Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida could meet in the co-headliner of November’s big UFC 167 event, but there’s a twist.

Rather than light heavyweight, where Machida (19-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC) has fought and previously held the UFC title, UFC President Dana White would want him to fight fellow Brazilian Belfort (23-10 MMA, 12-6 UFC) at middleweight.

That’s the word from Tuesday’s edition of “UFC Tonight” and reporter Ariel Helwani.

UFC 167 takes place place Nov. 16 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view event, which serves as the UFC’s 20th anniversary show, features a headliner between welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and challenger Johny Hendricks. Belfort vs. Machida could take the second spot on the card.

The booking, though, faces some issues. Machida hasn’t fought at middleweight, and Belfort said he doesn’t want to compete in the division unless he’s granted a title shot.

For Machida, who recently dropped a controversial decision to Phil Davis at UFC 163, it could be a possibility. He didn’t consider a move to middleweight because the division previously was ruled by friend and training partner Anderson Silva. However, with Silva recently surrendering his belt to Chris Weidman, the former titleholder may now be more eager.

Prior to the Davis fight (which every major media outlet scored for the Machida), he was on a 3-1 run and inching closer to a title shot.

Belfort, meanwhile, recently turned down a planned bout with Tim Kennedy because of his title demands. Additionally, his attempt to call out Chael Sonnen for a non-middleweight bout didn’t really go anywhere (largely because Sonnen is scheduled to fight Mauricio Rua at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 26 event). However, the recent middleweight and light-heavyweight title challenger has won two straight and four of his past five. Most recently, he blasted final Strikeforce champ Luke Rockhold with a spinning heel kick and follow-up punches at UFC on FX 8 in May.

For more on the UFC 167, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Lyoto Machida)