Mike Dolce, left, watches client Vitor Belfort make weight at UFC 142 (Josh Hedges/UFC)
Belfort in for Machida, faces Jones later this month
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida has turned down a rematch against current champion Jon Jones at UFC 152.
In his place, the UFC has called upon Vitor Belfort to step in and fight for the title.
Jones and Belfort will officially meet in the main event of UFC 152, which takes place on September 22 in Toronto.
Belfort has been fighting at middleweight for the past four years, building a run to the title which ended in a knockout loss to champion Anderson Silva. He was originally set to meet Alan Belcher at UFC 153.
A win over Belcher would have catapulted him right back into title contention.
Meanwhile, Belfort is Jones’ third opponent in the past day or so. He was scheduled to meet Dan Henderson at UFC 151 on September 1, but “Hendo” was forced out of the contest due to injury.
Then, the champ turned down a fight with Chael Sonnen, resulting in the cancelation of UFC 151. That was the moment the UFC slotted Machida against him at UFC 152 later this month.
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Belfort Replaces Machida, Meets Jones At UFC 152