#5
Vitor Belfort
Record: 19-9-0
Summary: Boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Explosive striking
Fighter Info
Nickname:The Phenom
From:Rio De Janeiro Brazil
Fights Out Of:Las Vegas, NV USA
Age:34
Height:6' 0" ( 182 cm )
Weight:185 lb ( 84 kg )
At the age of 19, Belfort came to the United States to compete. In his first sanctioned mixed martial arts match, an event called Superbrawl in Hawaii, his opponent was Jon Hess, who the young Brazilian defeated in 12 seconds by knockout (KO).
Soon after, he moved on to compete in the UFC, where he was given the nickname The Phenom. He beat two fighters in his debut event in the UFC, winning the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament. At age 19, Belfort became the youngest fighter to ever score a victory inside the octagon.[3] Belfort's next match saw him score a technical knockout (TKO) against the UFC 6 runner-up Tank Abbott in a non-tournament fight, knocking Abbott down and finishing him with a ground and pound attack.
In 1997 Belfort fought against American Greco-Roman wrestler Randy Couture, the first of three fights they would have. Belfort was upset by TKO 8:16 into the match, his boxing skills negated by Couture's clinch fighting. Belfort won his rematch with Couture 7 years later due to a cut sustained by Couture 49 seconds into the bout. He lost their third and final match via doctor stoppage.
After this defeat, he would fight twice more in the UFC. The first of these fights was against a training partner of his, Joe Charles, who he defeated quickly via armbar without throwing a single punch. A year later, Belfort faced rising Brazilian star and future Pride Middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva. Catching Silva early with a left cross, Belfort chased him across the ring with a flurry of punches, TKOing Silva in just 44 seconds.
Vitor then moved on to fight in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships. His first opponent was Kazushi Sakuraba in 1999. Vitor controlled the first minutes of the fight before breaking his hand,[4] the remainder of the fight was spent on his back being stomped and kicked by Sakuraba. Following the fight he stopped training with Carlson Gracie and started to train with Brazilian Top Team.
He fought five more times in Pride against Gilbert Yvel, Daijiro Matsui, Bobby Southworth, Yoshiki Takahashi, and Heath Herring. For these matches Belfort used his stand-up striking skills less and instead controlled the fights and won by ground-and-pound tactics, with the exception of his fights with Southworth and Takahashi, which he won via rear naked choke and knockout in the first round respectively.
In 2001 Belfort participated in the ADCC championships, in their Absolute division. Pior to that competition he had already faced Hiroki Fukuda, winning by submission, and Mark Robinson, losing by points. In the championship Belfort faced Genki Sudo, winning by points, Ricco Rodriguez, winning by points, Ricardo Arona in the semi-final, losing by points and finally in the 3rd place fight defeating Ricardo Almeida by points, winning the bronze medal.
Returning to the UFC, Belfort was scheduled to fight Tito Ortiz in the main event of UFC's first Las Vegas show at UFC 33. However, he sustained an injury prior to the event, and the bout was cancelled. Belfort eventually returned and fought Chuck Liddell (losing via decision), then Marvin Eastman (winning via TKO and opening a severe cut on Eastman's eyebrow with a knee strike).
His next fight was on February 2, 2004, a rematch with Randy Couture for the UFC light heavyweight championship. Despite agonizing over his sister Priscila Belfort, who disappeared on January 9, Vitor won the fight in 49 seconds after a seam from his glove cut Couture's eye leaving Couture with a corneal abrasion, prompting a referee stoppage. A third match between the two took place on August 21, 2004. Couture won via doctor stoppage after the third round, recapturing the UFC light heavyweight title.
His next fight in the UFC was against Tito Ortiz on February 5, 2005. Belfort broke Tito's nose with punches in the first round and nearly stopped Ortiz in the second. The battle raged on as Vitor tried to keep it standing as Ortiz looked to continue to take the fight to the ground. Unable to finish the fight, Belfort lost by a controversial split decision which many believes belfort won the first and second round.
On April 11, 2006 Vitor fought in his pro boxing debut against Josemario Neves. Belfort won by TKO within the first minute after knocking his opponent down three times. This has been his sole venture into the sport of professional boxing so far.
Belfort has expressed a desire to return to professional boxing, stating in 2008 that he was interested in talking with Golden Boy Promotions regarding a deal. More recently, in response to current IBA heavyweight champion James Toney's challenge to fight an MMA fighter in the boxing ring, Belfort has stated that he wants to represent the sport of MMA against Toney in a 6 round professional match.
At Pride 32: The Real Deal on October 21, 2006, Belfort lost a unanimous decision to Pride Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson. After the fight, Belfort tested positive for an illegal substance, 4-hydroxytestosterone.[6] In his defense, Belfort argued that he purchased an over the counter supplement which contained 4-Hydroxytestosterone. Belfort also explained that he may have received 4-Hydroxytestosterone as the result of rehabilitative injections given to him by Brazilian endocrinologist Dr. Rodrigo M. Greco after his surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee in the summer of 2006. The Nevada State Athletic Commission eventually received a statement from Dr. Greco stating that he did give Belfort post surgical injections containing testosterone.[7] While conceding that Belfort may have not known about the testosterone, the NSAC explained that even if Belfort was given injections by a medical practictioner who did not inform him that they contained anabolic steroids, it would still be a violation of the banned substances policy. On December 21, 2006 he was suspended for nine months from the date of the hearing and fined $10,000.Vitor Belfort defeated Ivan Serati by TKO at Cage Rage 21 in England on April 21, 2007. He defeated James Zikic on September 22, 2007 at Cage Rage 23 to claim the Cage Rage light heavyweight title in a unanimous decision. He entered the fight with a broken hand and during the fight threw minimal punches and utilized takedowns and ground and pound techniques. He apologized to the crowd for not putting on a good show but promised a better fight next time.
Vitor spent a brief time training for his Affliction fight against Terry Martin with Chute Boxe in Brazil. However, he completed his preparation for the fight at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Shawn Tompkins and Randy Couture helped train him for the fight in which he got a second round KO by landing a flying knee and following up with an uppercut straight-left combination.
After the fight Couture said Belfort was thinking about moving to Las Vegas and training at Xtreme Couture full time.
Belfort's next fight was slated to be against Matt Lindland at the second Affliction event, however, he was forced to pull out due to a hand-injury sustained during the Terry Martin fight. The second Affliction event was postponed anyway and rescheduled for January 2009, enabling Vitor to fight on that card.
After rumours of a possible bout with reigning Dream Middleweight Grand Prix winner Gegard Mousasi were circulating, it was announced that Vitor would finally fight Lindland at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Lindland was originally slated to fight Renato Sobral at a catchweight, but promoters of Affliction preferred the Belfort vs. Lindland fight at Middleweight. The fight ended in a KO within thirty-seven seconds as Belfort delivered a strong left to Lindland's jaw and followed up with four unanswered power shots as he hit the ground.
During a conference, Dana White announced that the UFC had re-signed Belfort to a contract. His first match was against Rich Franklin at a catchweight of 195 lb, headlining UFC 103, which he won by knockout three minutes and two seconds into the first round.
Belfort was expected to face Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108. However, Silva's manager, Ed Soares, announced that Silva would not be fully recovered from his injury by that time, so the fight was postponed.[8] Belfort was again stated to fight Silva on February 6, 2010 at UFC 109 and April 10, 2010 at UFC 112, respectively, but both fights were canceled because of a surgery for Silva and an injury suffered by Belfort.[9] Belfort was scheduled to fight Yushin Okami at UFC 122. However, UFC President Dana White tweeted Belfort would instead challenge Silva at UFC 126 for the belt.[10]
At the UFC 126 open workouts Belfort told Bleacher Report that Anderson Silva "wears a mask" in an attempt to intimidate Belfort before the bout. [11]
Belfort lost via KO with 1:35 left in the first round after being knocked down by a left front kick to the face and taking two punches after falling to the mat. After having the belt put on him, Silva took it off, and knelt at Belforts' feet, showing his respect, same as he had done after fighting Chael Sonnen. [12][13] This marked the first time that Belfort had ever been knocked out cold, as his other two stoppage losses (both by Randy Couture) were by way of TKO.
Belfort recently voiced his desire to challenge fellow middleweight contender Michael Bisping.[14]
Vitor is now scheduled to return at UFC 133 against Yoshihiro Akiyama.[15] Belfort initially thought the UFC would try to put him on the fight card at UFC 134 in Brazil, but the fight with Akiyama came together to help bolster the card in Philadelphia.[16] Belfort contracted Hepatitis A in April, shortly after accepting the fight, but his representative, Pedro Lima, said that it should not jeopardize the bout with Akiyama.[17] Belfort is expected to make a complete recovery with a couple weeks of rest.
