With three Middleweight (technical) knockout wins over Yoshihiro Akiyama, Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold, Vitor Belfort is adamant that he has has earned another 185-pound Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title shot. Even if division champion, Chris Weidman, and former weight class king, Anderson Silva, are tied up until the end of the year and possibly longer.
According to SportTV.Globo.com, Belfort turned down a recent offer to fight Tim Kennedy in a Middleweight mixed martial arts (MMA) scrap planned for a future event in Brazil. His wife and manager, Joana Prado, indicated that "The Phenom" has no desire to endure a rigorous weight cut unless a championship opportunity is on the line.
He will, however, take "catch weight" fights like he had done in the past against Rich Franklin and Anthony Johnson, whether it's against Kennedy or even Roy Nelson. The last name is more than likely just an indication that the Brazilian is willing to fight at Heavyweight if the right opportunity comes along.
Kennedy, meanwhile, was planning to fight Belfort next, taking to Twitter.com shortly after news broke about the potential clash to say, "I'm going to Brazil to fight Vitor! I'm bringing ranger panties, Greg Jackson and Ranger Up." Whether or not he -- or the promotion for that matter -- is willing to make it a pair of 205-pound panties remains to be seen.
Belfort truly feels that "nobody deserves the opportunity more than him" to fight Weidman next, while UFC President Dana White continues to describe the No. 2-ranked division contender "out of his mind."