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Yesterday it was announced that Vitor Belfort would not be fighting Alan Belcher in a key middleweight fight at UFC 153 in Brazil, but instead against Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship. This left Belcher without an opponent for the night's scheduled co-main event, but it turns out that he himself was injured to the point where he would've had to withdraw from the card anyway. Belcher confirmed the news on his Twitter account.
Everyone's asking if I am mad at
— alan belcher ufc (@alanbelcherufc) August 24, 2012@ufc@jonnybones@vitorbelfort answer is no. this is a blessing in disguise. I have a spinal fracture.
So yes, the injury bug would've gotten the very stacked UFC 153 anyway. Nevertheless Belcher still wants to fight very soon, preferably in November against Chris Weidman.
With that being said and with much respect I'd like
— alan belcher ufc (@alanbelcherufc) August 24, 2012@chrisweidmanufc or another top 5 on my return in November. Thx for all the support
A Weidman vs. Belcher fight at UFC 154 would be a dynamite addition to the card and be a very good indicator as to whether or not Weidman is ready for a title shot or if Belcher can further state his care for a title fight with Anderson Silva.
No word on what will happen to UFC 153 now that both co-main event fighters are out, but perhaps Jon Fitch vs. Erick Silva or more likely Quinton Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira could be promoted to co-main status.
UPDATE: Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado, originally scheduled for UFC on FX 5, now moves to UFC 153. Additionally, Rampage vs. Teixeira is now the new co-main event.
SBN coverage of UFC 153: Aldo vs. Koch
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