Lorenzo Fertitta took responsibility for Belfort's exclusion from UFC 173. Photo: Disclosure
Following the news about his departure from the fight against Chris Weidman at UFC 173, due to the decision of the Nevada Athletic Commission that terminated the licenses for the use of TRT in MMA, Vitor belfort went public to deny that he had given up the fight. Through social media, the Rio native stated that the opinion on his exit from the confrontation was the responsibility of the UFC. This Monday (03), in an interview with the North American website “Yahoo Sports”, the organization's CEO Lorenzo Fertitta confirmed Vitor's version and stated that it was his decision to remove him from contention for the middleweight belt.
“We have a fight to promote on May 24th. Chris (Weidman) will defend his belt and we all know how this business works: you have to close commercial agreements two or three months in advance. All the art work needs to be done and Vitor, because of the new rule from the Nevada Athletic Commission, will have to do this (leave the TRT). And that's what he's going to do. But we don't know how long it will take for him to get his license. It could take two weeks or two months, and in the meantime we cannot leave the company in limbo. We have to promote this fight, and the logical solution was to take Vitor away from it and let him continue his process of obtaining a license to fight in Nevada. When he is eligible to fight, we will return to where we left off”, said the director.
Last week, shortly after the announcement by the Nevada Athletic Commission that it ended exemptions for the use of Testosterone Replacement Treatment, it was announced that Vitor belfort I would no longer face Chris Weidman in the main fight of UFC 173, on May 24th. Faced with Belfort's absence, the organization acted quickly and announced the Brazilian Lyoto Machida for your place in combat. At 35 years old, Lyoto has a record of 21 wins and four losses. With triumphs over Mark Muñoz and Gegard Mousasi, the former light heavyweight champion is undefeated since moving down to the middleweight category, where he occupies third place in the official rankings.
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