Earlier today, Vitor Belfort wrote on his Twitter page that he wanted to take on Chris Weidman, but “The Phenom” has changed his mind and says he wants to take on Alan Belcher at UFC 153 in Brazil.
#belcher lets make this fight #ufcrioin oct 13
— Vitor Belfort (@vitorbelfort) July 25, 2012
Belfort had tweeted earlier today that he had spoken to UFC match maker Joe Silva that he wanted to meet Weidman. He felt that a fight against Weidman would put him in line for a title shot, but it appears that Weidman will be the next challenger for Anderson Silva and the UFC middleweight title.
Belcher had tweeted that he wanted to take on Belfort in his opponents home country and even his manager called out Belfort. Malki Kawa is Belcher’s manager and he responded to Belfort’s tweet that he would take the fight with Belcher.
We told joe were in. Waiting for you to tell him brother. RT @vitorbelfort: #belcher lets make this fight #ufcrioin oct 13 @alanbelcherufc
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) July 25, 2012
With Belfort on board for the fight, expect the UFC to make a formal announcement in the next couple of days and this middleweight fight will likely be the co-main event of UFC 153.
UFC 153 takes place on October 13th and will be headlined by Jose Aldo defending his featherweight title against Erik Koch. The UFC has not officially announced the city and venue for the fight card, but it’s likely the event will take place from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.