After the shocking turn of events that left UFC 151 cancelled, the one thing that seemed clear was that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones would defend his belt against Lyoto Machida, for the second time, at UFC 152 on Sept. 22.
However, early this morning, those plans were scrapped when “The Dragon” declined the fight. At around 1 a.m., MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported that Jones would instead fight Vitor Belfort.
Belfort is a former UFC light heavyweight title holder, though he has not competed at 205 pounds in nearly five years. Belfort has put together a 5-1 run at middleweight since then, with his sole loss coming at the hands of 185-pound kingpin Anderson Silva.
To say Belfort is an underdog is beyond an understatement, as various betting sites, including Sportsbook, have the 25-year-old as a -1300 favorite. This means Jones has roughly a 90 percent chance to win.
Nevertheless, “The Phenom’s” Twitter page (http://twitter.com/vitorbelfort) indicates he’s nothing but excited for this fight:
“I will fight jones I want to thank he`s camping (sic) and him to accept this big challenge for me I am so happy to deliver a big show for the whole world.”
MMA Fighting also reports that Silva was willing to fight at light heavyweight at UFC 151, a fighter besides Jones, but White had already cancelled the event by the time “The Spider” reached out to him.
Belfort was also given the opportunity because the man who Jones won the title from at UFC 128, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, declined a rematch at UFC 152, according to Lance Pugmire (https://twitter.com/latimespugmire) of the LA Times.
“@lorenzofertitta tells me Shogun Rua also turned down shot at Jones to set up Belfort as Sept. 22 opponent. #UFC”
Fertitta is of course the CEO of the UFC.
This main event came to fruition when Dan Henderson, who was originally going to fight Jones at UFC 151 on Sept. 1, suffered a knee injury just eight days before the fight. “Bones” was offered a last-minute replacement in two-time middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen, but he declined.
Does anyone give Belfort a real shot of becoming a two-time champion here or is Jon Jones going to have a cake walk as the betting odds indicate?