UFC middleweight contender Luke Rockhold has been chomping at the bit for a rematch with Vitor Belfort for months now and has become even more adamant on the subject after his most recent win over Costas Philippou.
The American Kickboxing Academy fighter called out "The Phenom" for never releasing the results of his Nevada State Athletic Commission-issued drug test when he spoke with MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani on Wednesday (via Fighters Only).
"He didn't release his test [results] and I think that speaks volumes. If he didn't [fail the test] then why wouldn't he release the test results?" Rockhold asked.
Rockhold, the last reigning Strikeforce middleweight champ, fought Belfort just under a year ago at UFC on FX 8 last May.
Belfort dropped his American counterpart with a picture-perfect spinning heel kick and made sure he didn't recover by delivering hard punches on the ground.
Despite getting finished decisively, Rockhold remains insistent that he would "redeem himself" in a rematch with the Brazilian knockout artist, per Bloody Elbow.
Interestingly, Belfort just told MMA Fighting that did all the tests the NSAC requires on his own and passed them all.
He did not clarify if he was also referring to the February 7 drug test administered by the NSAC.
Belfort is currently angling to replace Lyoto Machida against Chris Weidman at UFC 175 on July 5, and while that option seems pretty unlikely, it is feasible that Belfort could face the winner at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Rockhold is set to clash with gritty cage veteran Tim Boetsch at UFC 172 Saturday evening, a task that should not be taken lightly.
Will Rockhold be able to climb the ladder and earn his revenge against Belfort, or would a rematch just be a repeat of their first encounter?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
