Former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort (23-10 MMA, 12-6 UFC) recently turned down a middleweight bout against Strikeforce import Tim Kennedy (16-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC), stating that the only fight he’s interested in at 185-pounds would be for the UFC middleweight title.

Undeterred, Kennedy says he wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect of facing Belfort in his home country of Brazil anyway, as he told Bleacher Report in a recent interview:

“I wasn’t thrilled about fighting Vitor in Brazil; I’ve always been vocal about being against TRT … I had mixed feelings about fighting him in Brazil … it’s his legacy. He can do what he wants. But I think it demeans the sport when he uses performance-enhancing drugs.”

Kennedy was succesful in his octagon debut at last month’s UFC 162 event, as he scored a unanimous decision victory over submission specialist Roger Gracie. Now, Tim says he’d like to face a true UFC guy next, specifically someone with a rich history in the sport:

“After fighting a Strikeforce guy, I wanted to fight a long-standing UFC guy. I’d love to fight anybody with a rich history within the sport that’s been a fighter for a long time. To get matched up with Wanderlei Silva,  an iconic hero of mine, that’s the kind of fight I want. I think I can beat everybody in the middleweight division. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here (in the UFC). I’d be doing something else.”

Who would you like to see Tim Kennedy face next? Is a fight between Kennedy and “The Axe Murderer” one you would like to see made by the UFC? Let’s hear it Penn Nation!