Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort? ‘The Axe Murderer’ Poses The Question
The situation involving Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva probably couldn’t get any more of a mess right now. Silva and Chael P were originally set to face each other at UFC 173, then it was bumped to The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 finals, then it was moved to UFC 175, and then Silva apparently fled from a drug test for the bout and was subsequently axed from the fight.
Vitor Belfort stepped in as a replacement for ‘The Axe(d) Murderer’, but that all counts on whether ‘The Phenom’ could pass a drug test. Then it emerged that Belfort had failed a random drug test in February, so things weren’t looking good for his NSAC application for 175. Then it was revealed that Sonnen had failed a random drug test and has been bumped from UFC 175 also. Words cannot describe how silly this situation is for the UFC.
The UFC is left in a sticky situation by three fighters who seem to be having a little trouble passing, or even taking a drug test. Wanderlei Silva took to his twitter account, and posted the following in an attempt to resolve the crisis of UFC 175:
Wand?Vitor ?
— Wanderlei Silva (@wandfc) June 11, 2014
Belfort and Silva squared off at UFC Brazil in 1998, where ‘The Phenom’ scored a monstrous 44 second knockout win. The two were set to square off for a rematch after becoming opposing coaches on the inaugural season of TUF: Brazil, but a broken hand forced Belfort from the UFC 147 booking and Silva ended up losing to Rich Franklin at the event.
Surely Silva’s calling out of Belfort is a poorly timed joke, or does he really think the NSAC, or Dana White, will consider it?
