Anderson Silva once stood atop the UFC's middleweight mountain, dominating opponent after opponent in mesmerizing and devastating fashion.
But in stepped a confident Chris Weidman to put an end to Silva's reign as champion by stopping him in back-to-back contests in 2013.
Ten months after his latest loss to the current middleweight champion, Silva doesn't think he's the most complete fighter the middleweight division has to offer. And, no, he doesn't give that nod to the champion either.
Who is the UFC's most complete middleweight?
He told the Brazilian media at Tuesday's press conference (transcript via MMAFighting.com's Guillerme Cruz): "In my opinion, Vitor (Belfort) is the most complete fighter at 185 pounds. The most explosive, with the best boxing, good jiu-jitsu and wrestling. Weidman is young, (part of) the new generation, and is coming strong. It’s a fight everybody wants to see. I will root for Vitor to win, obviously."
Belfort last stepped inside the Octagon against Dan Henderson in November at UFC Fight Night 32 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Belfort walked away the victor after a swift kick to Henderson's head left him no longer able to compete. It was The Phenom's third head-kick knockout victory in as many fights.
The former middleweight title contender now finds himself preparing to take center of the Octagon as he makes his second claim for the belt since 2011.
His latest chance at UFC gold won't come without some sort of controversy, however, seeing as Belfort was undergoing testosterone replacement therapy in his bouts with Henderson, Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold.
With TRT now banned by the UFC and the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Belfort will have to find a new way to combat Mother Nature, his opponents and his critics.
"I feel like an animal," he told Sensei Sportv in Brazil, via MMAFighting.com's Cruz. "The Holy Spirit gives me everything I need. I’m training like an animal. Nobody trains harder than me."
"My hormone stays at 200 today, and the normal range is from 300 to 800. (TRT) raised my levels to a normal range according to the commission. My hormone was at the same level of my opponents’, so they are in advantage now."
Regardless of how hard Belfort is training, Weidman is confident his opponent will simply be the third man to try and fail to take his crown.
Weidman told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour (h/t Dave Doyle of MMA Fighting): "I'm going to have a lot of fun. I'm going in there to embarrass him. This is not going to be a close fight...I'm going to embarrass him in that cage. I'm going to make him look like an old man who withered away."
Originally scheduled to take place at UFC 181 in December, Weidman and Belfort will go toe-to-toe in early 2015.
Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University's student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.
