Following the demise of Affliction Entertainment, Vitor Belfort (16-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has signed with the UFC, replaced Dan Henderson (25-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and will fight Rich Franklin (25-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC 103.
UFC president Dana White today announced the new headliner, set to take place at 205 pounds, during a media call while also saying Henderson will instead likely get the next shot at Anderson Silva's middleweight title.
UFC 103 takes place Sept. 19 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas and airs on pay-per-view.
Last month the UFC initially announced Franklin vs. Henderson II as the UFC 103 headliner. The two fighters first met in January, when Henderson won a split decision in the UFC 99 main event, and news of the rematch wasn't exactly a hit with fans.
The reasons? They are plentiful. Franklin recently moved to light heavyweight (though he recently defeated Wanderlei Silva at a catch-weight of 195 pounds), and Henderson most recently fought at middleweight and defeated Michael Bisping. Franklin said he wanted to return to light heavyweight, and Henderson said he wanted to stay at middleweight and challenge for UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva's title.
"Fans didn't like it, so we changed it," White said.
However, the booking was likely born more out of necessity than marketability for the UFC, who had already committed most of the company's top 185- and 205-pounders to other contests.
The fight, though, was never added to the official fight card on UFC.com, and Franklin recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) he was never even told in which weight class the fight would be held.
Now, after never fully committing to that fight in the first place, the organization will now focus on Franklin vs. Belfort instead.
Franklin most recently headlined UFC 99, where he picked up the decision win over Silva. "Ace" is now 2-1 since leaving the middleweight division in 2008 after losing his belt and a rematch to current champ Anderson Silva.
Belfort, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, left the organization in 2005 after back-to-back losses to Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz. However, the former PRIDE fighter has now won four straight fights and five of his past six. He had been slated to fight Jorge Santiago at "Affliction: Trilogy," but after headliner Josh Barnett was denied a license due to a failed drug test (for alleged anabolic steroid use), Belfort was the leading candidate to get the open slot.
However, the event was canceled before an official announcement was ever made.
Earlier this year White said he hoped to get Belfort back in the UFC as a possible challenger for Silva's middleweight title. However, he later backed off the talk and even denied making the comments, which aired on Spike TV.
UFC president Dana White today announced the new headliner, set to take place at 205 pounds, during a media call while also saying Henderson will instead likely get the next shot at Anderson Silva's middleweight title.
UFC 103 takes place Sept. 19 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas and airs on pay-per-view.
Last month the UFC initially announced Franklin vs. Henderson II as the UFC 103 headliner. The two fighters first met in January, when Henderson won a split decision in the UFC 99 main event, and news of the rematch wasn't exactly a hit with fans.
The reasons? They are plentiful. Franklin recently moved to light heavyweight (though he recently defeated Wanderlei Silva at a catch-weight of 195 pounds), and Henderson most recently fought at middleweight and defeated Michael Bisping. Franklin said he wanted to return to light heavyweight, and Henderson said he wanted to stay at middleweight and challenge for UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva's title.
"Fans didn't like it, so we changed it," White said.
However, the booking was likely born more out of necessity than marketability for the UFC, who had already committed most of the company's top 185- and 205-pounders to other contests.
The fight, though, was never added to the official fight card on UFC.com, and Franklin recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) he was never even told in which weight class the fight would be held.
Now, after never fully committing to that fight in the first place, the organization will now focus on Franklin vs. Belfort instead.
Franklin most recently headlined UFC 99, where he picked up the decision win over Silva. "Ace" is now 2-1 since leaving the middleweight division in 2008 after losing his belt and a rematch to current champ Anderson Silva.
Belfort, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, left the organization in 2005 after back-to-back losses to Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz. However, the former PRIDE fighter has now won four straight fights and five of his past six. He had been slated to fight Jorge Santiago at "Affliction: Trilogy," but after headliner Josh Barnett was denied a license due to a failed drug test (for alleged anabolic steroid use), Belfort was the leading candidate to get the open slot.
However, the event was canceled before an official announcement was ever made.
Earlier this year White said he hoped to get Belfort back in the UFC as a possible challenger for Silva's middleweight title. However, he later backed off the talk and even denied making the comments, which aired on Spike TV.
