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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
And, it happens again. The UFC Middleweight Title bout between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort, that has already been pushed back from two previous events, is now no longer going to take place at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, as Belfort has now come up with an injury in training.
The breaking news comes from a Tweet by Yahoo! Sports writer Kevin Iole, who stated he confirmed Belfort's injury with UFC President Dana White.
Silva had finally gotten healthy after elbow surgery, which had pushed back this matchup from a possible UFC 108 and UFC 109 headlining spot. With Belfort now out and Silva uninjured, the speculation will move to Chael Sonnen possibly getting his shot earlier. The hang up to that happening is the fact that he is on medical suspension until next month and would only have a month to prepare for his first Title fight.
UFC 112 was set to feature this Title bout along with a UFC Lightweight Title bout between B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar. Now, the UFC's first trip to the United Arab Emirates may be left with just one until further notice.
Penick's Analysis: This is a highly unfortunate development. After getting past UFC 108 and UFC 109 it was time to look forward to a number of great MMA fights, including every UFC Title on the line by this Summer. While Sonnen would be a deserving replacement after his victory over Nate Marquardt, this fight with Silva and Belfort was looking to be a very exciting fight, with many giving Belfort's hands a good shot at a possible upset over "The Spider." If they don't put Sonnen into this slot and have to push Silva back to another card, it will be an unfortunate blow to what is looking to be an awesome fight card in Abu Dhabi. We'll have to wait for more on this story to see what's in store for Silva.
[Anderson Silva art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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