Originally Posted by BloodyElbow

NSAC: Vitor Belfort Must Pay


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There's been much speculation -- led by Fightlinker -- that Vitor Belfort wouldn't be allowed to fight on the July 19th Affliction: Banned card unless he settles up with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Belfort got popped for drugging at PRIDE 32 and was hit with a $10,000 fine and a 9 month suspension.

Six months later he was fighting in Cage Rage in the U.K. Not cool, Vitor. Turns out he never paid his fine either.

But it appears that the NSAC is willing to work with Vitor. NBC Sports has the details:

The July 19 Affliction card will take place in Anaheim, Calif., and California State Athletic Commission official William Douglas told NBCSports.com that Belfort must be removed from the suspension list by the same governing body that placed him there, meaning he must settle his debt with Nevada before he can square off with his scheduled opponent, Terry Martin.

According to NSAC executive director Keith Kizer, Belfort will be able to participate in Affliction's Banned card as long as he pays his $10,000 fine.

"As far as Cage Rage goes, that had nothing to do with his discipline here," Kizer said. "Now, if he does come back and wants to fight here, we'll ask him about Cage Rage and why it took him so long to pay his fine, but it has nothing to do with the Affliction card.

"It should be no impediment if he pays the fine," Kizer said.

Interestingly, California is threatening to require fighters who've been popped for drugging before to test clean BEFORE they're cleared to fight. It doesn't look like this rule will apply in time for the Affliction card though:

California is poised to join Nevada in requiring fighters who previously tested positive for drugs to prove they are clean before being allowed to fight again.

The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) is working on this and other changes to regulations designed to stem the use of performance-enhancing and recreational drugs in combative sports. The proposed change to current rules in California would require a clean drug test for licensure or renewal of a license when an athlete has "previously tested positive for a prohibited substance in any commission state." This clean-test stipulation comes with no expiration date.

I'm glad this has been worked out and since they won't let him in the cage (or will Affliction be in a ring, anyone know?) until he pays his fine, I'm confident Vitor will settle up. As much of a screw up as Vitor has been, I'm glad he's going to be able to fight in the states again. He's faced personal tragedy, spats with promoters, and most of all a nagging inconsistency as a fighter but he'll always be a legend of MMA. As long as there's still the outside chance that he'll fulfill his potential, I'll always be happy to watch Vitor fight.