Vitor Belfort Will Miss UFC 147 Following Hand Surgery

While many fans were looking forward to the second meeting of MMA legends Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort at UFC 147 in Brazil, the fight will not happen.

Belfort broke his hand during training and already had surgery to repair the damage. The former UFC champion was forced to pull out of his June 23 fight with Silva.

Sherdog.com is reporting about the injury and what it means for the company going into UFC 147 without Vitor:

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Saturday night in Las Vegas at the UFC 146 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White announced that Belfort had undergone hand surgery earlier in the day. Belfort was slated to lock horns with rival Wanderlei Silva at Felipe Drumond Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. White confirmed that Silva will still compete on the card and that the promotion is currently seeking a replacement opponent for “The Axe Murderer.”

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While it is true that both men are well past their prime, these two legends of the sport fighting in front of their home country would have been a spectacle.

It would be like watching Muhammad Ali fighting Joe Frazier at the end of their careers when there was really nothing but pride on the line.

As much as the fans are hurting from the news of missing this dream matchup, the pain the former UFC light heavyweight champion feels in his hand and his heart is something that can’t be fathomed.

Belfort tweeted a photo of his broken hand and a message roughly converted into English via Google Translate says, “Can not sleep thinking about what happened. I am very sad very sad that I will know more come back strong.”

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Nao consigo dormir pensando no que aconteceu. Estou muito triste muito triste mais sei que irei voltar forte twitter.com/vitorbelfort/s…

— Vitor Belfort (@vitorbelfort) May 27, 2012"

Everyone knew the magnitude of this bout, and the fact that an injury will cost the duo of Belfort and Silva their chance to give Brazil a fight that they would never forget is heartbreaking for all parties involved.

Brazilian fighters are some of the proudest men in the world, and missing the chance to do battle with a star like Silva again has to be killing Belfort.

The hope now is that the surgery was successful and the road to recovery has already begun. With UFC making several trips to Brazil recently, the chances that this fight could actually still happen are good.

The fans want to see Wanderlei Silva fight Vitor Belfort again. If they can stay healthy, it’s just a matter of time before this dream fight comes to fruition.

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