Vitor Belfort: It Was Embarrassing That Chris Weidman Won Fighter Of The Year

When it was recently announced that UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman had received the Charles “Mask” Lewis Fighter of the Year Award at last Friday night’s 2013 World MMA Awards, not many MMA fans were surprised.

After all, Weidman did the unthinkable and beat legendary former champion Anderson Silva at UFC 162 to end his storybook run. And then he did it again at UFC 168, albeit amidst a ton of controversy after “The Spider” badly broke his left leg throwing a hard leg kick. Regardless, no one had defeated Silva in the UFC, so it was incredible to see someone do it twice.

But Weidman isn’t without his haters, as one prominent figure thinks it a disgrace that Weidman was named Fighter of the Year. That man is none other than his next opponent, surging UFC middleweight Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort, who told Globo’s Combate that Weidman was far from deserving of the award:

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“It was embarrassing. Not that it should’ve been me, but winning the award after just one fight? It’s shameful. He won one fight. The other was [pretty much] accidental.”

Never one to shy away from lettings his feelings be known regardless of how they may be received, Belfort still thinks that the lingering doubt of Silva’s second loss to Weidman is enough to warrant considering someone else for the award.

While he focused on his opinion that it shouldn’t necessarily be him, there’s not much doubt that Belfort would have been the next man in line after knocking out top contenders Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold, and Dan Henderson with thunderous kicks in 2013. For his efforts, Belfort took home Knockout of the Year at the aforementioned awards show.

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In any case, Belfort will have his chance to prove he’s the better man when the two square off in the main event of UFC 173 from Las Vegas this May 24. Belfort has also fought Silva, becoming the brunt of a highlight reel front kick knockut at UFC 126 in February 2011.

But it’s become obvious that the current “Phenom” is on a much different level than that one was.

He’s also seen a ton of controversy arise surrounding his continued use of testosterone-replacement therapy, something that he will be applying to use for his fight against Weidman. Many would argue that this dynamic is a lot more controversial than Weidman winning the Fighter of the Year award after two bizarre (and some would say questionable) wins over arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.

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What is your stance? Do you agree with Belfort here, or is he simply stirring the pot even further?