Vitor Belfort
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| Vitor Belfort | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname | The Phenom |
| Height | 6 ft (183 cm) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Born | April 1, 1978 |
| Town of birth | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Fighting style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 14 |
| By knockout | 9 |
| By submission | 2 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Vitor Belfort (born April 1, 1978 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).
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Belfort studied in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson.
At the age of 19, Vitor came to the US to compete. In his first sanctioned mixed martial arts match at an event called Superbrawl in Hawaii, his opponent was Jon Hess, whom the young Brazilian defeated in 12 seconds by KO.
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. Later he TKO-ed Tank Abbott in a non-tournament fight, knocking Tank down and using ground and pound tactics.
In 1997 Belfort fought against American Greco-Roman Wrestler Randy Couture. Belfort was upset by TKO 8:16 into the match, his boxing skills negated by Couture's clinch and pound tactics.
After his defeat, he fought twice more in the UFC. His first fight was against a training partner of his: Joe Charles whom he defeated quickly via Armbar, without throwing a single punch. Due to the lack of punches and the fact that Charles was a training partner of Belfort, speculation arose that the matched was either a 'work', (the outcome having been arranged beforehand), or that both fighters had made a gentlemen's agreement to not strike and only participate in what was effectively a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu sparring match.
A year later, Belfort faced rising Brazilian star Wanderlei Silva in the UFC. Catching Silva early with a jab, he chased him across the ring with punches and pinned Silva against the fence, TKO-ing the Brazilian in 44 seconds.
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 suffering a hand injury. His striking skills now limited, Belfort resorted to falling to the ground repeatedly and attempted to get Sakuraba to get into his guard. Sakuraba however, stomped and kicked Belfort in his legs whilst he lay on his back. Belfort said after the fight "I didn't fight; I survived". 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 utilised 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: where he won via Rear Naked Choke in the first round, all his wins were by decision in PRIDE.
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 required surgery. Belfort eventually returned and fought Chuck Liddell (loss via decision), then Marvin Eastman (win via TKO), opening a severe cut on Eastman's eyebrow with a knee strike.
His next major fight was on February 2, 2004 against Randy Couture, a rematch, after Vitor lost the first. Despite agonizing over his sister Priscila Belfort who disappeared on January 9, Vitor won the fight in 49 seconds when a seam from his glove cut Couture's eyelid, prompting a referee stoppage. Another rematch took place on August 21, 2004. Couture didn't consider that fight to be the rubber match, but rather a continuation of the second fight. Couture won via doctor stoppage after the third round, due to accumulated punishment and a cut which was opened by Couture. (As of March 28, 2006, Priscila is presumed by Brazilian authorities to have been kidnapped and killed, by suspected drug dealers.[1])
His next fight was in the UFC against Tito Ortiz on February 5, 2005, Belfort lost by split decision. Some believe Belfort should have won the decision.
Belfort entered PRIDE's Middleweight Grand Prix on April 23, 2005. He lost in the opening round to Dutch Golden Glory fighter Alistair Overeem via guillotine choke.
On December 3, 2005 Belfort fought Antony Rea and defeated him via KO at Cage Rage 14 in the second round.
On April 11, 2006 Vitor fought in his pro boxing debut against Josemario Neves. Belfort won after knocking his opponent down three times by KO within the first minute. Although he fought in boxing, his main goal is to fight in MMA.
His next MMA fight was at the Strikeforce "Revenge" show on June 09, 2006: a rematch against Alistair Overeem. Belfort lost by unanimous decision.
On July 2, 2006, Vitor defeated the veteran Yoshiki Takahashi via KO in 36 seconds of the first round of PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute.
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 anabolic steroid, 4-hydroxytestosterone. [2]
[edit] MMA titles
| Previous winner Don Frye |
UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament winner |
Next winner Randy Couture |
| Previous champion Randy Couture |
4th UFC Light Heavyweight Champion January 31, 2004 - August 21, 2004 |
Next champion Randy Couture |
[edit] MMA record
| 14 Wins (9 (T)KOs, 2 submissions, 3 decisions), 8 Losses (2 (T)KOs, 1 submission, 5 decisions), 0 Draws. | |||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Method | Round | Time | Notes |
| 10/21/2006 | Loss | Dan Henderson | PRIDE 32 - The Real Deal | Decision | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 7/2/2006 | Win | Yoshiki Takahashi | PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute | KO (Punch) | 1 | 0:36 | |
| 6/9/2006 | Loss | Alistair Overeem | Strikeforce: Revenge | Decision | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 12/3/2005 | Win | Antony Rea | CR 14 Punishment | KO | 2 | 1:30 | |
| 4/23/2005 | Loss | Alistair Overeem | PRIDE Total Elimination 2005 | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | 1 | 9:36 | |
| 2/5/2005 | Loss | Tito Ortiz | UFC 51 | Decision (Split) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 8/21/2004 | Loss | Randy Couture | UFC 49 | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | 3 | 5:00 | Lost UFC Light Heavyweight Title |
| 1/31/2004 | Win | Randy Couture | UFC 46 | TKO (Cut) | 1 | 0:49 | Won UFC Light Heavyweight Title |
| 6/6/2003 | Win | Marvin Eastman | UFC 43 | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 1:07 | |
| 6/22/2002 | Loss | Chuck Liddell | UFC 37.5: As Real As It Gets | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 5/27/2001 | Win | Heath Herring | Pride 14 Clash of the Titans | Decision | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 3/25/2001 | Win | Bobby Southworth | Pride 13 Collision Course | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | 1 | 4:09 | |
| 8/27/2000 | Win | Daijiro Matsui | Pride 10 Return of the Warriors | Decision | 2 | 10:00 | |
| 6/4/2000 | Win | Gilbert Yvel | PRIDE 9 New Blood | Decision | 2 | 10:00 | |
| 4/29/1999 | Loss | Kazushi Sakuraba | PRIDE 5 | Decision | 2 | 10:00 | |
| 16/10/1998 | Win | Wanderlei Silva | UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 0:44 | |
| 10/17/1997 | Win | Joe Charles | UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan 1 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 8:16 | |
| 10/17/1997 | Loss | Randy Couture | UFC 15: Collision Course | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 8:16 | |
| 5/30/1997 | Win | David Abbott | UFC 13: The Ultimate Force | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 0:52 | |
| 2/7/1997 | Win | Scott Ferrozzo | UFC 12: Judgement Day | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 0:43 | |
| 2/7/1997 | Win | Tra Telligman | UFC 12: Judgement Day | TKO (Cut) | 1 | 1:17 | |
| 10/11/1996 | Win | Jon Hess | SB 2-SuperBrawl 2 | KO (Punches) | 1 | 0:12 | |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Previous winner Don Frye |
UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament winner |
Next winner Randy Couture |
| Previous champion Randy Couture |
4th UFC Light Heavyweight Champion January 31, 2004 - August 21, 2004 |
Next champion Randy Couture |
