After a week of turmoil, Vitor Belfort, just added to UFC 175, is off the card again. Following the events of the past few days which saw Wanderlei Silva replaced at UFC 175 by Vitor Belfort, only to have scheduled opponent Chael Sonnen retire after failing an out-of-competition drug test, Belfort has been removed from the card, as it appears that no suitable replacement fighter could be found for the fight. UFC.com has updated its fight card line-up to reflect this, and while no official announcement has been made, former Ultimate Fighter standout Uriah Hall could wind up opening the main card portion of the event. In the meantime, Belfort will no longer need to go before the NSAC to apply for a fight license for the July event. He has now been linked to Luke Rockhold, who he has previously knocked out in the UFC via a stunning head kick, and Jacare Souza, both top middleweight contenders. UFC 177 is a possibility should either of those bouts come to fruition. In all fairness, Belfort was never originally planned for the card in the first place, and his licensing by the NSAC, given a recently disclosed drug test failure, was far from a sure thing. Pushing back a potential Belfort fight gives him more time to get his affairs in order, though the Brazilian athletic commission has confirmed he would likely be licensed there without issue, should that become an option.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
