Vitor Belfort doesn't even had a fight lined up yet has been in the news quite frequently this week because of who he won't fight. Belfort turned down a proposed fight with Tim Kennedy, and his wife says that "The Phenom" will not take any fights at middleweight that are non-title bouts. His wife did however say that Belfort would be open to fights at a catchweight, light heavyweight, or even heavyweight. UFC president Dana White said that the promotion offered Rashad Evans a fight with Belfort (presumably at 205 lbs). Evans told ESPN.com that not only would he not fight his teammate, but he would not fight any member of the Blackzilians:
"I won't fight Vitor," said Evans, who trains with Belfort at Jaco Hybrid Training Center in Boca Raton, Fla. "I won't fight Thiago Silva. I won't fight Cezar "Mutante" Ferreira. I won't fight anybody who I train with!
"I made that mistake before, and I won't do that again. I lost a lot of relationships because I did that before."
That last line about "I made that mistake before" is in obvious reference to his well-documented feud with former Team Jackson-Winkeljohn teammate Jon Jones. The two eventually fought at UFC 145 for the title with Jones coming out with the unanimous decision. Jones ended up submitting Vitor later that year to make it 2/2 against the Blackzilians.
Belfort has stopped Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold this year, and is the most logical challenger for the Anderson Silva/Chris Weidman winner at UFC 168. But Dana White remains frustrated with Vitor to the point where he claims he doesn't even deal with him:
"Vitor drives me crazy," White said. "I'm not dealing with Vitor. [UFC chairman and CEO] Lorenzo [Fertitta] is dealing with Vitor.
Currently, the leading candidate for Belfort's next opponent would be Chael Sonnen at a catchweight. That fight would be for a middleweight title shot but is otherwise dependent on Sonnen defeating Mauricio Rua in two weeks time at light heavyweight.
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