Vitor Vieira Belfort is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions.
74 Facts About Vitor Belfort
2.
Vitor Belfort is the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Champion, as well as the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight Champion.
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Vitor Belfort competed for MMA promotions Pride FC, Strikeforce, Affliction, and Cage Rage.
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Vitor Belfort later studied Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Carlson Gracie, who gave him his black belt.
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At the age of 19, Vitor Belfort came to the United States to compete.
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Vitor Belfort beat two fighters in his debut event in the UFC, winning the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament.
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At age 19, Vitor Belfort became the youngest fighter to score a victory inside the octagon.
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In 1997 Vitor Belfort fought against American Greco-Roman wrestler Randy Couture, the first of three fights they would have.
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Vitor Belfort was upset by TKO 8:16 into the match, his boxing skills negated by Couture's clinch fighting.
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Vitor Belfort then moved on to fight in Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships.
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Vitor Belfort controlled the first minutes of the fight before Sakuraba scored a takedown.
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Vitor Belfort spent the remainder of the fight on his back being stomped and kicked by Sakuraba.
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Vitor Belfort fought in PRIDE against Alistair Overeem, Gilbert Yvel, Daijiro Matsui, Bobby Southworth, and Heath Herring.
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Vitor Belfort eventually returned and fought Chuck Liddell, then Marvin Eastman.
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Vitor Belfort's next fight was on 31 January 2004, a rematch with Randy Couture for the UFC Light heavyweight Championship.
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Vitor Belfort's next fight in the UFC was against Tito Ortiz on 5 February 2005.
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Vitor 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.
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Vitor 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.
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Vitor then fought in Strikeforce for a rematch with Alistair Overeem, in which Belfort was defeated via unanimous decision.
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At Pride 32: The Real Deal on 21 October 2006, Vitor Belfort lost a unanimous decision to Pride Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson.
21.
Vitor Belfort defeated Ivan Serati by TKO at Cage Rage 21 in England on 21 April 2007.
22.
Vitor Belfort defeated James Zikic on 22 September 2007, at Cage Rage 23 to claim the Cage Rage light heavyweight title in a unanimous decision.
23.
Vitor Belfort entered the fight with a broken hand and during the fight threw minimal punches and utilized takedowns and ground and pound techniques.
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Vitor Belfort spent a brief time training for his Affliction fight against Terry Martin with Chute Boxe in Brazil.
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Vitor Belfort's next fight was slated to be against Matt Lindland at the second Affliction event he was forced to pull out due to a hand injury sustained during the Terry Martin fight.
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The second Affliction event was postponed anyway and rescheduled for January 2009, enabling Vitor Belfort to fight on that card.
27.
Vitor Belfort was expected to face Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship on 2 January 2010, at UFC 108.
28.
Vitor 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 Vitor Belfort.
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Vitor Belfort was scheduled to fight Yushin Okami at UFC 122.
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Vitor Belfort lost by knockout after getting hit with a front kick to the face and taking two punches after falling to the mat.
31.
Vitor Belfort made his return at UFC 133 against Yoshihiro Akiyama.
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Vitor 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.
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Vitor Belfort was successful in his return, winning the fight by knockout one minute and fifty-two seconds into the first round.
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Vitor Belfort was briefly linked to a matchup with Cung Le, expected to take place on 19 November 2011, at UFC 139.
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However, Vitor Belfort was removed from the bout due to injury and replaced by Wanderlei Silva.
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Vitor Belfort faced Anthony Johnson on 14 January 2012, at UFC 142.
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Vitor Belfort was selected to coach The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil against Wanderlei Silva.
38.
However, on 27 May 2012, Vitor Belfort was forced to pull out of the bout, citing a broken hand in training, and replaced by Rich Franklin.
39.
Vitor Belfort was expected to face Alan Belcher on 13 October 2012, at UFC 153.
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Vitor Belfort returned to face Michael Bisping on 19 January 2013, at UFC on FX: Vitor Belfort vs Bisping, winning via TKO due to a head kick and punches at 1:27 of the second round.
41.
Vitor Belfort faced the final Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and promotional newcomer Luke Rockhold on 18 May 2013, at UFC on FX: Vitor Belfort vs Rockhold.
42.
Vitor Belfort faced Dan Henderson at light heavyweight in a rematch on 9 November 2013, at UFC Fight Night 32.
43.
Vitor Belfort defeated Henderson via first-round knockout to become the first person to defeat Henderson via strikes.
44.
Vitor Belfort was expected to face UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman at UFC 173.
45.
However, Vitor Belfort chose to withdraw from the fight following the Nevada State Athletic Commission's ban on exemptions for testosterone replacement therapy and was replaced by Lyoto Machida.
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Vitor Belfort was expected to face Chael Sonnen on 5 July 2014, at UFC 175 as a replacement for Wanderlei Silva.
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Vitor Belfort was expected to face Weidman on 6 December 2014, at UFC 181.
48.
Vitor Belfort found initial success with a flurry of punches early in the opening of the first round, but Weidman survived them, secured a takedown, achieved the mount position and defeated Vitor Belfort via TKO due to punches.
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Vitor Belfort faced Dan Henderson in a rubber match at UFC Fight Night 77 on 7 November 2015.
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Vitor Belfort again defeated Henderson via a combination of head kick and punches.
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Vitor Belfort next faced Ronaldo Souza on 14 May 2016, at UFC 198 He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
52.
Vitor Belfort lost the fight via TKO in the second round.
53.
Vitor Belfort faced Kelvin Gastelum on 11 March 2017, at UFC Fight Night 106.
54.
Vitor Belfort faced Nate Marquardt on 3 June 2017, at UFC 212.
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Vitor Belfort won the fight by unanimous decision, his first decision win in nearly a decade.
56.
Vitor Belfort was expected to face Uriah Hall on 14 January 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs Choi.
57.
Vitor Belfort faced Lyoto Machida on 12 May 2018, at UFC 224.
58.
Vitor Belfort lost the fight after being knocked out by a front kick to the face.
59.
On Monday 17 December 2018, Vitor Belfort announced his intentions to return from retirement on the Helwani Show.
60.
On March 1,2019, it was reported that Vitor Belfort signed by ONE Championship.
61.
Vitor Belfort has since parted ways with ONE Championship without fighting for the promotion.
62.
In 2001 Vitor Belfort participated in the ADCC championships, in their Absolute division.
63.
On 11 April 2006, Vitor Belfort made his professional boxing debut against Josemario Neves.
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Vitor Belfort won by TKO within the first minute after knocking his opponent down three times.
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Vitor 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.
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In 2010, in response to former IBA Heavyweight Champion James Toney's challenge to fight an MMA fighter in the boxing ring, Vitor Belfort expressed interest in representing the sport of MMA against Toney in a 6-round professional match.
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On June 17,2021, it was reported that Vitor Belfort had agreed to an exhibition boxing match with former six-division boxing world champion Oscar De La Hoya in September 2021, which will be promoted by Triller.
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Vitor Belfort withdrew from the fight after testing positive for COVID-19.
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Vitor Belfort was booked to compete against fellow MMA veteran Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza in a professional boxing match at Gamebred Boxing 4 on April 1,2023.
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Vitor Belfort was born on 1 April 1977, in Rio de Janeiro to a French-Brazilian father and a Greek-Brazilian mother.
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Vitor Belfort is married to Joana Prado, with whom he has three children.
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Vitor Belfort still maintains a missing page on the Brazilian version of his website.
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Vitor Belfort believes the most important key to his success and longevity in the sport is that he is happy with what he does.
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Vitor Belfort appears in the video for the song "I'm Down" by The Almost.