Officially, Official: Belfort says Okami's Next

Former UFC light heavyweight champion turned Middleweight contender, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort returns to the cage this November.

While speculation ran rapid, including who, when, and where Belfort would fight next, wait no longer–because the Brazilian has ended all speculation via his Twitter.

“Now it’s game time we have a fight nov 13 against okami”, said Vitor on his official Twitter account.

“The Phenom” was originally supposed to face champion Anderson Silva for the middleweight title last April at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, however bowed out of the fight due to injury, and was replaced by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master Demian Maia, who lost his chance at claiming the title by unanimous decision.

Belfort long campaigned for the bout even after sustaining the reported shoulder injury, assuring fans that he wanted the match right away after healing from surgery.

Vitor recently relocated to the United States with his family, which includes a wife and two children, to Las Vegas, Nevada in order to be closer to his training quarters–where he splits his time with the famed Xtreme Couture gym and the Tapout training center, where he trains stand up with former Xtreme Couture trainer Shawn Tompkins–while not sacrificing any time away from his family during a training camp.

Okami, the now Las Vegas residents’ next opponent, has been on the rise as of late. After opening up his UFC career with a 4-fight win streak inside the octagon, Okami succumbed to defeat against former champion Rich Franklin.

Another win streak began after the Franklin fight, and Okami ran into another brick wall when the Japanese star met the sharp-tongued Chael Sonnen, who eventually went on to challenge Anderson Silva for the middleweight title some time later. Okami reassessed his training regiment, and actually spent some time with Sonnen in the U.S. and has since racked up two-impressive back-to-back victories over Lucio Linhares and Mark Munoz.

“I talked to Lorenzo (Fertitta) this week and will return in November,” Belfort had said while speaking with Sherdog.com. “I just asked him to not be (on the November card in Germany). I’m tired of traveling. I would like to return to fighting here in America.”

While against the idea of traveling again, after relocating his family from Brazil to the U.S., looks like Belfort ultimately warmed up to the idea.

The event is expected to take place Germany on November 13th, marking the UFC’s second trip to Germany, and first in 2010. This will be Vitor’s first time fighting at 185 pounds inside the UFC. His initial return back to the promotion was at a catch-weight of 195 pounds against the aforementioned Rich Franklin, back at UFC 103 in Texas, in October of last year.

So, now that the match up has been made official, should the winner of this bout earn number one contenders status? Okami has certainly paid his dues, after being donned the red headed step child of the UFC’s middleweight division for over 4 years, but what about Belfort? Does he need more time inside the cage, or will a potential win over Okami be good enough? Let your opinions known.