Vitor Belfort recently signed with ONE Championship although there is no official word yet on when he would be entering the cage and against who. But if his recent social media post is any indication, it seems that the 41-year-old mixed martial artist will be facing someone he has called out last month - Roy Jones Jr.
On Belfort's official Instagram account, the former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion posted a video claiming that Jones Jr. has agreed to a fight on ONE Championship. ONE FC has yet to issue an official statement on the matter, MMA Junkie said.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (@vitorbelfort) on Mar 7, 2019 at 3:11pm PST
Also in the air is whether it will indeed be a boxing match between the two iconic fighters. Jones Jr. is already 50 so Belfort could have some kind of advantage since he is 9 years younger than the Brazilian. But then again, one can only look back at Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his clash with several mixed martial artists to see how things may go.
Mayweather, 42, outlasted most of his mixed martial arts opponents. The only one who lasted was Conor McGregor, an impressive show since boxing requires proper conditioning to last as well.
Similar to the UFC, ONE Championship could consider it an enticing exhibition bout. It could be set for three-rounds and would be categorized no different from the fantasy fights that fans have been seeing through the years.
ONE FC top brass Chatri Sityodtong and company could be open to such an arrangement provided it would sell. The promotion has shown that they are open to other kinds of fights. Proof of that was the rare boxing fight that had Thai boxing champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai facing Iran Diaz in 2018. The former won via decision according to a report from Manila Bulletin Sports.
ONE Championship has also yet to reveal what lies ahead for Belfort. With a division that lacking in fighters, the obvious target would have been Brandon Vera. There is also the middleweight category to consider where he could challenge the likes of Aung La Nsang, Vitaly Bigdash, and Igor Svirid.
An official announcement could be made soon by ONE Championship after that post by Belfort. Right now, all eyes are on ONE: A New Era which is slated to happen on Mar. 31 in Tokyo, Japan. If not immediate, ONE FC could make a blockbuster announcement by then.
