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What’s the story?
Former UFC Champion Vitor Belfort recently announced that his next fight would be his last. He has one fight left on his current UFC contract and in an interview with FloCombat, the legend surprisingly called out for CM Punk for his retirement fight.
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Vitor Belfort (25-13-0) lost his previous fight against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fortaleza, making it his third consecutive loss. In the interview with FloCombat, Belfort expressed that he is tired of cutting weight and would want to have his last fight at 205 pounds, ideally preferring to make it happen when UFC comes to Rio de Janerio at UFC 212.
Meanwhile, CM Punk is working tirelessly to get another shot in the UFC after losing to Mickey Gall on his debut. Former UFC fighter Mike Jackson had also expressed his interest in being Punk’s next opponent in the Octagon.
The heart of the matter
’The Phenom’ has had a career spanning 20 years with the UFC and has a long list of high-profile formidable opponents linked to his name. The ageing legend has lost four of his last five fights, all of these fights were against top prospects.
For his retirement fight, Vitor Belfort is looking for an easier opponent and wants the fight in 205-pound category, as cutting down to 185 pounds is proving difficult. Vitor Belfort had an exclusive interview with FloCombat, where is spoke of the plans for his last fight:
“I’m going to talk to them (UFC), but I want this fight at 205 pounds. I would love to do this fight in this category. It would have to be an interesting fighter, but not a top fighter. I have been fighting good guys before: Dan Henderson, [Chris] Weidman, Dan Henderson, Jacare [Souza], [Gegard] Mousasi and now Kelvin [Gastelum]. These are all hard fights, so if you can book a smoother fight... What’s the name of that guy from WWE? CM Punk would be a good fight. CM Punk, let’s get it on. That would be a really good fight.”
What’s next?
Vitor Belfort wants to have his last fight in Rio de Janerio at UFC 212 in the Light Heavyweight division, and he wants to fight against a non-Brazilian fighter.
Author’s take
Vitor Belfort vs. CM Punk will certainly be an easier fight for ‘The Phenom’, who is looking to end his losing streak and retire with a win. But neither CM Punk nor UFC President Dana White will be looking forward to this matchup.
Punk has already dropped his much-hyped debut fight against newcomer Mickey Gall in just under two minutes. Now to fight against a veteran like Vitor Belfort would mean only one thing: a double retirement.
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