Did Belfort turn down fight with Silva at UFC London?

Prior to the announcement that Michael Bisping and Anderson Silva would fight in the main event at UFC Fight Night London on February 27th, there was much speculation as to whether or not Silva and Vitor Belfort would sign to have a rematch in the near future.

According to Bisping, Belfort was given the first crack at Silva for the event, however he declined the fight.

Bisping spoke on the UFC London media conference call earlier this week:

“Vitor Belfort turned the fight down. There you go.”

“When Dana called me and said the opponent had changed from Gegard (Mousasi) to Anderson (Silva), I was thrilled. I always wanted to show the world that I could beat Anderson and I know I can and I get to do that in February.”

“Dana just called and said there had been some discussions internally at the UFC and they decided to change things around and do I want to fight Anderson? Of course, I didn’t even hesitate. I said yes immediately and that was that. All said and done. I’m a happy man.”