Belfort Explains Why He Said No to an Interim Title Fight with Machida

Fourth-ranked UFC middleweight Vitor Belfort didn't just make an impulsive decision to turn down an interim title bout with third-ranked Lyoto Machida.

Truth be told, Belfort decided after his last bout back in November 2013 that he had done more than enough to deserve a genuine middleweight title fight the next time he graces the Octagon. And since that win over Dan Henderson at UFC Night 32 in his last bout, Belfort has come up with a long list of points to support his argument. 

In the following Facebook post from Sunday, The Phenom explained, in great detail, his motives for turning down an interim title bout with the fellow former light heavyweight champ.

Although he's been slated to fight on several occasions, Belfort hasn't competed since his win over Henderson because of a number of issues.

First, the promotion decided to pull Belfort from his scheduled middleweight title fight with champ Chris Weidman at UFC 173 after the Nevada State Athletic Commission decided to outlaw Testosterone Replacement Therapy. The NSAC's decision resulted in Belfort losing his exemption to use TRT.

In June, Belfort was set to replace Wanderlei Silva in a fight against former three-time title challenger Chael Sonnen at UFC 175. However, Sonnen was pulled from the card after failing a random drug test from the NSAC.

The UFC again tried to pit Belfort against Weidman, this time at UFC 181 in December. The bout was postponed in September, when Weidman suffered a broken hand during training.

In the latest development in Belfort's struggle to land a title shot, the UFC announced Friday that Weidman got pulled from their third scheduled title fight after he sustained a rib injury.

Belfort has won his last three fights via knockout (Henderson and Luke Rockhold) and TKO (Michael Bisping). The Phenom has racked up a 6-2 mark in the UFC in his third stint with the promotion, suffering his only losses in that span to Anderson Silva and Jon Jones in title fights.