"Vitor's an excellent fighter. It's world champion after world champion that he fights, and this isn't any different. It's a good chance for Vitor, and I hope he seizes the moment. If there was any word to describe what happened in that 48-hour period, it would be surprised. Maybe even one step further of disbelief. We're used to being attacked by competition. We welcome it. We're used to being attacked by the states because it's an opportunity to go in and educate them. But what we're not used to is being attacked from within. We're not used to having one of our own set off a grenade and walk away laughing and never look back. It was really kind of an unbelievable experience from where I stand. There's going to be some news coming out on me soon. We'll see how things play out. Stay tuned." -Chael Sonnen via MMAJunkie.com

Chael Sonnen appears to be pulling for newly appointed light-heavyweight challenger Vitor Belfort as he prepares to square off against increasingly reviled champion Jon Jones. 

Jones recently refused to fight Sonnen as a replacement for the injured Dan Henderson at UFC 151, which started a cascade of events eventually leading to the UFC's first ever event cancellation. Needless to say, the move did not site well with fans or other fighters who were depending on the event for their salaries.

Sonnen himself was praised for his willingness to step up on 8-days notice (he was reportedly the only fighter the UFC contacted who was willing to do so), but after the event was cancelled the UFC decided a match up against former light-heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort would be more competitive.

Belfort will square off against Jones at UFC 152 on Sept. 22 in Toronto, Canada.