Vitor Belfort (20-9) is no stranger to injury. After sitting out all of 2010 with multiple afflictions, the Brazilian middleweight enjoyed a relatively healthy 2011 until the announcement that he had pulled out of a scheduled UFC 139 bout against former Strikeforce champion Cung Le. Though, luckily for the 34-year-old, this time around will go much quicker.
According to reports, Belfort's current injury will only sideline him for upwards of four weeks. With such a speedy turnaround time, the former champion expects to return to action in December, possibly on the card of UFC 141. Belfort explained his status with this tweet on Wednesday.
@vitorbelfort
Vitor Belfort I will be ready to fight December now I just need to focus on the treatment. Thanks for all the support for the fans and the @UFC
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The extent of Belfort's injury is unknown at this point, though the short recovery time seemingly rules out any form of major surgery.
Thus far the Brazilian has fought twice in 2011, first losing to UFC middleweight champion in the opening minutes of their title fight in February, before rebounding with a first-round knockout of Yoshihiro Akiyama in August. The latter performance earned "Knockout of the Night" honors.