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In the wake of Vitor Belfort's shoulder injury, UFC President Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva were left with a decision regarding the status of middleweight champion Anderson Silva. They could pull him off the UFC 112 card, move him up to fight a non-title light-heavyweight bout or find another contender to replace Belfort.

White and Silva chose option three.

During Thursday's UFC press conference, White detailed the thought-process behind choosing Demian Maia to oppose the champ.

The search for an opponent for Anderson Silva continues, as Chael Sonnen is crossed off the list.

Yahoo Sports spoke to the surging middleweight Friday and he told them he would not be offered a chance to replace the injured Vitor Belfort and face Silva at UFC 112.

UFC President Dana White told MMA Fighting early Friday morning that Silva would still fight at the event, scheduled for April 10 in Abu Dhabi, and that he would fight at middleweight, indicating a title defense.

UFC middleweight contender Vitor Belfort has already undergone successful shoulder surgery and is expected to be out of training for at least four months, a source told MMA Fighting.

Belfort had suffered through shoulder pain since mid-2009 and had undergone several anti-inflammatory injections since that time, including leading up to his Sept. 2009 match with Rich Franklin, a fight he won by first-round TKO to set up his expected title match with Anderson Silva.

Though an injury will keep Vitor Belfort from competing during the UFC's maiden voyage to Abu Dhabi, middleweight champion Anderson Silva is still expected to fight at UFC 112, UFC President Dana White told MMA Fighting early Friday morning.

Belfort injured his shoulder in training and will require surgery.

White gave no indication as to who Silva might face, but said the fight will be in the middleweight division, indicating that "the Spider" will indeed defend his belt. At last Saturday's UFC 109, Chael Sonnen soundly defeated Nate Marquardt and was promised a title shot after Belfort and Silva squared off. Now, with Belfort out, Sonnen seems the most likely possibility, but no sure thing.

It's possible that by the end of the year, Chael Sonnen could be introduced as the UFC middleweight champion and an Oregon state representative.

The man who became the next in line for a crack at the 185-pound crown after Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva's scheduled title bout is an aspiring politician, and he got a nice boost to his early campaign efforts by appearing on Fox News this morning.

Just days ago, Chael Sonnen was ripping Anderson Silva for wearing earrings and pink shirts, and "pretending that he doesn't speak English." He was calling him "a bum" and saying he'd really rip into the champ after he beat Nate Marquardt after UFC 109.

The rest of us couldn't help but ask if the guy was crazy. Not only was he trash-talking the man who many consider the pound-for-pound MMA king (Sonnen also takes exception to that), but he also basically promised a win over Marquardt?

Ridiculous, some thought. But the man with the golden mouth has the last word. He's had plenty to say about Silva, and now -- as the sudden and surprising No. 1 contender for the belt that Silva has owned since 2006 -- he'll have plenty of time to think about possibly fighting him.