If a bout between Matt Lindland and Vitor Belfort is signed for Affliction’s second-ever show on Oct. 11 and it’s for a title, it won’t be for the yet-to-be instituted WAMMA middleweight title belt.

After reading a report on FiveOuncesOfPain.com that cited a Belfort interview with the Brazilian website Tatame.com
that quoted Belfort as saying the matchup would be for a belt, WAMMA
CEO Mike Lynch contacted us to issue a statement.
While WAMMA believes that the potential matchup is intriguing, it
doesn’t consider it one worthy of determining an undisputed champion at
185 lbs.

“There has been a lot of speculation that an upcoming proposed
match-up between Matt Lindland and Vitor Belfort will be for a WAMMA
title,” said Lynch in an e-mail to Five Ounces of Pain. “To be sure,
Matt and Vitor are two of the very best fighters in MMA today. Lindland
is currently ranked seven in our middleweight rankings and Belfort is a
former UFC champion who is bound to excite fans everywhere with his
explosive style. If this fight happens, it would be an incredible match
up. It certainly rises to the level of a must-see fight and would be
the highlight of any fight card.

“With that being said, any fight between Lindland and Belfort at
this time would not be for a WAMMA title. WAMMA’s goal is to crown
undisputed champions based on our objective rankings. Based on our
rankings, we could not sanction a Lindland vs. Belfort fight as a WAMMA
championship. However, the winner of the match-up would certainly
cement his place as part of the fighter elite and would be a likely
contender for a WAMMA championship in the future.”