UFC President puts Belfort away from a rematch against Anderson Silva

A. Silva (left) and V.Belfort (right) faced each other at UFC 126, with Spider winning. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

Even with four consecutive victories among middleweights and being ranked as the second best athlete in the category, Vitor belfort should not get the expected rematch against Anderson Silva. Even indirectly, UFC president Dana White responded with a denial to Belfort's request, who had asked for a fight against the winner of the duel between Spider and Chris Weidman.

“He (Vitor) was kicked in the face in the first 60 seconds of one of the most devastating knockouts of all time. So when you turn to the Anderson Silva, who is at the end of his career, and says 'hey, how about Vitor?', he will say: 'I annihilated Vitor, I made Vitor look like a guy who shouldn't even be fighting. I have other fights, I want to fight other guys'. He talks a lot about his legacy and this fight is a very difficult one to pull off,” said the director, in a conversation with the press in Las Vegas, this Thursday (4).

White did not rule out that Vitor could challenge for the belt in the future, but highlighted the difficulty of this happening while Anderson Silva is the champion. “I'm not saying that Vitor couldn't get the next title shot, or couldn't get a shot soon, but if you're the Anderson Silva, you will say: 'I want new challenges, I want to face GSP, I want to face Jon Jones', or someone other than Vitor belfort. It is easier to make an argument than the Dan Henderson should get the next chance, you know? He hasn't looked impressive nor has he won, but he didn't lose as badly as Vitor,' concluded the Ultimate president.

Before thinking about your next duel or even granting a rematch to an opponent you have beaten in the past, Anderson Silva this Saturday (6) has a big challenge: the Brazilian puts the middleweight title on the line for the eleventh time against the undefeated North American Chris Weidman. The fight is the main event of UFC 162, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas (USA).

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