Vitor Belfort has Hepatitis A but, "The Show Must Go On"

Belfort stricken with Hepatitis A, won't affect UFC 133 fight with Akiyama

According to Steven Marrocco mmajunkie.com

In a series of Twitter messages issued today, former UFC champion and recent contender Vitor Belfort (19-9 MMA, 8-4 UFC) revealed that he has contracted hepatitis A – a moderately serious infection caused by contaminated food or water that's often mistaken for the flu.

The illness will keep Belfort from cornering Randy Couture in Toronto this Saturday at UFC 129, though it won't endanger his fight with Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC 133, which takes place Aug. 6 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

In fact, Belfort wrote today that the illness is a minor bump in the road.

"Guys I just want to let u know that ... hepatitis A is easy to treat so don't worry, in two weeks I am back in the gym," he stated.

Belfort's fight is his first since a UFC 126 knockout loss to current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. He had been linked to a "UFC: Rio" bout with Wanderlei Silva, but "The Axe Murderer" instead successfully lobbied for a summer matchup at UFC 132 with Chris Leben.

Akiyama, who was scheduled to fight Nate Marquardt at UFC 128 before withdrawing in the wake of last month's earthquake in Japan, likely finds himself in a must-win situation. Despite a history of entertaining octagon contests, Akiyama has dropped consecutive outings to Michael Bisping and Chris Leben, and his lone UFC win came via controversial split decision in a UFC 100 bout with Alan Belcher.

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