Vitor Belfort
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Vitor Vieira Belfort (born April 1, 1977 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has fought both in Japan and the United States. The majority of his bouts have taken place in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and he is the former UFC light heavyweight champion . He is the current Cage Rage light heavyweight champion.
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Biography
Belfort studied in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson.
He currently trains out of Xtreme Couture, fighting as a middleweight.
MMA career
At the age of 19, Vitor came to the U.S. 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 KO.
UFC
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. Belfort's next match saw him TKO the UFC 6 runner-up David "Tank" Abbott in a non-tournament fight, knocking Tank down and finishing him with ground and pound.
In 1997 Belfort fought against American Greco-Roman wrestler Randy Couture. Belfort was upset by KO 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 fight 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 champion Wanderlei Silva. Catching Silva early with a left cross, Belfort chased him across the ring with a flurry of punches, TKOing the Brazilian in 44 seconds.
PRIDE
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 being stomped and kicked by Sakuraba in his legs whilst he lay on his back for the remainder of the fight. Following the fight he stopped training with Carlson Gracie and started to train with Brazilian Top Team.
He fought four more times in PRIDE against Gilbert Yvel, Daijiro Matsui, Bobby Southworth and Heath Herring. For these matches Belfort utilized 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 Bobby Southworth (which he won via rear naked choke in the first round), all his wins in PRIDE were by decision.
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 acquired an injury prior to the event that would require surgery. 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 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. Unable to finish the fight, Belfort lost by split decision.
Steroid Controversy
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, Hydroxytestosterone. In his defense, Belfort argued that he purchased an over the counter supplement which contained Hydroxytestosterone. Belfort also explained that he may have received 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 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.
Cage Rage
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 focused on 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.
Affliction
Vitor had a brief time training for his Affliction fight against Terry Martin with Chute Boxe in Brazil. However, found himself training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas for preparation. Shawn Tomkins 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 Randy Couture said Vitor was thinking about moving to Las Vegas and training at Xtreme Couture full time.
Vitor's next fight was slated to be against Matt Lindland, however he was forced to pull out, due to a hand-injury sustained during the Terry Martin fight.
Championships
- UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Champion
- UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
- Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion
MMA record
| 17 Wins - 8 Losses | |||||||
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Rich Franklin | KO | UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort | 9/19/2009 | 1 | 3:02 | |
| Win | Matt Lindland | KO | Affliction: Day of Reckoning | 1/24/2009 | 1 | 0:37 | |
| Win | Terry Martin | KO (Punches) | Affliction: Banned | 7/19/2008 | 2 | 3:12 | |
| Win | James Zikic | Decision (Unanimous) | Cage Rage 23 | 9/22/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Ivan Serati | TKO (Punches) | Cage Rage 21 | 4/21/2007 | 1 | 3:47 | |
| Loss | Dan Henderson | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE 32 - The Real Deal | 10/21/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Yoshiki Takahashi | KO (Punch) | PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute | 7/2/2006 | 1 | 0:36 | |
| Loss | Alistair Overeem | Decision (Unanimous) | Strikeforce: Revenge | 6/9/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Antony Rea | KO | Cage Rage 14 Punishment]] | 12/3/2005 | 2 | 1:30 | |
| Loss | Alistair Overeem | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | PRIDE Total Elimination 2005 | 4/23/2005 | 1 | 9:36 | |
| Loss | Tito Ortiz | Decision (Split) | UFC 51 | 2/5/2005 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Randy Couture | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | UFC 49 | 8/21/2004 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Randy Couture | TKO (Cut) | UFC 46 | 1/31/2004 | 1 | 0:49 | |
| Win | Marvin Eastman | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 43 | 6/6/2003 | 1 | 1:07 | |
| Loss | Chuck Liddell | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 37.5: As Real As It Gets | 6/22/2002 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Heath Herring | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE 14 Clash of the Titans | 5/27/2001 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Bobby Southworth | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | PRIDE 13 Collision Course | 3/25/2001 | 1 | 4:09 | |
| Win | Daijiro Matsui | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE 10 Return of the Warriors | 8/27/2000 | 2 | 10:00 | |
| Win | Gilbert Yvel | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE 9 New Blood | 6/4/2000 | 2 | 10:00 | |
| Loss | Kazushi Sakuraba | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE 5 | 4/29/1999 | 2 | 10:00 | |
| Win | Wanderlei Silva | TKO (Strikes) | UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil | 6/10/1998 | 1 | 0:44 | |
| Win | Joe Charles | Submission (Armbar) | UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan 1 | 12/21/1997 | 1 | 8:16 | |
| Loss | Randy Couture | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 15: Collision Course | 10/17/1997 | 1 | 8:16 | |
| Win | Tank Abbott | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 13: The Ultimate Force | 5/30/1997 | 1 | 0:52 | |
| Win | Scott Ferrozzo | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 12: Judgement Day | 2/7/1997 | 1 | 0:43 | |
| Win | Tra Telligman | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 12: Judgement Day | 2/7/1997 | 1 | 1:17 | |
| Win | Jon Hess | KO (Punches) | SuperBrawl 2 | 10/11/1996 | 1 | 0:12 | |
