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When Dan Henderson's hurt, Chael Sonnen doesn't make sense and both Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua turn you down, who you gonna call?
That's what the powers that be at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) did when they couldn't find an opponent to challenge Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 152 on Sat., Sept. 22, 2012, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
And "The Phenom," coming hard from the old school, didn't hesitate to accept.
Belfort, who is coming off two straight first round knockout wins over Yoshihiro Akiyama (at 185-pounds) and Anthony Johnson (at 197-pounds), took to Twitter to talk about how thankful he is for the opportunity while sneaking in a shot at other fighters acting like divas.
I just finish the call with my boss @lorenzofertitta and @danawhite I want to thank booth for put me in where a lot of guys are acting like divas I think this is a big challenge for any fighter that is alive on the game I thank God to provide me with this Blessing 2 fight the youngest champion we will face each other I have all the respect for jones thats why u can`t miss this competition a vintage and hy-tech fight Glory to Jesus also happy for all the fans I will not let no one down I come from the times of #carlsongracie He live inside of me I learn so much thing with him and #alstankie ... I will fight jones I want to thank he`s camping and him to accept this big challenge for me I am so happy to deliver a big show for the whole world. Are guys happy give me a RT
Belfort was originally scheduled to take on Alan Belcher at UFC 153 on Oct. 13 in Brazil, a bout that may or may not have helped earn him another crack at the middleweight crown.
Bigger is better.
This all came to fruition thanks to both Machida and "Shogun" inexplicably turning down a rematch against Jones. "The Dragon" will reportedly explain his reasoning later today.
The UFC also didn't want to put together the Sonnen fight because it was always simply meant as a last minute emergency and the company wants to stick to its guns that "The American Gangster" needs to pick up a few wins in his new division to earn that title shot.
That left few options and Belfort was apparently the best one left.
"God" is good, huh?