Vitor Belfort has fought a who’s who of mixed martial arts over the course of his 20 years in the sport, and in the twilight of his career there’s one fighter in particular that he’s interested in stepping into the Octagon with again.
That man is another legend, Anderson Silva, who holds a 2011 knockout victory over Belfort in a fight that almost single-handedly brought the sport into the mainstream in Brazil.
“I have interest in any fight. A fight that has a meaning, but I think this would be a money fight, yes,” Belfort told Combate. “I have interest in big fights, and this would be a big fight, for sure. It has to be something that pleases all three sides: Anderson, Vitor and the UFC.”
Money seems to be the biggest issue as far as ‘The Phenom’ is concerned, and it looks like he’d hold out for as big a payday as he could get for a fight of that magnitude.
“The UFC does super fights. Like this one they did with Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor. If they want to do it, they have what it takes. I think that, in fact, it’s a matter of negotiation, and I’d say we’re also in a good phase. We did a lot for the sport and I believe this would be a good time for both of us to profit if something like this happens.
“The piece of the cake today can’t be split only for Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. The piece of the cake also has to come to those people who did for generations and are still here. So it all depends on the negotiation.”
The UFC heads back to Brazil in September, and Belfort has indicated he’d be interested in that as a potential landing spot for the showdown, but it remains to be seen if that is something that would actually interest the UFC, or Silva for that matter.
