Vitor Belfort welcomed back to the UFC

MMA Honor is pleased to see Vitor Belfort back in the UFC. Belfort, known as the Phenom, first appeared at UFC 12 (1997) and was formerly the UFC’s light heavyweight champion. Belfort won several contests but lost a terrific battle against American Greco-Roman wrestler Randy Couture in UFC 15.

Later he crushed Wanderlei Silva in 44 seconds of the 1st round of UFC Brazil, but then moved to Japan’s PRIDE organization in 1999. He lost his opening contest to Kazushi Sakuraba, but go on to defeat Gilbert Yvel, Daijiro Matsui, Bobby Southworth, Yoshiki Takahashi, and Heath Herring.

Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei SilvaBelfort returned to the UFC in 2004 losing against Chuck Liddell. Belfort came back with vengence and crushed Tito Ortiz early on February 5, 2005, breaking Tito’s nose with punches in the first round and nearly stopped Ortiz in the second, but still lost via split decision.

At Pride 32: The Real Deal on October 21, 2006, Belfort lost a unanimous decision to Pride Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson. Unfortunately, Belfort tested positive for a steroid called 4-hydroxytestosterone and was suspended for nine months after the hearing in December and fined $10,000.

Belfort then joined the Cage Rage promotion and on April 21, 2007 Ivan Serati by TKO. Later, at Cage Rage 23, he won the Cage Rage light heavyweight title.

In 2008, Belfort trained at Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture training center in preparation for a fight with Terry Martin in the new Affliction promotion. Randy Couture personally helped Belfort train for the fight, and Belfort beat Martin in the round 2 with flying knee and uppercut.

Belfort KO’s Lindland

In his next fight, Belfort destroyed Matt Lindland within seconds of the first round with devastating punches. Belfort looked as fast and strong as ever and most likely caught the attention of the UFC again. Belfort was a candidate to fight Fedor Emelianenko on August 1, 2009, substituting for a suspended Josh Barnett, however the event was canceled on July 24th.

Dana White announced Belfort would rejoin the UFC at a July 31st press conference and his first fight would be against Rich Franklin at catchweight of 195 lbs headlining UFC 103.

Belfort looked fast and powerful in his most recent fights and we expect him to preform well in the UFC where he belongs.

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August 16, 2009 · Filed under UFC