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Vitor Belfort isn't "desperate," he's just calling out anyone who gets him closer to a 185-pound title shot, including middleweight wunderkind Chris Weidman, who shot to the top of the division earlier this month in San Jose, California.
That's where the "All American" dispatched fellow division hopeful Mark Munoz with relative ease, cementing his place among the top five contenders following the UFC on FUEL TV 4 main event back on July 11, 2012.
There was talk amongst the mixed martial arts (MMA) community that a title shot was in order, but UFC President Dana White first wanted to see if Hector Lombard could live up to the hype he generated after wrecking the Bellator roster over the past few years.
As a result, the 185-pound field is wide open, and "The Phenom" wants to make sure he doesn't get bogged down with fighting Alan Belcher while reigning division champion, Anderson Silva, defends his strap in Brazil against someone like Weidman. That's probably why he hasn't agreed to fight "The Talent."
Hear Belfort's master plan, via his official Twitter account, after the jump.
Guys I spoke to joe silva and ask to fight with the top contender #weidman here in brasil so I think this is the fight that will credence me to a title fight so that is what happened. I want the belt but I am not desperate I think weidman is the next for the belt, but Anderson silva deserve to see who is next .So let`s make this fight the next #contender belfort vs weidman the next contender for #andersonsilva
Sounds like he really wants another crack at "The Spider."
Belfort had his chance at the UFC 126: "Silva vs. Belfort" pay-per-view (PPV) event in early 2011, but took a foot to the face from his Brazilian nemesis and toppled to the ground like a house of cards. A few follow up blows from Silva and it was lights out.
Just another victim, kid.
To his credit, Belfort has been able to rebound with back-to-back finishes over Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson, but considering the manner in which he lost to Silva, a rematch will be a tough sell unless all other challengers are disposed of.
Starting with Weidman.
"The Phenom" clearly wants this fight, but does Alan Belcher anyone out there in MMA land think this is the right match-up to make?
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