SIlva is ranked #1 in the UFC (Champions are not listed in the UFC rankings, but rather sit above them). Belfort is #3. In second is Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida, but the Spider won't fight the Dragon as they are friends and team mates. Vitor Belfort, on an absolute tear since dropping back to middleweight after his loss to Jon Jones (though his win over Dan Henderson, and his upcoming match against whomever is replacing Chael Sonnen at UFC 175, are light heavyweight bouts), could make for an exciting welcome back fight.. What's the appeal of this pairing? At UFC 126 in 2011, Belfort was front kicked into the next century by Silva, in a title match that lasted just over three minutes. Belfort never really got started, and the Belfort we see today is a much scarier creature. To borrow from Ken Watanabe in Godzilla, "Let them fight."