With his shoulder quickly recovering from surgery that forced him out of an April showdown with UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort will immediately challenge for the 185-pound title when he returns to the Octagon this fall, his manager recently announced to MMAjunkie.
After successfully defending the belt with a controversial unanimous decision over replacement Demian Maia at UFC 112, Silva will take on Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 in August and the winner will then face Belfort in a matchup currently targeted for November.
Belfort (19-8) made his middleweight debut in 2008 in Affliction with back-to-back knockouts of Terry Martin and Matt Lindland, then returned to the UFC for the first time in nearly five years when he scored a first-round KO of Rich Franklin in a 195-pound catchweight bout that headlined September’s UFC 103.
After successfully defending the belt with a controversial unanimous decision over replacement Demian Maia at UFC 112, Silva will take on Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 in August and the winner will then face Belfort in a matchup currently targeted for November.
Belfort (19-8) made his middleweight debut in 2008 in Affliction with back-to-back knockouts of Terry Martin and Matt Lindland, then returned to the UFC for the first time in nearly five years when he scored a first-round KO of Rich Franklin in a 195-pound catchweight bout that headlined September’s UFC 103.
