Though Vitor Belfort had been indicating retirement was in his future in between his last two bouts, he has since shifted gears. He is now calling for a rematch with Kelvin Gastelum.
After his victory over Nate Marquardt in June, Belfort stated that he intended to keep fighting, despite earlier saying he was only considering continuing if the UFC instituted some form of his “League of Legends” idea, where older fighters would continue to compete against one another under modified rules.
Now, however, he is reaching out to Gastelum to run back their fight from March. Gastelum initially won the bout via first-round TKO stoppage. The result was later changed to a no contest when the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission informed Gastelum that he had tested positive for marijuana.
Though the UFC has been trying to line him up for a bout at UFC 215 on Sept. 9, Belfort hasn’t locked anything down. Following Saturday’s UFC on FOX 25, Belfort said that he had an offer to fight Derek Brunson in September, but it was later rescinded. After that, he said he was offered a beginner. Belfort doesn’t sound interested. Instead, he’d like to fight Gastelum again.
“I don’t know what is happening, but if Derek Brunson can’t fight, Kelvin Gastelum, let’s erase the no contest from our cards,” Belfort wrote. “I don’t care about your fight result (against Weidman). I’m ready to fight. Let’s do it again.”
No word yet on whether or not Gastelum or the UFC wants to make the fight again.