Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010 | 11:19 a.m.
Brazilian middleweight Vitor Belfort tapes up his hands before a workout at TapouT Wednesday, July 14, 2010.
Vitor Belfort will get the next shot at dethroning UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, according to a tweet from president Dana White.
Belfort had been scheduled to face Yushin Okami in the main event of UFC 122 on Nov. 13 in Germany, but there had been rumors he was withdrawing from the card because of injury.
Instead, it appears Belfort was pulled to replace former top contender Chael Sonnen, who was set to face Silva but is dealing with the ramifications of a positive drug test from his last fight.
Another middleweight contender, Nate Marquardt, will take Belfort's place against Okami.
White clarified everything on his personal Twitter account Wednesday when he wrote, "Vitor is no injured. He is going to fight Anderson for the title and the winner of Marquardt and Okami are next."
Belfort (19-8) was supposed to fight for the title at UFC 112 in April, but pulled out because of a shoulder injury.
Silva (27-4) is coming off his UFC record-12th consecutive win in the octagon.
No date has been set for the middleweight matchup, although it's been speculated the bout would be a nice fit for the UFC 125 event on Jan. 1 in Las Vegas.
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at LVSunFighting
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy