A middleweight championship match between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort is now being planned for UFC 109 in February.
The news comes courtesy of MMA Junkie, who confirmed that verbal agreements are in place. The date is contingent upon Silva’s healing process from recent elbow surgery.
The Silva/Belfort bout was originally scheduled for UFC 102 on Jan. 2, but was postponed because Silva felt he couldn’t recover from his surgical procedure in time to train effectively for the fight.
Belfort earned the shot at Silva’s title in his return bout to the UFC in September. The former UFC champion beat Rich Franklin in the first round of their UFC 103 main event. After the show, UFC president Dana White indicated that Belfort would receive the next title shot at Silva. The news caused a stir in a division where both Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt believed they deserved a title shot.
While not officially announced, UFC 109 is expected to take place Feb. 6 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. As Heavy.com reported last week, the card is also expected to showcase a welterweight bout between legends Renzo Gracie and Matt Hughes.