Jun 20, 2009 - Is Vitor Belfort headed back to the UFC? During Saturday night's "Ultimate Finale" telecast on Spike, UFC president Dana White told Amir Sadollah during an "Inside the Octagon" segment that he is considering booking the former UFC light heavyweight champion in a middleweight title fight against current champion, Anderson Silva.
"If his head is right, he's a dangerous, dangerous guy," White said. "I think that would be a great a match-up."
Belfort is currently scheduled to face Jorge Santiago at "Affliction: Trilogy" on August 1. With that in mind, I was surprised to hear White talk about a fighter who is currently contracted to another organization. Affliction vice president, Tom Atencio, confirmed with FanHouse on Saturday night that the Belfort-Santiago middleweight fight is still on, but also added that the Brazilian fighter only has one fight remaining on his Affliction contract.
White has openly talked about not being happy with Silva's last two title defenses, and also spoke about wanting to find better challenges for "The Spider."
"I just feel like I need to challenge this guy," he said. "That's the reason that I put this fight together with Forrest [Griffin]. Forrest is going to make him fight.
"I know [Silva] wants to stay at 185 pounds. So while he's fighting Forrest, I'm working right now on some other 185-pounders."
In April, White told Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole that he was working on signing a middleweight fighter that "would blow your mind." I'm not sure if Belfort's return to the Octagon would qualify as such a huge shocker, but he would certainly be a nice addition to the mix.
Diego Sanchez, left, and Clay Guida stare each other down before their match at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Diego Sanchez, bottom, grapples with Clay Guida during their match at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Diego Sanchez, right, kicks Clay Guida during their match at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Diego Sanchez, right, punches Clay Guida during their match at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Diego Sanchez, left, trades punches with Clay Guida during their match at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Diego Sanchez, bottom, clinches his legs around Clay Guida during their match at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Diego Sanchez, bottom, elbows Clay Guida during their match at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Diego Sanchez, right, lands a big punch on Clay Guida during their match at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Diego Sanchez, right, kicks Clay Guida during their match at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Diego Sanchez, right, kicks Clay Guida to the head during their match at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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