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Report: Vitor Belfort close to joining ONE Championship

Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC / UFC / Getty

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort is in serious negotiations with ONE Championship to sign a multi-fight deal, sources told ESPN's Ariel Helwani.

An announcement is expected as soon as next week, barring an unforeseen setback in talks with the 41-year-old.

Belfort would be the latest major coup for the Asian-based promotion, which has signed Eddie Alvarez, Demetrious Johnson, and Sage Northcutt over the past four months.

The Brazilian suggested he was done with fighting after being knocked out by Lyoto Machida in his final UFC appearance in May 2018, but later confirmed he'd continue his career in 2019 with a new promotion. He reportedly met with Bellator last month.

Belfort - who is tied for second for the most finishes in UFC history - has lost three of his last five fights. A TKO defeat in March 2017 at the hands of Kelvin Gastelum was overturned to a no-contest after Gastelum tested positive for marijuana metabolites.

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