Dana White: Vitor Belfort can fight anywhere; we're not hiding him in Brazil because he's on TRT

Vitor Belfort stirred things up immediately following this past weekend's UFC Fight Night 26: "Shogun vs Sonnen" event, announcing he'd like to fight the main event winner Chael Sonnen (several other fighters hopped on board as well).

What makes this interesting, of course, is the fact that Belfort has also been clamoring for a title shot and recently turned down a fight against Tim Kennedy in Brazil.

The Kennedy bout would have been Belfort's third straight in Brazil, which of course stirred up rumors that UFC is protecting "The Phenom" from athletic commissions in the United States ever since the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion was outed as a user of the controversial testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).

That's not the case, according to UFC President Dana White, who addressed the issue in his post-fight media scrum this past weekend.

"They say [Vitor] can't fight here because of the TRT thing and that is complete bullshit. Vitor Belfort can fight here, he can fight in Vegas, he can fight in any of these places. Whether they give him TRT or they don't. It's not a given that he has to give up the treatment in Vegas. The guy has been busted before. He's had some issues and he's going to have to go before the athletic commission and they would decide what they are going to do."

White further elaborated that just because Belfort needs to go before the commission to get approval for TRT, that doesn't mean UFC is protecting him by keeping him in Brazil lately. They've done it for a very specific reason and that's because the popular Brazilian fighter puts butts in seats.

"That doesn't mean that he can't fight in Vegas or that Vitor Belfort is banned from Vegas and something crazy is going to happen. Or that we're hiding him in Brazil because he's on TRT. That is stupid, stupid Internet shit. Vitor Belfort is a big draw in Brazil so he fights in Brazil. Same thing with Aldo and a lot of these other Brazilian champions. If any of you have ever been to Brazil, Brazilians want to see Brazilians kick other people's asses, not other Brazilian's asses."

Chael Sonnen and the UFC matchmakers will have a big decision ahead of them when they officially choose who the "Gangsta from West Lynn, Oregon" will square off against next. If they select Belfort for a Vegas showdown at the end of the year, the commission hearing would likely be very juicy.

Think it happens?