UFC
Chris Weidman's coach Ray Longo "not comfortable" with Vitor Belfort bout at UFC 181, just wants Belfort to pass his drug tests
Aug 1, 2014 - 2:55:43 PM Chris Weidman's coach Ray Longo "not comfortable" with Vitor Belfort bout at UFC 181, just wants Belfort to pass his drug tests

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

While Chris Weidman is eager to fight Vitor Belfort this December at UFC 181, his head trainer Ray Longo isn't fully on board. The reason for that is he doesn't have confidence that Belfort is going to pass his drug tests into the event.

Because of that concern, he said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com this week that they're prepared for the "TRT" version of Belfort, and also have to prepare for the possibility of fighting someone else if Belfort fails a drug test.

"I'm definitely not comfortable," Longo said. "I just hope the guy passes the drug test. I hope the guy mans up and does what he has to as a man and for his kids and to set a good example. Instead of talking about it, just do it. Take the drug tests, pass them, and let's get the fight on... If you look at history in the past, you can't be comfortable with the guy passing a drug test. I'm just hoping the guy does the right thing and he had an epiphany somewhere and he's going to do the right thing. Let's pass the test and fight. So that's what I want to happen."

"We're going to prepare for the TRT version of Vitor Belfort," he continued. "We're going to prepare for the best Vitor Belfort there is. Weidman loves to test himself. He'll beat him on steroids, off steroids – it doesn't matter. We want to make it fair and we want the best Belfort there is."

"I just thing on his past actions, as a logical person, I don't think I can be that comfortable. We have to be ready for a contingency plan in case the guy fails the test, which kind of stinks."

Penick's Analysis: Longo's got reason to be concerned, because it will mess with their preparations if Belfort fails a drug test and they have to fight someone else. That said, they're preparing for all possibilities, and one would imagine they're going to be completely ready for Belfort if the fight actually does stay together. For all involved, Belfort needs to stay on the right side of that line right now, because if he slips up here in the next few months it's going to look even worse than him getting a license for this title fight in the first place.