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Belcher keen on Belfort bout to set up title shot

Alan Belcher defeated Jason McDonald on his return to action in September © Getty Images

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UFC middleweight Alan Belcher is hoping to push his case for an imminent title shot with a blockbuster win against a top-ranked contender, possibly Vitor Belfort, in his next contest.

Belcher spent over a year out of the Octagon after suffering a detached retina in the build-up to an arranged fight with Demian Maia last summer, only making his return with victory over Jason McDonald at Fight Night 25 in September.

The 27-year-old American is now desperate to make up for lost time and hopes to engineer a title shot against current champion Anderson Silva with a comprehensive victory in his next fight.

"He might be one opponent away from a title shot. The opponent they're talking about him fighting, if he beats him or knocks him out, it's going to be hard not to give him the next title shot," Belcher's manager, Malki Kawa, told MMAWeekly Radio.

"I think it's two fights away to stay conservative and be more realistic, but there's a great fight on the horizon for Alan Belcher."

To get a title shot would require Belcher to beat someone in the division already considered a contender, but few such candidates are not already booked for fights in the coming months. One man who remains free at the moment, however, is Vitor Belfort - who lost to Silva in a title fight in February - and Kawa admits that the Brazilian fits the bill for Belcher.

"When I talk to Joe (Silva, the UFC's regular matchmaker), it's 'Who does he need to beat to get a shot at the title?' There are a couple of names mentioned. Vitor was one of them, and to be honest with you, I love that fight, and I'll tell you this, Alan loves that fight," Kawa stated.

"He's one of about three or four guys we've been talking about internally."

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