UFC middleweight contender Vitor Belfort (19-8) said via Twitter that his fight with champion Anderson Silva (27-4) will likely take place at the UFC event on Super Bowl weekend.
The Super Bowl is scheduled to take place on February 6, meaning that the UFC event would go down the night before on February 5th. The date and location of the event have not been officially announced.
Belfort was victorious in his UFC return in September 2009, scoring a first round TKO over Rich Franklin. Injuries had since sidelined Belfort and forced him to drop out of a title bout with Silva. It seemed like he might have to wait for awhile to get his chance, with Silva scheduled for a rematch with Chael Sonnen. Sonnen beat up Silva for more than four rounds at UFC 117 before getting caught in a triangle choke.
Belfort, meanwhile, was scheduled to face Yushin Okami at UFC 122 for the number one contender spot, but a positive post-fight drug test for Sonnen gave Belfort his long-awaited opportunity to challenge for the title.
Silva reportedly went into the fight with Sonnen with a rib injury, and the healing time pushed back the anticipated fight date with Belfort. MMAJunkie reported that the injury caused the fight to move from UFC 125 to UFC 127, with the event likely taking place in Las Vegas.