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Jun 2, 2009 - 12:12:57 PM By Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist Well after changing his mind on accepting a catch-weight bout with Gerard Mousasi at Affliction: Trilogy, Vitor Belfort has found a new opponent at 185lbs. His name is Jorge Santiago. MMAWeekly.com is reporting that the fight has been confirmed by sources close to the situation.
Belfort has fought in the past at light-heavyweight, but his recent success in the middleweight division has found him a new home. Mousasi claims he can't make the 185lb. limit anymore, thus forcing the need for a catch-weight fight. After reports surfaced that the fight was near completion, Belfort balked. A new opponent was found for Mousasi at light-heavyweight in Renato "Babalu" Sobral, and in stepped Santiago to fight Belfort. Both fights are expected to be on the main card.
Since leaving the UFC in 2005, Belfort has found mixed success around the globe, but he was victorious on each of Affliction's first two shows, stopping Terry Martin in the second round of their fight and knocking Matt Lindland unconscious in a mere 37 seconds.
Santiago, also a former UFC veteran, has been on a tear since leaving the Octagon, including submitting top-10 fighter Kazuo Misaki his last time out for Sengoku. He'll bring an impressive nine fight win streak into his fight with Belfort.
Affliction: Trilogy takes place on August 1st from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Pelkey's Analysis: Another fantastic addition to this card. It's almost too bad some of these fights aren't taking place in the UFC, and I don't mean that in a "wahoo! I love the UFC!" kinda way. Its just unfortunate that only the same 50,000 or so people who ordered their first two shows are gonna get to see this. This fight, the Mousasi-Sobral fight, and the main event are all arguably match-ups between top-10 fighters. It's not often that the UFC can make a claim like that. You have to give Affliction credit though. If this is indeed their last show, they're going out with a bang.
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