Belfort (left) and Bisping (photo via UFC)

By FCF Staff

As Michael Bisping prepares to undergo knee surgery, Vitor Belfort is accusing the middleweight champ of ducking the division’s top contenders.

Recently Bisping reported that he’s having minor knee surgery soon, and that he’ll likely be sidelined until May as a result. The British star is expected to fight Yoel Romero when he returns, who is coming off a stoppage win over Chris Weidman in November.

Belfort, meanwhile, is scheduled to face Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 106 on March 11th. While discussing the champion recently, who Belfort TKO’d in 2013, “The Phenom” said this (quote via MMA Junkie):

“Now we see that the titleholder is a wimp,” Belfort said. “A guy who doesn’t honor – ‘Oh, now I’m injured, I can’t fight. ‘Jacare,’ I won’t fight you, I’ll fight the guy from the lower division (Tyron Woodley).’ This is a guy who’s picking fights.

“This is what he is leaving for his fans, a legacy of wimpiness. You can’t do that. When a guy is the champion, he needs to fight the best. I think that’s the real champion.”

Belfort is coming off consecutive, stoppage losses to “Jacare” Souza and Gegard Mousasi, after he finished Dan Henderson in November, 2015.