Vitor Belfort weighs in during the UFC on FX official weigh-in event on January 18, 2013 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
A match-up between Vitor Belfort and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is being targeted for a card in Brazil, according to reports on Wednesday.
The bout will be Rockhold’s UFC debut, and will likely take place in April at a yet-to-be determined venue.
Belfort (22-10) was last seen knocking out Michael Bisping in the second round of their main event at UFC on FX 7 last month. The former UFC champ went on to call out light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for a shot at a rematch, calling current No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen a clown in the process, but ultimately shifted back towards the middleweight ranks with the news of this new pending fight.
Rockhold (10-1) hasn’t competed since July 2012 when he took Tim Kennedy the distance and earned a unanimous decision win in the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion. The decision extended Rockhold’s winning streak to nine, which includes wins over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Keith Jardine.
According to reports, the Belfort-Rockhold tilt will be the main event for the show in Brazil. At the time of this publication, UFC officials did not return requests to confirm the validity of the reports.
News of the fight was first reported by Tateme.com.
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