Feb 12, 2010 - 
Though an injury will keep Vitor Belfort from competing during the UFC's maiden voyage to Abu Dhabi, middleweight champion Anderson Silva is still expected to fight at UFC 112, UFC President Dana White told MMA Fighting early Friday morning.
Belfort injured his shoulder in training and will require surgery.
White gave no indication as to who Silva might face, but said the fight will be in the middleweight division, indicating that "the Spider" will indeed defend his belt. At last Saturday's UFC 109, Chael Sonnen soundly defeated Nate Marquardt and was promised a title shot after Belfort and Silva squared off. Now, with Belfort out, Sonnen seems the most likely possibility, but no sure thing.
During the three-round fight, Sonnen suffered lacerations on his forehead and nose, and is not allowed contact until March 9 under the Nevada State Athletic Commission's post-fight medical suspensions. He could be cleared to fight by UFC 112's April 10 date, though it would only allow him an abbreviated camp. Given the opportunity to fight for a belt, however, he may still be interested. Interestingly, in the wake of UFC 109, he mentioned he would continue training just in case this exact scenario played out.
The proposed fight between Silva and Belfort had already been postponed once before to allow Silva to recover from elbow surgery. Now it appears the UFC won't keep Silva on the shelf any longer. He hasn't fought since August 2009 when he needed just 3:23 to knock out Forrest Griffin.
Silva (25-4), thought by many to be MMA's pound-for-pound king, has yet to lose in the octagon, reeling off 10 straight wins in the UFC.
Belfort (19-8) is in his third run with the UFC, and was given a title opportunity after scoring a first-round TKO over Rich Franklin at UFC 103.
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