Vitor Belfort out of UFC 112 title fight with injured shoulder
Vitor Belfort has been forced to drop out of his highly anticipated middleweight title fight with Anderson Silva on April 10 at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi with an injured shoulder.
A rumor originally popped up earlier this afternoon on Tatame.com, a popular Brazilian MMA site, and Yahoo! Sports has since confirmed the unfortunate news with UFC President Dana White.
The fight was originally scheduled to happen at UFC 108, but Silva’s elbow surgery delayed the fight.
As for a possible replacement, Chael Sonnen is a logical choice, but he is suspended until March 6 thanks to a cut from his fight with Nate Marquardt this past weekend.
If Sonnen is not cleared to fight, Silva could take a fight at light heavyweight, but many of the top stars in the division have been booked.
UFC 112 in the mean time, will be headlined by Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn for the UFC lightweight championship, with Renzo Gracie vs. Matt Hughes slotted as the co-main event.
Robert Goeman is
| All posts by Robert Goeman
Really bad timing for Vitor for sure, and 185 isnt exactly a division full of guys that might give Silva trouble. To bad Chale got that big cut on his head or he would probably be fighting Anderson much sooner, and if he gets it this is the perfect time for him as Anderson is coming off a long injury related layoff and may not be as sharp as usual. A perfect time for Sonnen to fight him.
Well-Done.
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thats a shame. i was excited for that fight. i felt Vitor had a good chance of dethroning the Spider. i still feel Anderson wouldve won but i guess we wont know. I hope Chael does get cleared cause he needs an ass whoopin from Anderson after all that shit talk. If they do give Anderson a fight at light heavy i wonder who would be the opponent. Randy anyone? how about Tito?
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Weak-Sauce.
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Could Chael be ready in time? Would (could) the cut heal by then?
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I doubt Chael’s cut would heal in time. It’s not as easy as it just scabbing and falling off. The cut itself will be extremely tender and 20 times easier to open up then if it didn’t happen. When you’re fighting a guy who can use elbows the way Silva can I can almost guarantee it would be opened up again in a bad way.
I’m actually really bummed about this. Now that this is getting closer I was just starting to kind of get hyped for it. I really don’t see how Chael could take the title shot and I can’t think of any really good fights at LWH for him to take. They could possibly throw Thiago Silva at him but I don’t see that going well for Thiago. All the big names at LHW are pretty tied up, there’s no easy solution for this.
Speaking of injuries though, has anyone seen the picture going around of Martin Kampmann’s cut that forced him out of his fight with Saunders? Got to be one of the ugliest cuts I’ve ever seen in quite a while. I don’t know how he managed to do that during training but obviously someone is going too hard to almost cut his eyebrow off.
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On the bright side though this is one less person Silva can is isn’t worthy to fight him.
Although I’m sure he will be saying it about his replacement.
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Isn’t Robbie Lawler a free agent now?
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Will this fight EVER take place?! This sucks for Belfort. Hopefully this thing materializes eventually. In the mean time, I’d like to see Sonnen. He’s hot right now, and if he gets Silva to the ground, his wrestling is far more superior, and MAY upset the champ. Please medically clear Chael Sonnen! I don’t want see another Anderson fight at 205 right now, but if so, Randy is an intrigueing choice. Or how about Thiago Silva? I’d pay to watch that.
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I really wanted to see this fight. Any info on the shoulder injury? Rotator cuff, or what?
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I don’t find the bout with Randy that intriguing tbh. We basically already saw it in his fight with Vera. Randy knows his chin isn’t want it used to be and if he stands with Silva for even a second he has a high chance of losing. It would just be him trying to grind Silva up against the fence and taking him down if he could.
Thiago SIlva would atleast be exciting before someone went to sleep, probably Thiago.
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Wow somewhere Dan Henderson is screaming obscenities at the sky to MMA Gods….
Well-Done.
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… or maybe at his agent?
Well-Done.
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I’ll pose the question. Could Nate Marquardt get the title shot by default? He wasn’t nearly as damaged Sonnen who looked a damn mess. It would be ironic on so many levels
Hot debate. What do you think?
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God fucking damn it…the one fight I’ve been looking forward to for months.
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goddamnit. i refuse to get excited for any big fight now until they are both in the cage @ the same time.
Well-Done.
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ufc just has no luck at all.
Is it really worth Anderson fighting anyone else at this point? i dont see any benefit for him unless its a title fight at 205, which obviously wont happen. I have a horrible feeling either Wandy or Bisping might be pulled to fight him?
and yup that cut on Martin Kampmann is naaaaaaaaaaaasty!
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Headline tomorrow: “Entire sport of MMA tears ACL, out 6-12 months”
Well-Done.
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Is Dan Hendersons Strikeforce contract non-exclusive?
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Wow awful, my most anticipated fight of the year. Sucks for Vitor but its not like Anderson didn’t delay in the beginning when Vitor was ready to go.
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It maybe a little early, but I would like Jon Jones to get a shot with spider at 205.
I look forward to fighting Vera, two of the biggest 205′s to tangle, but I think Jones is something special and would cause some problems for Silva.
Silva may hang around 185 long enough to wreck Sonnen, but I feel his real test will be Jones in the future.
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Silva vs Maia will happen instead.
Silva destroys Maia.
The UFC should just wait for Belfort to heal and then have this fight but I would say this fight will never happen. Silva will go on having to face none of the biggest threats to his belt (Belfort, Filho, Hendo, Chonnen, Mousasi) for a bit longer.
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Sonnen not Chonnen
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thass too Bad cuz it wouldda been 1 Helluva Fight!! 2 Primo Talented Fighters fer sure!! Thass what I love about the UFC!! They always Matchup the Top people to Tee Off against one another + there are NO Easy Fights + the Champ has to Defend!! Speedy Recovery to Vitor + Rock On Anderson Silva + the UFC!!!
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NOOOOOOO!
Vitor’s been on such a role, more than anything the prolonged inactivity is what’s horrible here..
The LAST thing he needs right now, after a career of ups and downs, is downtime..
What a shame..
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This is so so soooo hurting. It’s felt like forever since I’ve seen a title match worth talking about, or atleast a huge headliner. And here I was seeing the light at then end of the tunnel – A realistic chance at seeing the great Anderson get popped. but no…
104- Machida Shogun (slow fight, garbage judging)
105- Couture Vera (interesting match-up, lack lustre preformances)
106- Ortiz Griffin 2 (rematch, guaranteed 3 rounds and tito bullshit)
107- Penn Sanchez (boy, was I excited, and then it was a raping)
108 – Evans Silva (hoped they’d go toe to toe, but Suga’ knew he had have a safe gameplan)
109- Couture Coleman (oh my god, please stop hitting that old man, Randy.)
…but next up
110- Big Nog Valasquez (finally! HELL YA, HELL fuckin ya. please stay healthy guys!)
and then
111-St. Pierre Hardy (bound to be raping, but not GSP’s fault. pretty sweet co-headline scrap tho)
112- Penn Edgar and now not Silva Belfort (hum haw, BJ via another rape)
These our 50 bucks a pop PPVs.
I will still order them faithfully because of my love for the sport but am I the only one who wants to see some big match-ups deliver or a shake-up? well Belfort was my hope for ‘the shot heard around the world’ and for that reason it’s a crying shame to see him be another name dropped to injury.
For now I guess I’ll cross my fingers on Big Nog – Valasquez, if it’s anything like Nog’s last fight it will be a barn burner.
Well-Done.
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I bet Dana’s not too happy either. Silva vs. Henserson 2 would have been a good draw.
Well-Done.
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i just got home and literally said “holy sh–t’
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well now u can be nate the great bc you said it. i almost hung myself in a closet when lesnar carwin was cancelled.The last time i was that upset was when i found out they didnt make street fighter for sega genesis when it first came out.
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Fuck it Nate the great was in better shape than right wing Sonnen at the end of that fight anyway. Chuck him in there he’s a better fighter to watch anyway.
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Normally I would think oh that’s unbelievable- but after last year it’s more like oh ok par for the coarse…
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this sucks for bel
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Once again a great conversation I missed and a topic I really didnt want to see.
Hendo’s gotta be livid right now.
I too was expecting a possible shot heard round the world from Vitor.
If Chael didnt get that cut he’d be getting what he’s been talkin about, and the middleweight division might finally have a little suprise in it again. but no…not happening.
Screw Dan Hardy, he doesn’t really wanna fight GSP just yet give him a little longer and make him fight Fitch before he fights GSP. If Hardy can’t keep Fitch off of him for three rounds there’s no way he can keep GSP off of him for five.
In the meantime just see if Anderson is willing to come down to 180(He’s been comin in at 183 lately and its not lookin like its hurtin him.) and make this damn superfight happen! We could get it out of the way it’d WAY outdraw Vitor Vs. Anderson (Hey we all love Vitor, but alot of new UFC fans won’t remember the phenom for anything other than as Randy’s first stunning upset.) If Anderson wins GSP’s camp can always play the he’s way bigger card. If GSP wins it puts him on the immortals list instantly and it doesn’t really demoralize The Spider.
But since Im asking for things that won’t happen how bout Anderson Vs. Fedor why not its not happening.
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just wondering why do so many people pay this money out once sometimes twice per month only to complain about the quality of the card. Dont get me wrong i agree that a lot of UFC ppv’s are lacklustre these days, but why dont more people just wait til the next morning then download it and watch it then? is it really that important to see it live? is the sport really so big now in the US that if you dont watch it live, and you pop into a shop somewhere while its downloading, your gonna over hear a couple of geezers talking about the results?
i understand the buzz of watching it live, but if i were paying $50 for last weekend? i’d be fucking furious.
just a thought
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i’m in the UK by the way, so i either watch at 3am, dvr or download next morning.
all the mma i watch other than the UFC i HAVE to download, no other way to watch it
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You’re a thieving bastard hindsight you fuck
Got a nice little bonus down here in Oz, ufc 110 is on free to air TV at 2 in the afternoon on a Sunday. Beers and BBQ’s you say? Marvelous.
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UFC has some options here.
1. Chael – He can have no contact until the 9th, but he can probably start doing cardio with-in a few days.
2. Randy – Not sure if he can turn around that quick, but it would be a big fight
3. Thiago Silva – This would be a fun fight, and a big test for Anderson at 205.
4. Sexyama – I don’t think he has a chance but it would be a big sell
5. GSP – Hardy fights Paulo Thiago, and then the winner fight the Alves v Fitch winner.
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thats wicked mate, 2pm is a great time to watch UFC! i usally watch it at 8am on a sunday morning after i dvr’d it. its free for me on ESPN but i’m guaranteed to fall asleep at some point if i try and stay up to watch it from 2am to 6am. what part of Oz you in? i spent 18 months in melbourne, fucking loved it
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dana said silva will still defend his title, so option 2 and 3 are out. i dont believe they will scrap a signed contract on a titlefight for gsp vs hardy, to let gsp fight for the mw-title either.. option 5 very unlikely.
chael said in his interviews that he trains by fighting, and im not sure if 3 weeks of that is enough for him to go after silva, option 1 would be suicide by chael, not likely imho.
that leaves sexyama, currently the only ufc-mw who is kind of deserving and should be able to fight on this date.
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Over in Perth champ. Just about half way through party season over here and loving it. Good times. If you’re ever over again look me up and we’ll charge a few glasses in celebration of our love of violence. Have a good one mate.
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