White: Belfort to Face Silva for UFC Middleweight Title( sherdog.com)

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010by Brian Knapp (bknapp@sherdog.com)

Vitor Belfort -- withdrawn on Tuesday from his scheduled main event with Yushin Okami at UFC 122 in November -- will instead challenge Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight championship. UFC President Dana White on Wednesday made the announcement via Twitter, and though no official date was pegged, all signs point to a Silva-Belfort showdown in early 2011, perhaps as soon as New Year’s Day.

Widely recognized as the sport’s top pound-for-pound fighter, Silva has rattled off 13 consecutive victories, a record-breaking 12 of them inside the UFC’s hallowed Octagon. The 35-year-old Brazilian last appeared in August, when he submitted Chael Sonnen with a fifth-round triangle choke in a fight he was clearly losing on points. The two were expected to meet in a rematch, but Sonnen faces the possibility of a year-long suspension following a positive test for suspected steroid use. Silva has secured 20 of his 27 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. His list of victims includes former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (twice), two-time Olympian Dan Henderson and one-time UFC light heavyweight titleholder Forrest Griffin.

Belfort will carry a five-fight winning streak into the match. He underwent shoulder surgery in February and has not competed since September 2009, when he put away Franklin at UFC 103. The 33-year-old Brazilian holds other notable victories against one-time Pride Fighting Championships middleweight titleholder Wanderlei Silva, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth and 2000 Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland. A black belt in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Belfort, revered for his devastating hand speed, has delivered 13 of his 19 career wins by knockout or technical knockout.

Meanwhile, Okami will remain atop UFC 122, where he will lock horns with former middleweight King of Pancrase Nate Marquardt in the headliner. According to White, the winner of that fight will move into position to face the Silva-Belfort winner.