Lyoto Machida Declines Title Shot, Vitor Belfort Vs. Jon Jones at UFC 152

STUDIO MMA, RIVERSIDE, CA – Lyoto Machida turns down a title shot and rematch against Jon Jones at UFC 152.  Jones will now face Vitor Belfort for the UFC light heavyweight title on September 22^nd in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  The inaugural UFC flyweight title bout between Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson will serve as the co-main event.

MMAFighting.com broke the news late Thursday night.  Belfort was originally scheduled to face Alan Belcher at UFC 153 in Rio.  A replacement for Belfort has yet to be announced.

Belfort, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, comes in on one month’s notice.  Since returning to the octagon, Belfort has gone 3-1. The lone loss came via knockout from UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, back at UFC 126.  Belfort is currently riding back-to-back victories over Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama and Anthony Johnson.

(Photo via UFC.com)