UFC
Jon Jones now meets Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 as Lyoto Machida, Shogun Rua turn down title shots [UPDATED]
Aug 24, 2012 - 9:30:14 AM Jon Jones now meets Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 as Lyoto Machida, Shogun Rua turn down title shots [UPDATED]

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

In a day that's just gotten even crazier, UFC 152 has another new headliner in Toronto, Ontario, Canada next month. According to a report from MMAFighting.com, Lyoto Machida turned down an offered title fight with Jon Jones on Thursday, and instead Jones will now face Vitor Belfort for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on a month's notice.

Machida was offered a bout with Jones for two different events, first for next week's UFC 151 event when Dan Henderson suffered an injury, and then on Sept. 22 when Jones turned down a last minute bout with Chael Sonnen. His refusal of this shot - which was earned with a knockout win over Ryan Bader earlier this month at UFC on Fox 4 - means he'll likely need to win another fight before getting back to a rematch with Jones.

Belfort, who was scheduled to take on Alan Belcher at UFC 153 in October, offered to step in when Machida turned the fight down, and the UFC rewarded him with the fight. This is the third different opponent Jones has been offered in the last day. He gets the shot despite having competed away from the light heavyweight and having been out of action since January.

He was set to return in a middleweight bout against Wanderlei Silva in June, but suffered a broken hand which took him out of the UFC 147 event. He's won two straight fights since his last title bout, which saw him get knocked out by Anderson Silva with a highlight-reel front kick to the face.

Penick's Analysis: This has just been an insane day in the UFC, quite possibly the worst set of circumstances they've ever had to deal with since Zuffa took control. Belfort's a better choice than Sonnen from a competitive standpoint, and the UFC is no longer going to rush Sonnen into that spot after being willing to do so on eight day's notice. Chris Weidman threw his hat into the ring as well, so all of Jones' options have been coming from the middleweight division. Machida hasn't made himself any friends in the UFC either, now, as one of the reasons White gave him the shot after UFC on Fox 4 was because he was hounding him for one. By turning it down he's cost himself a chance at redemption, but it was probably the right move for him considering the one month notice of the fight and the fact that he'd want more time to prepare for a second shot against Jones. He'll need another win, though, and that sets him back further. Good on Belfort for taking the fight, but this has just been one crazy day.

UPDATE: According to Lance Pugmire of the LA Times on Twitter, Lorenzo Fertitta says Mauricio "Shogun" Rua also turned down a rematch against Jones for UFC 152 on Sept. 22.