LAS VEGAS -- UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman doesn't talk much trash, but he still knows when he's dropped a headline.

And Weidman, 30, couldn't help but smile as he spoke to reporters about Vitor Belfort on Monday. He fights Belfort at UFC 184 on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles and in the build-up to it, he's created a few headlines.

"He's been caught cheating," Weidman said. "And I'm not going to let a cheating juice-head take my belt."

After making the statement, Weidman (12-0) asked, "Who's going to have that headline first?"

This is a different Weidman than UFC fans are used to seeing. He was confident but respectful toward Anderson Silva in back-to-back fights in 2013. He was friendly with Lyoto Machida ahead of a matchup in July, and on Monday referred to Machida as "the coolest dude."

Belfort (24-10) has brought out a new Weidman, though. The two were supposed to fight in May, but Belfort, 37, was forced to withdraw when testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) was banned in Nevada in February.

The fight was rescheduled for December, but Weidman was forced to pull out with a broken left hand -- which prompted a few angry sound bites from Belfort.

Come February, Weidman has stated he's on a mission to embarrass Belfort at UFC 184 and admitted on Monday the bout has become somewhat personal to him.

"I'm going out to dominate him and if I don't completely smoke him, it's a loss in my eyes," Weidman said. "I don't know him as a person but with the TRT and failed drug tests, I want to completely destroy him. He actually came out today and said he hasn't talked trash, but he was the one who, when I got injured, said I wanted to keep the belt for Christmas -- basically calling me a liar."

In June, Belfort released test results that showed his testosterone levels were above normal during a test taken in February. He also tested positive for a banned substance in Nevada in 2006.

Weidman says he doesn't dismiss Belfort's entire career, which dates back to 1996, but heavily questions some of his performances (especially three knockout wins last year).

"I don't want to take away everything he's ever accomplished, but you look at him in some of his fights and what human being looks like that naturally?" Weidman said. "You go into your own logic and figure it out on your own. I'm not going to be the guy who victimizes him and says 100 percent he was juicing because I didn't test him or watch him inject it in his ass.

"However, I think in his last couple fights, when he got caught and the guys he was beating up in Brazil -- why was he fighting in Brazil? He was bigger than ever. There was some weird stuff going on with those three knockouts."

Belfort applied for a fighter's license in the state of California late last week. The Nevada State Athletic Commission is currently awaiting test results from a random blood and urine test it ordered on Belfort two weeks ago.

Weidman said he'd be "disgusted" if the fight fell through a third time due to a failed test.

"I'm worried," Weidman said. "That's the guy I want to fight. We were supposed to fight for almost a year now. I want to fight him and I would be disgusted if something happens."