The fix was in!
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight number one contender, Vitor Belfort, was less-than-thrilled with the results of last weekend's World MMA Awards, which named reigning 185-pound champion Chris Weidman as "Fighter of the Year."
As if!
The "All American" became the first fighter to ever defeat Anderson Silva inside the Octagon, when he squished "The Spider" at UFC 162 last July, then followed that up with yet another win over the aging Brazilian by way of broken leg at UFC 168 the following December.
See the pics of that mess here.
"It was embarrassing," Belfort told Radio Beat98 (via Combate). "Not that it should've been me, but winning the award after just one fight? It's shameful. He won one fight. The other was [pretty much] accidental."
According to this MMA legend, there was nothing accidental about it.
Belfort, on the other hand, won three fights in 2013 over top-shelf competition, all by way of vicious head-kick knockout. That includes his destruction of Luke Rockhold, which was good enough to earn him a "Sport Science" trophy from the folks at ESPN (pic).
It should be noted that Belfort was knocked out by Silva when they fought in early 2011.
Naturally, the best way to prove "The Phenom" wrong, is to have him go belly-up in "Sin City," something Weidman plans on doing in the main event of UFC 173, which takes place over Memorial Day Weekend (May 24, 2014) inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
See their first staredown pic here, then give us your feedback on your pick for "Fighter of the Year" in 2013.
Weidman, Belfort or someone else?