Michael Bisping: It's Pretty Obvious Vitor Belfort Failed His Drug Test

Perennial UFC middleweight contender Michael Bisping believes that old foe Vitor Belfort failed a pre-fight drug test administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on February 7. 

While the commissioner has not made such an assertion, "The Count" believes the circumstantial evidence speaks for itself, per MMA Junkie. 

“I am not an FBI agent, but the guy did a drug test in Nevada recently, and all of the sudden, he’s not fighting for the title anymore,” Bisping said. “Hmm. Put the pieces together.”

Following the NSAC's ban of testosterone replacement therapy one month ago, it was revealed that the governing body issued "The Phenom" a pre-fight drug test, since, at the time, he was still scheduled to fight middleweight champ Chris Weidman at UFC 173.

Due to the fact that the Brazilian slugger was not yet licensed by the NSAC, Belfort is the only person who is at liberty to release the results. 

According to the ex-UFC light heavyweight champ's attorney, Neal Tabachnick, Belfort and/or his camp have no intention of releasing the drug test results since they are "not relevant" at this time, per Yahoo! Sports. 

Depending which story is taken at face value, Belfort withdrew, or was removed, from the Memorial Day Weekend title bout shortly after the TRT ban was announced. 

Filling in for him will be fellow former 205-pound champ Lyoto Machida, though Weidman vs. Machida now takes place at UFC 175 following a knee injury suffered by "The All-American," per UFC.com.  

Belfort defeated Bisping via knockout at UFC on FX 7 last January, finishing the fight in the second round with a head-kick and subsequent punches on the ground.

Bisping, the season 3 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, squares off with American counterpart Tim Kennedy at the TUF: Nations Finale on April 16. 

Bisping is 2-2 in his past four bouts, while Kennedy is 3-1 in his last four contests. 

Is Bisping saying what everyone else is thinking when addressing Belfort's unreleased drug test results, or should The Phenom be given any sort of benefit of the doubt at this point?

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.