Vitor Belfort

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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. 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. 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.

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.

ONE Championship

On 1 March 2019, it was reported that Belfort signed by ONE Championship. On 28 April 2020, Belfort announced that he will be making his promotional debut against Alain Ngalani. Belfort has since parted ways with ONE Championship without fighting for the promotion.

Grappling

ADCC Championships

In 2001 Belfort participated in the ADCC championships, in their Absolute division. Prior to that competition he had already faced Hiroki Fukuda, winning by submission, and Mark Robinson, losing by points. In the championship Belfort faced Genki Sudo, winning by points, Ricco Rodriguez, winning by points, Ricardo Arona in the semi-final, losing by points and finally in the 3rd place fight defeating Ricardo Almeida by advantage after Almeida was unable to continue due to an injury to his knee, winning the bronze medal.

Boxing career

Neves vs. Belfort

On 11 April 2006, Belfort made his professional boxing debut against Josemario Neves. Belfort won by TKO within the first minute after knocking his opponent down three times. This was his first venture into the sport of professional boxing.

Belfort had expressed a desire to return to professional boxing, stating in 2008 that he was interested in talking with Golden Boy Promotions regarding a deal. In 2010, in response to former IBA Heavyweight Champion James Toney's challenge to fight an MMA fighter in the boxing ring, Belfort expressed interest in representing the sport of MMA against Toney in a 6-round professional match. James Toney, however, went on to be defeated in the UFC Octagon by Randy Couture at UFC 118.

Holyfield vs. Belfort

In early June 2021, Triller announced that Belfort would face YouTuber Michael "The Real Tarzann" Holston in a professional boxing bout on 19 June 2021. However, the bout was cancelled for unknown reasons.

On 17 June 2021, it was reported that 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. In July, news surfaced that the bout was changed to a professional boxing bout and was set to take place on 11 September 2021.

On 3 September, De La Hoya announced that he would not be fighting Belfort due to contracting COVID-19. In a message to his fans, he stated that he was fully vaccinated and receiving hospital treatment. In turn, it was announced that former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield will be stepping in to face Belfort and that the event was being moved from California to Florida. Belfort won the exhibition match via technical knockout.

Rahman Jr. vs. Belfort

On 27 August 2022, DAZN announced that Belfort would be boxing professional heavyweight Hasim Rahman Jr. in the main event of MF & DAZN: X Series 002 on 15 October 2022, in Sheffield, England. The bout was postponed to MF & DAZN: X Series 003 on 19 November 2022, and was expected to take place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Belfort withdrew from the fight after testing positive for COVID-19

Belfort vs. Jacare

Belfort was booked to compete against fellow MMA veteran Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza in a professional boxing match at Gamebred Boxing 4 on 1 April 2023. Belfort defeated Jacare via unanimous decision.

Personal life

Belfort was born on 1 April 1977, in Rio de Janeiro to a French-Brazilian father and a Greek-Brazilian mother. He is married to Joana Prado, with whom he has three children. They started dating in 2000 and broke up, but reunited during a reality show in 2002. The same year, Belfort appeared with Joana when she was photographed for the Brazilian edition of Playboy.

On 9 January 2004, Belfort's sister, Priscila, disappeared and the relatives received no information about her. In August 2007, a woman identified as Elaine Paiva confessed that she participated in her kidnapping and 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. The group allegedly buried her body in the woods in Rio de Janeiro where police conducted searches, but her remains have never been found. Her family however does not accept this version of events, and believes that Priscila is still alive somewhere. Belfort still maintains a missing page on the Brazilian version of his website.

Belfort speaks Portuguese, English, and Spanish. He is a devout Christian. Belfort believes the most important key to his success and longevity in the sport is that he is happy with what he does. "I just thank God every day. I’m happy. I’m healthy. Bottom line is it's just the way you treat life and life will treat you back. Make sure you’re happy with whatever is going on in your life. I think the key of life is just be happy with what's in front of you and the decision of my life is under God and God knows what's best for me." Belfort also appeared in a testimonial video on I Am Second, in which he shares his story of his faith in Jesus Christ.

Belfort's autobiography Vitor Belfort: Lições de garra, fé e sucesso was published by Thomas Nelson Brazil in 2012.

Belfort appears in the video for the song "I'm Down" by The Almost.

On 26 April 2018, Belfort became a naturalized American citizen.

Belfort's son, Davi Belfort, is an American football quarterback who was a four-star recruit out of high school. In 2023, he committed to playing college football at Virginia Tech, he is currently playing at University of Central Florida (UCF)

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC Hall of Fame (Pioneer wing, Class of 2025)

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)

UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Championship

Knockout of the Night (Five times) vs. Rich Franklin, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson 1

Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Dan Henderson 2

UFC Encyclopedia Awards

Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Randy Couture 1, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz

Knockout of the Night (Four times) vs. Scott Ferrozzo, Tank Abbott, Wanderlei Silva and Marvin Eastman

Most Encyclopedia Knockout of the Night Awards (4)

Most combined Encyclopedia/Official Knockout of the Night Awards in UFC history (9)

Tied (Max Holloway) for third most knockouts in UFC history (12)

Tied (Jim Miller) for most first-round finishes in UFC history (13)

Tied (Terrance McKinney) for second most sub-minute finishes in UFC history (4) (behind Anthony Johnson)

Most first-round knockouts in UFC history (11)

One of five fighters (Jared Cannonier, Conor McGregor, Robert Whittaker & Max Holloway) to have knockout victories in three different weight classes

Submission grappling

ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship

ADCC 2001 Absolute division – Bronze medal

Boxing record