite a problematic situation with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which could complicate matter significantly if the fight is to take place in North America.

The former UFC light-heavyweight champion was subjected to a random drug test administered by the NSAC several weeks before the commission took the decision to ban Testosterone Replacement Therapy. That decision led to a domino effect that ultimately saw Belfort removed from his title fight against Chris Weidman in favour of fellow former champ Lyoto Machida.

Now, Dana is set to play the waiting game and see how things “play out.”

“I think what’s next – what I’d like to see and you’d like to see – is Vitor Belfort.” White said at the post-fight press conference. So let’s see what happens with itor. If this guy can get his business handled. Let’s see how this thing plays out.”

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About the author
Karim Zidan
Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.

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