Vítor Vieira BelfortMixed martial arts show results. State of Nevada. 5 February 2011 (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian-American professional boxer and retired mixed martial artist who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, and Middleweight divisions. He is the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Champion, as well as a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight Champion. Known for his explosive knockout power, Belfort is tied for ninth for the most finishes in UFC history with 14. Belfort also competed for MMA promotions Pride FC, Strikeforce, and Affliction.
Background Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Belfort began training in boxing at the age of 12 under Claudio Coelho. Belfort later studied Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Carlson Gracie, who gave him his black belt. Gracie scouted Belfort at the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championships, where he won the Absolute and Heavyweight titles for blue belts under age 18. Belfort, 17 at the time, was invited to compete at Gracie's gym, where he trained with the likes of Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Loborio, Ricardo De La Riva, Mario Sperry, and Wallid Ismail.
Mixed martial arts career 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, whom the young Brazilian defeated in 12 seconds by knockout, despite Hess having a seven-inch height advantage and a more than 100-pound weight advantage over Belfort.
Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 score a victory inside the octagon. 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.
Heavyweight bouts 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.
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, whom he defeated quickly via armbar without throwing a single punch.
Light heavyweight debut 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 cage with a flurry of punches, knocking Silva out by TKO in just 44 seconds.
PRIDE Fighting Championships / Heavyweight sophomore Vítor then moved on to fight in Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships. His first opponent was Kazushi Sakuraba in 1999. Vítor controlled the first minutes of the fight before Sakuraba scored a takedown. He spent the remainder of the fight 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.
Light heavyweight sophomore He fought in PRIDE against Alistair Overeem, Gilbert Yvel, Daijiro Matsui, Bobby Southworth, 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 fight with Southworth, which he won via rear-naked choke in the first round. However, in the opening round of the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix he faced Alistair Overeem, losing via first-round guillotine choke.
Return to the UFC 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).
Winning and losing the title/Belfort vs. Couture II & III His next fight was on 31 January 2004, a rematch with Randy Couture for the UFC Light heavyweight Championship. Despite agonizing over his sister Priscila Belfort, who disappeared on 9 January, Vitor won the fight in 49 seconds after a seam from his glove cut Couture's eye, leaving Couture with a corneal abrasion that prompted a referee stoppage. A third match between the two took place on 21 August 2004. Couture won via doctor stoppage after the third round, recapturing the title.
Belfort vs. Ortiz His next fight in the UFC was against Tito Ortiz on 5 February 2005. The fight was Ortiz's last fight on his contract. Belfort had early success in the first round, landing his best punches when the fight was on the feet, although he was taken down late in the round and took some of Ortiz's best elbows. Belfort again had a strong start in the second but was taken down a second time and took damage from elbows late in the round. Both fighters were exhausted by round 3; Belfort was too tired to land a single punch and was taken down and dominated, with Ortiz again landing damaging elbows. After a hard-fought battle, Belfort lost a close split decision: some people, including then UFC Light heavyweight champion, Chuck Liddell believed he deserved to win the first as well as the second round, due to his octagon control and breaking Ortiz's nose with punches, early in round one.
Strikeforce Vitor then fought in Strikeforce for a rematch with Alistair Overeem, in which Belfort was defeated via unanimous decision.
Return to Pride and steroid controversy At Pride 32: The Real Deal on 21 October 2006, Belfort lost a unanimous decision to Pride Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson. After the fight, Belfort tested positive for an illegal substance, 4-hydroxytestosterone. In his defense, Belfort argued that he had 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. While conceding that Belfort may have not known about the testosterone, the NSAC explained that even if Belfort was given injections by a medical practitioner who did not inform him that they contained anabolic steroids, it would still be a violation of the banned substances policy. On 21 December 2006, he was suspended for nine months from the date of the hearing and fined $10,000.
Cage Rage Vítor Belfort defeated Ivan Serati by TKO at Cage Rage 21 in England on 21 April 2007. He defeated James Zikic on 22 September 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.
Affliction Vítor 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. Randy Couture and Shawn Tompkins helped train him for the fight, in which he achieved 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 Vítor to fight on that card.
With rumours of a possible bout with reigning Dream Middleweight Grand Prix winner Gegard Mousasi circulating, it was announced that Vítor 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 at 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.
Third UFC run During a press 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 lbs, headlining UFC 103, which he won by knockout three minutes and two seconds into the first round. This fight earned him a $65,000 Knockout of the Night award.
Middleweight bouts, & Title shot Belfort was expected to face Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship on 2 January 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. Belfort was again slated to fight Silva on 6 February 2010, at UFC 109 and 10 April 2010, at UFC 112, respectively, but both fights were canceled because of a surgery for Silva and an injury suffered by Belfort.Morgan, John. (28 November 2009) Anderson Silva's recovery slow, not fighting Vitor Belfort at UFC 109 . MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved on 2 March 2011. Belfort was scheduled to fight Yushin Okami at UFC 122. However, Dana White tweeted Belfort would instead challenge Silva at UFC 126 for the belt.Vitor Belfort Confirms Likely UFC 127 Title Fight with Anderson Silva. Violent Monkey (30 September 2010). Retrieved on 2 March 2011. Belfort lost by knockout after getting hit with a front kick to the face and taking two punches after falling to the mat.
Belfort made his return at UFC 133 against Yoshihiro Akiyama. Belfort initially thought the UFC would try to put him on the card at UFC 134 in Brazil, but the fight with Akiyama came together to help bolster the card in Philadelphia. Belfort contracted Hepatitis A in April, shortly after accepting the fight, but his representative, Pedro Lima, said that it would not jeopardize the bout with Akiyama. Belfort was successful in his return, winning the fight by knockout one minute and fifty-two seconds into the first round. This fight earned him another Knockout of the Night award.
Belfort was briefly linked to a matchup with Cung Le, expected to take place on 19 November 2011, at UFC 139. However, Belfort was removed from the bout due to injury and replaced by Wanderlei Silva.
Missed weight bout Belfort faced Anthony Johnson on 14 January 2012, at UFC 142. During the UFC 142 weigh ins, Johnson came in 11 pounds over the 186 lb weight allowance and was fined 20 percent of his earnings. Belfort requested that Johnson not weigh more than 205 lbs the day of the fight. The UFC had Johnson weigh in a second time. Johnson officially weighed in at 204 lbs on fight day, and the fight with Belfort proceeded as scheduled, with Belfort winning via rear naked choke in the first round, his first submission win in over a decade.
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil Belfort was selected to coach The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil against Wanderlei Silva. The rematch between Belfort and Silva was expected to take place on 23 June 2012, at UFC 147. However, on 27 May 2012, Belfort was forced to pull out of the bout, citing a broken hand in training, and replaced by Rich Franklin.