Belfort Out Against Okami, Marquardt Named As Replacement

Added on Sep 22, 2010 by Bill Jackson in

UFC & MMA

Vitor Belfort has officially withdrawn from his UFC 122 main event bout with Yushin Okami due to a lingering elbow injury. The bout was planned as a title eliminator to determine who would fight the middleweight champion sometime next year.

Middleweight contender Nate Marquardt finished Rousimar Palhares in the first round of their UFN 22 main event without suffering as much as a scratch, so he will step in for the injured Belfort. The bout will still be a title eliminator.

Frankly, this looks to all be spurred by Chael Sonnen’s recent positive steroid test. Now that he won’t be able to face the champion Anderson Silva in a few months time, the UFC has shifted their contenders around and will plan to give Belfort the shot at Silva. It was convenient for them that Marquardt was more than willing to step up against Okami. Likely, they will say that Belfort’s elbow will be ready to perform by December or January, when Silva was planning his next bout.