Tim Kennedy interested in fight with 'fatter/slower' Vitor Belfort

Tim Kennedy

UFC middleweight Tim Kennedy hasn’t fought in 14 months and has said he might hang up his MMA gloves while also vowing to return to “smash” PED users.

Kennedy (18-5 MMA, 3-1 UFC), a former Strikeforce title challenger and the No. 7 ranked fighter in the NOS Energy Drink MMA middleweight rankings, prefers the latter. Today, he called out the recently victorious Vitor Belfort (25-11 MMA, 14-7 UFC), tagging the ex-champ on Twitter for good measure.

“Finally got around to watching the @vitorbelfort fight,” Kennedy wrote. “It looks like he is using less steroids (i.e. is fatter/slower) Hoping I get him next.”

Belfort knocked out former two-division PRIDE champ Dan Henderson (34-14 MMA, 8-8 UFC) in a rubber match this past Saturday in UFC Fight Night 77’s headliner to silence doubts his performances were headed downhill after a ban on testosterone-replacement therapy. A single left high kick stunned Henderson and set up a first-round knockout for the Brazilian ex-champ’s first win since a failed bid for the middleweight title against Chris Weidman at UFC 187 (watch the Belfort vs. Henderson video highlights).

Kennedy, who’s most recent fight ended in a controversial knockout loss, has repeatedly taken shots at Belfort for his public use of TRT and recently called for the winner of this past Saturday’s headliner. It’s not the first time he’s targeted the ex-light heavyweight champ; the UFC reportedly was lining up a fight between the two in 2013 when Belfort, via his manager and wife, Joana Prado, turned down the bout, stating he only wanted to fight at middleweight for a title.

But with Belfort recently falling short, the matchup appears to make sense, if MMAjunkie is in Joe Silva’s shoes. The question is whether Belfort and the UFC agree.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 77, check out the UFC Events section of the site.