Vitor Belfort
 |
Name | Vitor Belfort |
| Nickname | The Phenom | |
| Association | Xtreme Couture | |
| Weight Class | Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.) / Middleweight (185lbs) | |
| Height | 6' 0" (183 cm) | |
| Reach | 74 in. (188 cm) | |
| Style | Boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | |
| Birth Date | April 1, 1977 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Country | Brazil | |
| Belforts Pictures | Official Site |
Vitor Vieira Belfort 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 last Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion, as the promotion has ceased operations. Belfort has most recently dropped down a weight class to compete as a Middleweight, where he has found success.
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 21 - 9 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 14 (T)KOs 3 Submissions 4 Decisions |
| Losses | 3 (T)KOs 1 Submissions 5 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Anthony Johnson | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes | 1/14/2012 | 1 | 4:49 | Johnson missed weight by 11 pounds so bout was fought at Catchweight (197 lbs.) |
| Win | Yoshihiro Akiyama | KO (Punches) | UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz 2 | 8/6/2011 | 1 | 1:52 | Won Knockout of the Night |
| Loss | Anderson Silva | KO (Front Kick and Punches) | UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort | 2/05/2011 | 1 | 3:25 | For UFC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Rich Franklin | TKO (Punches) | UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort | 9/19/2009 | 1 | 3:02 | Catchweight bout (195 lbs.); Won Knockout of the Night |
| Win | Matt Lindland | KO (Punches) | Affliction: Day of Reckoning | 1/24/2009 | 1 | 0:37 | |
| Win | Terry Martin | KO (Punches) | Affliction: Banned | 7/19/2008 | 2 | 3:12 | Middleweight debut |
| Win | James Zikic | Decision (Unanimous) | CR 23: Unbelievable | 9/22/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Won Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | Ivan Serati | TKO (Punches) | CR 21: Judgement Day | 4/21/2007 | 1 | 3:47 | |
| Loss | Dan Henderson | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE 32: The Real Deal | 10/21/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Kazuo Takahashi | KO (Punch) | PRIDE: Critical Countdown Absolute | 7/01/2006 | 1 | 0:36 | |
| Loss | Alistair Overeem | Decision (Unanimous) | Strikeforce: Revenge | 6/09/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Antony Rea | KO (Punches) | CR 14: Punishment | 12/03/2005 | 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: Super Saturday | 2/05/2005 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Randy Couture | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | UFC 49: Unfinished Business | 8/21/2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Lost UFC Light Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | Randy Couture | TKO (Cut) | UFC 46: Supernatural | 1/31/2004 | 1 | 0:49 | Won UFC Light Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | Marvin Eastman | TKO (Knees and Punches) | UFC 43: Meltdown | 6/06/2003 | 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 | 6/04/2000 | 2 | 10:00 | |
| Loss | Kazushi Sakuraba | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE 5: PRIDE 5 | 4/29/1999 | 2 | 10:00 | |
| Win | Wanderlei Silva | TKO (Punches) | UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil | 10/16/1998 | 1 | 0:44 | |
| Win | Joe Charles | Submission (Armbar) | UFC Japan: Ultimate 1 | 12/21/1997 | 1 | 4:03 | |
| Loss | Randy Couture | TKO (Punches) | UFC 15: Collision Course | 10/17/1997 | 1 | 8:16 | |
| Win | David Abbott | TKO (Punches) | UFC 13: The Ultimate Force | 5/30/1997 | 1 | 0:52 | UFC 13 Superfight |
| Win | Scott Ferrozzo | TKO (Punches) | UFC 12: Judgement Day | 2/07/1997 | 1 | 0:43 | Won UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament |
| Win | Tra Telligman | TKO (Cut) | UFC 12: Judgement Day | 2/07/1997 | 1 | 1:17 | |
| Win | Jon Hess | KO (Punches) | SB 2: SuperBrawl 2 | 10/11/1996 | 1 | 0:12 | |
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, and is now fighting in the middleweight division.
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, who the young Brazilian defeated in 12 seconds by knockout (KO).
First UFC Career
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. 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. 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 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, Knocking the Brazilian out in just 44 seconds.
PRIDE Career
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 laid 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 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, all his wins in Pride were by decision.
At Pride 9: New Blood, after dominating the majority of the match, Belfort, in the last minute of the first round vs. Gilbert Yvel, repeatedly kissed his exhausted opponent and challenged Yvel to stand on his feet.
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. 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 split decision.
Pro Boxing
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. Although he has fought in boxing, his main interest is to fight in MMA.
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, 4-hydroxytestosterone. 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. 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 spent a brief time training for his Affliction fight against Terry Martin with Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil. However he completed his preparation for the fight at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. 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 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 has been announced that Vitor will fight Matt Lindland at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Lindland was originally slated to fight Renato "Babalu" Sobral at a catchweight, but promoters of Affliction preferred the Belfort Vs. Lindland fight at Middleweight. The fight ended in a KO within forty-five seconds as Belfort delivered a strong left to Lindland's jaw and followed up with four vicious shots as he hit the ground.
After the fight against Lindland, Belfort showed quite a bit of interest in fighting #1 ranked Heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, but it was then announced that Vitor would face off against fellow Brazilian Jorge Santiago at Affliction: Trilogy on August 1, 2009. He was first expected to fight Gegard Mousasi, but a disagreement on the weight class the fight would take place at ended the talk. Unfortunately, the event was cancelled when Josh Barnett, who was expected to fight WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko, tested positive for anabolic steroids, and according to Tom Atencio, they just "didn't have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards.” Belfort tried to replace Barnett, but it did not materialize.
Second Return to UFC
On June 20, 2009 Dana White mentioned during The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale the possibility of bringing back Belfort to challenge Anderson Silva for his UFC middleweight championship.
After the fall of Affliction, it was announced that a rumored re-match between Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin would not take place at UFC 103, as Belfort had signed with the UFC and was to make his re-debut with the promotion against Rich Franklin. The fight will take place at a catchweight of 195 lbs. at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort. At the weigh-ins Belfort first tipped the scales at 197.5, a pound and a half over the one-pound overage allowed for non-title fights. Belfort trimmed a pound after taking his fight shorts off, and was still a quarter pound over when he stripped bare. He finally made weight on the fourth try. The weight cut did not seem to affect Belfort, as he pummeled Franklin, winning via TKO (Punches) at 3:02 of the first round. The TKO earned Belfort the Knockout of the Night Honors. Even though the bout took place at a catchweight of 195 lbs., Dana White, in a post-fight interview, stated that he would like to see Belfort fight Anderson Silva before the two other men who people consider to be the #1 contenders (Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt).
The title fight between Belfort and Silva was scheduled for UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, on April 10, 2010, but Belfort was forced to drop out of his highly anticipated middleweight title fight due to a shoulder injury he received during training. The unfortunate news was confirmed by UFC President Dana White at the same time the news broke, on February 11, 2010. He was replaced by Demian Maia, who went on to lose by Decision (Unanimous) to Silva.
Belfort was next scheduled to face Yushin Okami at UFC 122, where the two would square off for #1 contender for the Middleweight belt. Once again he was injured, and forced out of the fight. This time he was replaced by Nate Marquardt.
Personal Life
Belfort is married to Joana Prado and together they have two children, a son named Davi, who was born February 6, 2005 and a daughter named Victoria, who was born October 31, 2007. The couple is currently expecting their third child. Belfort also had a small part in a reality show on Brazilian television and appeared next to his wife when she was photographed for the Brazilian edition of Playboy.
On January 9, 2004, Vitor's sister, Priscila Belfort was kidnapped and the relatives received no information about her. In August 2007 a woman (identified as Elaine Paiva) confessed that she participated in her killing and that she was kidnapped to pay off a four thousand dollar debt Paiva had with drug dealers. Paiva was arrested along with three others alleged to be involved in the kidnapping that took place in January 2004.
Vitor Belfort speaks Portuguese, English, French, and Spanish.
Ranks and Titles
- UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Champion
- Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
- Last Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion
- Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlson Gracie
