Vitor Belfort

Belfort was born and reared in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and started boxing training with Claudio Coelho when he was 12 years old. Later, Belfort received his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from Carlson Gracie. At the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championships, where he won the Absolute and Heavyweight championships for blue belts under the age of 18, Gracie discovered Belfort. Gracie’s gym was where Belfort, who was 17 at the time, was asked to participate. There, he trained with people like Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Loborio, Ricardo De La Riva, Mario Sperry, and Wallid Ismail.

Belfort arrived in the United States at the age of 19 to compete. The young Brazilian knocked out Jon Hess in his first official mixed martial arts battle, which took place at Superbrawl in Hawaii, despite Hess’s seven-inch height advantage and weight advantage of more than 100 pounds over Belfort.

He then moved on to participate in the UFC, earning the moniker “The Phenom.” He won the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament after defeating two opponents in his UFC debut. Belfort, at 19 years old, held the record for the youngest combatant to triumph inside the octagon. In his subsequent fight, Belfort defeated Tank Abbott, the UFC 6 runner-up, via technical knockout (TKO). After taking Abbott to the ground, Belfort used to ground and pound to finish Abbott.

The first of three battles between Belfort and American Greco-Roman wrestler Randy Couture occurred in 1997. 8:16 into the bout, Belfort was defeated by TKO, his boxing prowess rendered useless by Couture’s clinch fighting. He would compete in the UFC twice more after this loss. He won the first of these battles fast by armbar without using a single punch against Joe Charles, a training companion of his.

The first of three battles between Belfort and American Greco-Roman wrestler Randy Couture occurred in 1997. 8:16 into the bout, Belfort was defeated by TKO, his boxing prowess rendered useless by Couture’s clinch fighting. He would compete in the UFC twice more after this loss. He won the first of these battles fast by armbar without using a single punch against Joe Charles, a training companion of his.

After that, Vitor went on to compete in the PRIDE Fighting Championships of Japan. In 1999, he faced Kazushi Sakuraba for the first time. Prior to Sakuraba scoring a takedown, Vtor had the upper hand in the opening seconds of the match. He was trampled and kicked by Sakuraba for the remainder of the battle while lying on his back. After the bout, he began working out with the Brazilian Top Team instead of Carlson Gracie.

Alistair Overeem, Gilbert Yvel, Daijiro Matsui, Bobby Southworth, and Heath Herring were among the opponents he faced in the PRIDE fight. With the exception of his bout with Southworth, which he won by rear-naked choke in the first round, Belfort employed less of his stand-up striking abilities in these battles and instead dominated the action and prevailed using ground-and-pound strategies. However, he fought Alistair Overeem in the first round of the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix and was defeated via guillotine choke.

Returning to the UFC, Belfort was slated to face Tito Ortiz in the opening bout at UFC 33, the organization’s inaugural show in Las Vegas. But before the event, he became hurt, and the fight was called off. When Belfort ultimately made a comeback, he faced Chuck Liddell (whom he lost to by decision), then Marvin Eastman (whom he defeated by TKO and cut severely on with a knee).

On January 31, 2004, he faced Randy Couture again for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Even though Vitor was in excruciating pain about his sister Priscila Belfort’s disappearance on January 9, the fight was stopped by the referee in 49 seconds after Couture’s cornea was abraded by a seam from Vitor’s glove. On August 21, 2004, the two engaged in a third game. After the third round, Couture regained the title by way of medical stoppage.

On February 5, 2005, he faced Tito Ortiz in his subsequent UFC match. It was Ortiz’s final match under his contract. Despite being knocked down late in the first round and taking some of Ortiz’s hardest elbows, Belfort had early success, hitting his greatest blows when the fight was still standing. In the second, Belfort had a great start once more but was knocked down again and suffered elbow injuries late in the round.

By round three, both combatants were worn out; Belfort was unable to strike a single punch due to exhaustion and was instead dragged down and controlled by Ortiz, who once more delivered damaging elbows. Belfort lost a close split decision during a spirited contest.

Vitor next competed in a Strikeforce match against Alistair Overeem, which Belfort lost by unanimous decision. Belfort was defeated by Pride Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson in a unanimous decision at Pride 32: The Real Deal on October 21, 2006. Belfort tested positive for the prohibited drug 4-hydroxytestosterone following the fight.

On December 21st, 2006, he received a $10,000 fine and a nine-month suspension starting from the hearing date. On April 21, 2007, Vitor Belfort beat Ivan Serati via technical knockout at Cage Rage 21 in England. On September 22, 2007, at Cage Rage 23, he won the light heavyweight division by unanimous decision against James Zikic. He had a broken hand before he started the battle, and he used takedowns and ground-and-pound methods in addition to throwing a few punches.

Dana White said at a press conference that Belfort has been re-signed by the UFC. His debut fight, the main event of UFC 103, was against Rich Franklin at a catchweight of 195 pounds. Three minutes and two seconds into the first round, he knocked Franklin out. At UFC 122, Belfort was slated to face Yushin Okami. Dana White tweeted that Belfort will instead face Silva for the title at UFC 126. After being struck in the face with a front kick and suffering two punches while on the ground, Belfort was defeated through knockout.

At UFC 133, Belfort made his comeback against Yoshihiro Akiyama. When the fight with Akiyama was announced, Belfort first believed the UFC would try to add him to the card at UFC 134 in Brazil. However, the fight with Akiyama ended up strengthening the card in Philadelphia. Soon after accepting the fight in April, Belfort became infected with hepatitis A, but his agent, Pedro Lima, insisted that this would not affect the contest with Akiyama. Belfort had a strong comeback, taking the bout via knockout at 1 minute, 52 seconds into the opening frame.

At UFC 142 on January 14, 2012, Anthony Johnson and Belfort squared off. Johnson was penalized 20% of his earnings for exceeding the 186 lb weight limit during the UFC 142 weigh-ins. Johnson was to weigh no more than 205 pounds on fight day, per Belfort’s request. Johnson underwent a second weigh-in at the UFC. On fight day, Johnson officially weighed in at 204 pounds, and the bout with Belfort went forward as planned. Belfort won via rear naked choke in the opening round, marking his first submission victory in more than ten years.

At UFC 153 on October 13, 2012, Alan Belcher was supposed to take on Belfort. He did, however, step in for Lyoto Machida in a battle against Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 152 when Machida turned down the offer due to not having enough time to prepare for the fight. Despite almost armbar-submitting Jones in the first round, he outclassed the rest of the way and was finally submitted via keylock at 0:54 of the fourth.

On January 19, 2013, Belfort faced Michael Bisping at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping. At 1:27 in the second round, a head kick and punches resulted in Belfort’s TKO victory. Belfort’s head kick broke Bisping’s right eye. On November 9, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 32, Belfort fought a rematch against Dan Henderson at light heavyweight. Belfort became the first guy to defeat Henderson with strikes when he knocked him out in the opening round.

On November 7, 2015, Belfort and Henderson engaged in a rematch at UFC Fight Night 77. He again used a head kick and punches to beat Henderson. Next up for Belfort was Ronaldo Souza at UFC 198 on May 14, 2016. He was defeated in the opening round by TKO. On October 8, 2016, at UFC 204, Gegard Mousasi and I engaged in a long-debated matchup. Belfort was defeated in the second round via TKO. At UFC Fight Night 106 on March 11, 2017, Belfort squared off against Kelvin Gastelum. He was knocked out in the first round after taking a series of blows. But after Gastelum tested positive for marijuana, the verdict was changed to a no contest.

At UFC 212, Belfort met Nate Marquardt on June 3, 2017. The victory was his first by unanimous decision in almost a decade. At UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi on January 14, 2018, Belfort was scheduled to take against Uriah Hall. On January 13, 2018, it was revealed that the fight had been postponed because Hall had fainted and experienced seizures as a result of weight-cutting techniques.

On May 12, 2018, Lyoto Machida and Belfort squared off at UFC 224. A front kick to the face knocked him out, ending the battle. Belfort declared his retirement from MMA combat after the bout. On the Helwani Show on Monday, December 17, 2018, Vitor Belfort declared his desire to come out of retirement.