You aren't the only one.
Former UFC middleweight number one contender Vitor Belfort, who carried on a war of words with "The Axe Murderer" leading up to his UFC 126 title fight against Anderson Silva, was expecting to rematch his Brazilian counterpart when the promotion heads to the HSBC Arena later this summer.
"The Phenom" contends that if you walk the walk, you gotta talk the talk. Did Wandy fail to hold up his end of the bargain by accepting a fight against the hot-and-cold Chris Leben at UFC 132 on July 2?
"The tongue is a man's whip," Belfort tells Tatame.com (via Bloody Elbow):
"The tongue is a man’s whip and [Wanderlei] needs to learn to speak less and fight more. But anyways, what you gonna do? That’s life brother, I don’t care about that, I am focused on my next challenge. I don’t care about names, I don’t choose my opponents, my focus is always my next fight, regardless of who that may be ... For me it’s cool, I don’t live life in the expectations of men, [I live life] in the expectations of God, life is like that. Sometimes we lose, the unforeseen happens and we need to be ready and trained, because we cannot guarantee the results. I am the type of guy that will follow through with what I say, I’m not a man who says one thing and don't do it."Wandy has been looking for revenge since the pair first met inside the cage more than a decade ago at UFC 17.5: "Ultimate Brazil."
Belfort defeated Silva in just 44 seconds by way of technical knockout.
Despite his desire to get back into the middleweight title hunt, Silva has been out of action due to injuries for over a year, having not seen the inside of the Octagon since a unanimous decision win over Michael Bisping at UFC 110 back in February 2010.
And as longtime "Axe" mentor-er Rafael Cordeiro explains to Sherdog.com, you don't just take a year off and expect to stay competitive against a dangerous striker like Vitor Belfort:
"I think Wanderlei is coming off multiple injuries, but, at the same time, he has a desire to make this fight. There is a desire as an athlete and a fighter to make this rematch with Vitor. I think, at this point, in my opinion as a friend and coach, he should have a fight with someone else before Vitor. When I say someone, I mean anyone who gets him back to being active. This fight with Vitor will become very important in his life, and he really wants it. For Wanderlei to be 100 percent for the fight with Vitor, it’s important that he get another fight before it. Vitor just fought for the belt, and, thinking about the rhythm of the fight, he’s ahead of Wanderlei in that regard. I’m not saying that he’s better than Wanderlei, but Wanderlei needs to pick up his pace [before they fight]."Belfort recently had his face re-arranged by division champion Anderson Silva in the main event of their UFC 126 title fight earlier this year. "The Phenom" has been champing at the bit to get back in action and redeem himself following his Las Vegas "Spider" bite.
The feud with his fellow Brazilian began long before he ever challenged for the 185-pound belt, as Belfort and Silva were slinging mud over just about everything, which only amplified the fans cries for a rematch.
Some highlights:
Wandy: Belfort is "mentally weak" and "running away."Silva was recently approached by the UFC to coach opposite Brian Stann on a future edition of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF); however, he didn't like the idea of being pitted against an American hero and instead asked for Chris Leben, who Stann defeated at UFC 125 earlier this year.
Phenom: Wandy is "just a spectator who wants to get attention for himself" and "has a big mouth."
Ask and you shall receive.
Belfort is clearly disappointed in missing out on the opportunity to fight Silva in Rio. But are you? Did Wandy take the path of least resistance? Or make a calculated move to keep his career in an upward trajectory?
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