Originally Posted by MMAMania

Dana White is working on Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort UFC title fight

Former UFC light heavyweight champion and 11-fight Octagon veteran, Vitor Belfort, is currently under consideration to make another return to the promotion and challenge middleweight champion Anderson Silva for his 185-pound strap.

Company president Dana White tonight made the surprise announcement during “Inside the Octagon” while The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 Finale was on commercial break.

It’s certainly great news for fight fans; however, it’s a bit strange because Belfort is currently under contract with another promotion, Affliction MMA. In fact, “The Phenom” is booked to battle Sengoku Middleweight Grand Prix winner Jorge Santiago at Affliction 3: “Trilogy” on Aug.1, 2009.

But White more than likely wouldn’t make such a bold statement unless he was very confident that the Brazilian would return to the eight-sided cage for a third tour of duty after he satisfies his commitment to the “tee-shirt guys.”

Here’s a snip from White:


“While [Anderson Silva] is fighting Forrest [Griffin], I’m working on some other 185 pounders. Vitor Belfort — he is a former heavyweight who moved down to 205. Now he’s at 185 pounds. He’s got great hands, he’s good on the ground, and if his head is right, he can be a very dangerous guy. I think that would be a great match up.”

Belfort has indeed looked fantastic since he made the decision to shed 20 more pounds and compete at 185 pounds.

He iced Terry Martin in the second round at Affliction: “Banned” with a nice combination that was set up by a flying knee. He followed up that performance at “Day of Reckoning,” pulverizing Matt Lindland with a brutal first round blitzkrieg, landing six of seven strikes en route to a scary-looking knockout.

In short, Belfort would make a fine addition to the UFCs middleweight class and be a serious threat to his fellow countrymen.

Yushin Okami, as well as the winner of the bout between Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt at UFC 102 in Aug., are perhaps among the few who may be disappointed to hear this latest news. Especially if Belfort is indeed granted a title shot sooner rather than later.

White apparently feels “The Phenom” has what it takes to dethrone the seemingly invincible champion. And he may be right, but there is only one way to find out now, isn’t there?