Report: Vitor Belfort turned down Lyoto Machida interim title fight at UFC 184

Don't be scared, homie.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight No. 1 contender, Vitor Belfort, has reportedly turned down a fight against fellow division top contender Lyoto Machida, after "The Dragon" volunteered to replace the injured Chris Weidman and compete for the interim title.

That's risky business, considering the event is less than a month away and "The Phenom" -- despite his baggage -- is one of the most dangerous strikers at 185 pounds. Still, Team Belfort declined the fight based on the fact that Vitor has only been preparing for one specific skill set.

Belfort's jiu-jitsu coach, Gilbert Burns, talks to Tatame (via Bloody Elbow):

"We don't think it's fair for Vitor to fight with a guy with a such different style and with nothing to lose. He has been training for more than six months to fight an orthodox wrestler. Now he would have less than a month to prepare for a southpaw karateka. I was the first one to say no. I think that a fight against Yoel Romero, Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza, Luke Rockhold, or Mark Munoz wouldn't affect the training so much, but against Machida it would be all different."

Machida is currently training to fight Luke Rockhold at UFC on FOX 15.

As of now, Belfort is still attached to the UFC 184 pay-per-view (PPV) fight card, which takes place on Feb. 28, 2015, inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., until the promotion can figure out how to move forward with the middleweight division.

Perhaps that's what this "big announcement" is all about?