Vitor Belfort
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Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian
mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...
who competes in the
Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
and
Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
divisions. Belfort previously competed for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
(UFC), where he fought in the
Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
,
Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...
and
Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
divisions. He is the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Champion, as well as the former
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
and Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight Champion. Known for his explosive knockout power, Belfort is tied for third for the most finishes in UFC history with 14. Belfort has also competed for MMA promotions
Pride FC PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts eve ...
,
Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...
,
Affliction Affliction or Afflicted may refer to: Books * ''Affliction'' (novel), a 2013 Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel by Laurell K. Hamilton * ''Affliction'', a novel by Russell Banks, basis of the 1998 film Film and TV * ''Affliction'' (1997 film), ...
, and
Cage Rage Cage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went into liquidation and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and ma ...
.


Background

Born and raised in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Belfort began training in
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
at the age of 12 under Claudio Coelho. Belfort later studied
Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...
with
Carlson Gracie Carlson Gracie (August 13, 1932 – February 1, 2006) was a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A member of the Gracie family, he was the eldest son of Carlos Gracie, and nephew to Hélio Gracie, founders of Gracie jiu-jitsu. Carlson Gr ...
, 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 Murilo Bustamante (; born 30 July 1966, in Rio de Janeiro) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion. He is one of the founders of the ''Brazilian Top Team'' and is the current leader. In addition to compe ...
, Ricardo Loborio, Ricardo De La Riva,
Mario Sperry is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the '' Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his c ...
, and
Wallid Ismail Wallid Farid Ismail ( ar, وليد فريد إسماعيل, born February 23, 1968) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and promoter. Ismail holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) under Carlson Gracie, and is an IVC mixed martial art ...
.


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 ''UFC 12: Judgement Day'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 7, 1997 at the Dothan Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later releas ...
'' 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 A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
(TKO) against the ''
UFC 6 ''UFC 6: Clash of the Titans'' was the sixth mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 14, 1995, at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and l ...
'' runner-up
Tank Abbott David Lee "Tank" Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and author. He currently hosts his own podcast series titled "The Proving Ground with Tank Abbott." Abbott is perhaps best kn ...
in a non-tournament fight, knocking Abbott down and finishing him with a
ground and pound Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...
attack.


Heavyweight bouts

In 1997 Belfort fought against American
Greco-Roman wrestler Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling ( Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mo ...
Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial artist and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he becam ...
, the first of three fights they would have. Belfort was upset by TKO 8:16 into the match, his
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
skills negated by Couture's
clinch fighting Clinch fighting is the part of stand-up fighting where the combatants are grappling in a clinch, typically using clinch holds. Clinching the opponent can be used to eliminate the opponent's effective usage of some kicks, punches, and melee we ...
. 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 Joe Charles (born July 18, 1958) is an American mixed martial artist. He competed in the Heavyweight division. He is best known for his time in the UFC from 1994 to 2000. Career Charles was an accomplished high school wrestler and judoka, worki ...
, whom he defeated quickly via
armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...
without throwing a single punch.


Light heavyweight debut

A year later, Belfort faced rising Brazilian star and future PRIDE Middleweight Champion
Wanderlei Silva Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the ...
. 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 is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and submission wrestler, currently signed to Rizin Fighting Federation and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Champions with Takashi Sugiura. ...
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 The Brazilian Top Team (BTT) is an academy specialized in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and mixed martial arts. It established in April 2000 by Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Libório, Mário Sperry and Luis Roberto Duarte, former members of the Carlson Grac ...
.


Light heavyweight sophomore

He fought in PRIDE against
Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Cha ...
,
Gilbert Yvel Gilbert Ramon Yvel (born 30 June 1976) is a Dutch professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1997, Yvel competed in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Affliction, the UFC, Road FC, the RFA, RINGS, M-1 Challenge, Cage ...
,
Daijiro Matsui is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor since 1998, he has competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, DEEP, Pancrase, and King of the Cage. Professional wrestling career Afte ...
,
Bobby Southworth Bobby Masai Southworth (born December 16, 1969) is a retired American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who fought in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. He has fought in PRIDE FC and appeared on Season 1 of The Ultima ...
, and
Heath Herring Heath Herring (born March 2, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division of Rizin. While perhaps best known for competing in PRIDE, he has also formerly competed for the UFC and K-1. ...
. 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 The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikog ...
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 The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compare to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...
.


Return to the UFC

Returning to the UFC, Belfort was scheduled to fight
Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...
in the main event of UFC's first Las Vegas show at ''
UFC 33 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
''. 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 Marvin Lee Eastman (born June 8, 1971) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor from 2000 until 2013, he competed in K-1, the UFC, World Fighting Alliance, Maximum Fighting Champions ...
(winning via TKO and opening a severe cut on Eastman's eyebrow with a knee strike).


Winning and losing the title/Belfort vs. Couture II & III

His next fight was on 31 January 2004, a rematch with
Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial artist and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he becam ...
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.


Belfort vs. Ortiz

His next fight in the UFC was against
Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...
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 1.


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 Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...
. 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 The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, ...
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 Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts is an American mixed martial arts training organization headed by former UFC Champion and former co-founder of Team Quest, Randy Couture. Xtreme Couture was founded with the flagship gym in Las Vegas. Since the ...
in Las Vegas.
Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial artist and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he becam ...
and
Shawn Tompkins Shawn Tompkins (March 16, 1974 – August 14, 2011) was a Canadian kickboxer and mixed martial artist, and later trainer. At the time of his death, he was an instructor at the Tapout Training Center. He formerly coached the Los Angeles Anaconda ...
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 Matthew James Lindland (born May 17, 1970), also known as The Law, is an American retired mixed martial artist, Olympic wrestler, speaker, actor, coach, entrepreneur and politician. He won the Oregon Republican Party's nomination for t ...
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 Gegard Mousasi (born 1 August 1985), is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently competing in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion. As of December 13, 2022, he is #10 in the Bellator MMA ...
circulating, it was announced that Vítor would finally fight Lindland at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Lindland was originally slated to fight
Renato Sobral Renato da Cunha Sobral (; born 7 September 1975), also known as "Babalu", is a retired Brazilian Luta Livre submission grappler, mixed martial artist, and was the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. Sobral previously fought in the Ult ...
at a catchweight, but promoters of Affliction preferred the Belfort vs. Lindland fight at
Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
. 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 Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...
announced that the UFC had re-signed Belfort to a contract. His first match was against
Rich Franklin Richard Jay Franklin II (born October 5, 1974) is an American businessman and retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and a former UFC Midd ...
at a catchweight of 195 lbs, headlining
UFC 103 ''UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center. The event was broadcast on pay-per-view. Background This ...
, which he won by knockout three minutes and two seconds into the first round.


Middleweight bouts, & Title shot

Belfort was expected to face
Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 an ...
for the
UFC Middleweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
on 2 January 2010, at
UFC 108 ''UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 2, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Background The card for UFC 108 was plagued with numerous injur ...
. 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 ''UFC 109: Relentless'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on February 6, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background A previously rumoured bout between Renzo Gracie and ...
and 10 April 2010, at
UFC 112 ''UFC 112: Invincible'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 10, 2010, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Due to the time zone difference in Abu Dhabi, UFC 112 was shown live on pay-per-view in the U ...
, 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 is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Okami has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, M-1 Global, World Series of Fighting, DEEP, Professional Fighters League, and ONE Championship. Mixed martial arts ...
at
UFC 122 ''UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 13, 2010 at König Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. This event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the ...
. However, Dana White
tweeted Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
Belfort would instead challenge Silva at
UFC 126 ''UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 5, 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background Former Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor B ...
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 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
against
Yoshihiro Akiyama , also known as and by his nickname Sexyama, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka who won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Championships for South Korea and for Japan at the 2002 Asian Games. A fourth-generation Japanese of ...
. Belfort initially thought the UFC would try to put him on the card at
UFC 134 ''UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami'' (also known as ''UFC Rio'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 27, 2011 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was the second that t ...
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. Belfort was briefly linked to a matchup with
Cung Le Cung Le ( vi, Lê Cung; born May 25, 1972) is a Vietnamese-born American actor, retired mixed martial artist, Sanshou fighter and kickboxer. He competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), holding a record ...
, expected to take place on 19 November 2011, at
UFC 139 ''UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 2011 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. It was the first UFC event in San Jose, the longtime home and base ar ...
. However, Belfort was removed from the bout due to injury and replaced by
Wanderlei Silva Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the ...
.


Missed weight bout

Belfort faced Anthony Johnson on 14 January 2012, at
UFC 142 ''UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 14, 2012 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was the first UFC event of the year, and was broadcast live on pay-per-view ...
. 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.


The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil

Belfort was selected to coach '' The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil'' against
Wanderlei Silva Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the ...
. The rematch between Belfort and Silva was expected to take place on 23 June 2012, at
UFC 147 ''UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 23, 2012 at Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Background The finals in the featherweight and middlewei ...
. However, on 27 May 2012, Belfort was forced to pull out of the bout, citing a broken hand in training, and replaced by
Rich Franklin Richard Jay Franklin II (born October 5, 1974) is an American businessman and retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and a former UFC Midd ...
. In a recent interview, Belfort expressed disinterest in actually fighting Wanderlei Silva. He told Fighters Only magazine, "I guess Wanderlei will be able to fight in October but I only want that my next bout that accredits me to dispute the belt. I don’t know, maybe
Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...
. I was only defeated once recently, by Anderson Silva, and all my wins were very convincing." He further stated, "I don’t know how long I will stay in this division. I wanted to do more two or three fights. If my body will no longer permit this big weight cutting, I will go up (to 205 lbs). I am not afraid of
Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...
or somebody else... It's not for me to choose my opponents."


Third Light heavyweight title shot

Belfort was expected to face
Alan Belcher Alan Belcher (born April 24, 1984) is an American bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. A professional from 2004 until 2015, he is perhaps best known for his 15-fight tenure with the UFC. Background Belcher was born in Jonesboro ...
on 13 October 2012, at
UFC 153 ''UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 13, 2012, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background Vitor Belfort was expected to face Alan Belcher a ...
. However, he replaced
Lyoto Machida (born 30 May 1978), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and karateka, who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light ...
in a bout against
Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...
at
UFC 152 ''UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort '' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 22, 2012, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background Rory MacDonald was expected to face fo ...
for the
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
after Machida rejected the offer due to lack of time to train before the fight. Despite almost submitting Jones via armbar in the first round, he was dominated during the remainder of the bout and submitted via
keylock An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...
at 0:54 of the fourth round.


Return to Middleweight

Belfort returned to face
Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...
on 19 January 2013, at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, winning via TKO due to a head kick and punches at 1:27 of the second round. Belfort injured Bispings right eye with his head kick. Belfort faced the final Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and promotional newcomer
Luke Rockhold Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight division. ...
on 18 May 2013, at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold.


Return to Light heavyweight

Belfort faced
Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...
at light heavyweight in a rematch on 9 November 2013, at
UFC Fight Night 32 ''UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 32'') was a mixed martial arts event held on November 9, 2013, at the Goiânia Arena in Goiânia, Brazil. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Background Th ...
. Belfort defeated Henderson via first-round knockout to become the first person to defeat Henderson via strikes. The win also earned Belfort his fifth ''Knockout of the Night'' bonus award.


Middleweight return

Belfort was expected to face UFC middleweight champion
Chris Weidman Christopher James WeidmanMIXED MARTIAL ARTS S ...
at
UFC 173 ''UFC 173: Barão vs. Dillashaw'' was a mixed martial arts event held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 24, 2014. Background A Middleweight Championship bout between then champion Chris Weidman and number one contender V ...
. However, 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 (born 30 May 1978), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and karateka, who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light ...
. Subsequently, Belfort revealed that he had failed a random drug test in February, due to elevated levels of testosterone. Belfort was expected to face
Chael Sonnen Chael Patrick Sonnen (; born April 3, 1977) is an American submission grappling promoter, mixed martial arts (MMA) analyst, and retired mixed martial artist. Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Sonnen competed for the Ultimate Fighting Champion ...
on 5 July 2014, at
UFC 175 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
as a replacement for
Wanderlei Silva Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the ...
. However, Sonnen failed a random drug test and was removed from the bout. The following day it was announced by MMA writer Kevin Iole that Belfort had also been removed from the card due to the inability of the UFC to find him a new opponent. Belfort was expected to face Weidman on 6 December 2014, at
UFC 181 ''UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II'' was a mixed martial arts event held on December 6, 2014, at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background UFC 181 was the organization's 300th event and was expected to be headlined by a Middlew ...
. However, on 22 September, it was announced that Weidman had suffered a broken hand and the bout was again rescheduled to take place on 28 February 2015, at
UFC 184 ''UFC 184: Rousey vs. Zingano'' was a mixed martial arts event held on February 28, 2015, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Background A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort was expected to serve ...
. In turn, on 30 January 2015, the UFC announced that Weidman had pulled out of the bout again, citing an injury he sustained in training. The bout with Weidman eventually took place on 23 May 2015, at
UFC 187 ''UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier'' was a mixed martial arts event held on May 23, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to be headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between then ...
. 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 Belfort via TKO due to punches. Belfort faced
Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...
in a rubber match at
UFC Fight Night 77 ''UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 3'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 77'') was a mixed martial arts event held on November 7, 2015, at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil. Background The event was the fourth held in São Pa ...
on 7 November 2015. He again defeated Henderson via a combination of head kick and punches. The win also earned Belfort his first ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Belfort next faced
Ronaldo Souza Ronaldo Souza dos Santos (born December 7, 1979), nicknamed " Jacare" (), is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist and submission grappler who competed for UFC from 2013 to 2021. A highly regarded grappler on the worl ...
on 14 May 2016, at
UFC 198 ''UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic'' was a mixed martial arts event held on May 14, 2016, at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil. Background The event was initially announced as a ''Fight Night'' event with a middleweight bout between former UFC Ligh ...
He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. A long discussed fight with
Gegard Mousasi Gegard Mousasi (born 1 August 1985), is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently competing in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion. As of December 13, 2022, he is #10 in the Bellator MMA ...
took place on 8 October 2016, at
UFC 204 ''UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 8, 2016 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Background This was the fourth UFC event contested in Man ...
. Belfort lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Belfort faced
Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum has competed for the UFC since he won '' The Ul ...
on 11 March 2017, at UFC Fight Night 106. He lost the fight via a combination of punches in the first round resulting in a K.O. However, Gastelum subsequently tested positive for marijuana and the result was overturned to a No Contest. Belfort faced
Nate Marquardt Nathan Joel Marquardt (born April 20, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the middleweight and welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 1999, he is a former Strikeforce W ...
on 3 June 2017, at
UFC 212 ''UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on June 3, 2017, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background A UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout betwe ...
. He won the fight by unanimous decision, his first decision win in nearly a decade. Belfort was expected to face Uriah Hall on 14 January 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi. However, on 13 January 2018, it was announced that Hall did not make it to the weigh-in because he fainted and suffered seizures from weight-cutting practices and the bout was cancelled. Belfort faced
Lyoto Machida (born 30 May 1978), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and karateka, who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light ...
on 12 May 2018, at
UFC 224 ''UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 12, 2018, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The UFC was initially targeting a UFC Wom ...
. He lost the fight after being knocked out by a front kick to the face. Following the fight, Belfort announced his retirement from MMA competition. On Monday 17 December 2018, Vitor Belfort announced his intentions to return from retirement on the Helwani Show.


ONE Championship

On March 1, 2019, it was reported that Belfort signed by
ONE Championship ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixed ...
. On April 28, 2020, Belfort announced that he will be making his promotional debut against
Alain Ngalani Alain may refer to: People * Alain (given name), common given name, including list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Alain (surname) * "Alain", a pseudonym for cartoonist Daniel Brustlein * Alain, a standard author abbreviation u ...
. 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 is a Japanese MMA fighter, singer, actor and politician who has been serving as a political independent in the House of Councillors since 2019. Between 1998 and 2006, Sudo was a professional athlete and then was in the entertainment industry fro ...
, winning by points,
Ricco Rodriguez Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American semi-retired mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, EliteXC, I ...
, winning by points,
Ricardo Arona Ricardo Arona (; born 17 July 1978) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional from 2000 until 2009, he competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships and RINGS in his mixed martial arts career, and was a member of Brazilian Top Te ...
in the semi-final, losing by points and finally in the 3rd place fight defeating
Ricardo Almeida Ricardo Alves Almeida (; born November 29, 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist and current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in Bordentown, New Jersey. Almeida is a veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRID ...
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 Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...
debut against Josemario Neves. Belfort won by TKO within the first minute after knocking his opponent down three times. This has been his sole venture into the sport of professional boxing so far. 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. In 2010, in response to former IBA Heavyweight Champion
James Toney James Nathaniel Toney (born August 24, 1968) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF and lineal middleweight titles from 1991 to ...
'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 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
.


Holyfield vs. Belfort

In early June 2021,
Triller The trillers are a group of passerine birds belonging to the cuckooshrike family Campephagidae partially making up the genus '' Lalage''. Their name come from the loud trilling calls of the males. There are about 12 species that usually exist ...
announced that Belfort would face YouTuber Michael "The Real Tarzann" Holston in a professional boxing bout on June 19, 2021. However, the bout was cancelled due to unknown reasons. On June 17, 2021, it was reported that Belfort had agreed to an exhibition boxing match with former six-division boxing world champion
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
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 September 11, 2021. On September 3, De La Hoya announced that he would not be fighting Belfort due to contracting
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. In a message to his fans, he stated that he was fully
vaccinated A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.< ...
and receiving hospital treatment. In turn, it was announced that former heavyweight champion
Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...
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 August 27, 2022,
DAZN DAZN ( "da zone") is a global sports entertainment platform. Different to traditional linear and satellite broadcasting, DAZN is an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service meaning that it is delivered directly to viewers via the internet. The ...
announced that Belfort would be boxing professional heavyweight Hasim Rahman Jr. in the main event of MF & DAZN: X Series 002 on October 15, 2022, in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The bout was postponed to MF & DAZN: X Series 003 on November 19, 2022, and was expected to take place at the Moody Center in
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. Belfort withdrew from the fight after testing positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...


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 Joana Prado Belfort (born June 22, 1976) is a Brazilian-American businesswoman and former model. Early life Prado was born in São Paulo, daughter of engineer Jair Prado and Mercedes Prado and sister of Tiago Prado. While she was studying administ ...
, 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 ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...
''. 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 I Am Second is a US multimedia movement and not-for-profit organization that is designed to inspire people to "put Jesus Christ first." in their lives. It was founded in 2008 by Norm Miller, the CEO and Chairman of the Interstate Battery Syste ...
, in which he shares his story of his faith in
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. 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 The Almost is an American rock band from Clearwater, Florida, fronted by Underoath drummer and vocalist Aaron Gillespie. Formed in 2005 as a solo project by Gillespie, the band currently includes guitarist Jay Vilardi, bassist Jon Thompson, and d ...
. On April 26, 2018, Belfort became a naturalized American citizen.


Championships and accomplishments


Mixed martial arts

*
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
**
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
(One time) ** UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Championship ** Knockout of the Night (Five times) **
Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...
(One time) ** 2nd Most knockouts in UFC history (12) ** Most first round finishes in UFC history (13) ** Youngest UFC tournament winner (19 years, 313 days) *
Cage Rage Championships Cage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went into liquidation and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and ma ...
** Cage Rage World Light heavyweight Championship (1 time) *
World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...
** 2013 Knockout of the Year vs.
Luke Rockhold Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight division. ...
*
Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...
** 2013 All-Violence First Team"First Team"
''sherdog.com''.


Submission grappling

*
ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, is an international submission wrestling, submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). The inaugural tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 1998. It has been ...
** ADCC 2001 Absolute division – Bronze medal


Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 26–14 (1) ,
Lyoto Machida (born 30 May 1978), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and karateka, who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light ...
, KO (front kick) ,
UFC 224 ''UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 12, 2018, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The UFC was initially targeting a UFC Wom ...
, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:00 ,
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 26–13 (1) ,
Nate Marquardt Nathan Joel Marquardt (born April 20, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the middleweight and welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 1999, he is a former Strikeforce W ...
, Decision (unanimous) ,
UFC 212 ''UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on June 3, 2017, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background A UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout betwe ...
, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Brazil , , - , NC , align=center, 25–13 (1) ,
Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum has competed for the UFC since he won '' The Ul ...
, NC (overturned by STJDMMA) , UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:52 ,
Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...
, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 25–13 ,
Gegard Mousasi Gegard Mousasi (born 1 August 1985), is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently competing in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion. As of December 13, 2022, he is #10 in the Bellator MMA ...
, TKO (punches) ,
UFC 204 ''UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 8, 2016 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Background This was the fourth UFC event contested in Man ...
, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:43 ,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 25–12 ,
Ronaldo Souza Ronaldo Souza dos Santos (born December 7, 1979), nicknamed " Jacare" (), is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist and submission grappler who competed for UFC from 2013 to 2021. A highly regarded grappler on the worl ...
, TKO (punches) ,
UFC 198 ''UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic'' was a mixed martial arts event held on May 14, 2016, at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil. Background The event was initially announced as a ''Fight Night'' event with a middleweight bout between former UFC Ligh ...
, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:38 ,
Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...
, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 25–11 ,
Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...
, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:07 ,
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 24–11 ,
Chris Weidman Christopher James WeidmanMIXED MARTIAL ARTS S ...
, TKO (punches) ,
UFC 187 ''UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier'' was a mixed martial arts event held on May 23, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to be headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between then ...
, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:53 ,
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 24–10 ,
Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...
, KO (head kick) , UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:17 ,
Goiânia Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...
, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 23–10 ,
Luke Rockhold Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight division. ...
, KO (spinning heel kick and punches) , UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:32 ,
Jaraguá do Sul Jaraguá do Sul () is a city in the north of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. History The city was founded on July 25, 1876, by engineer and Brazilian Army colonel Emílio Carlos Jourdan and his family. The city was originally named jus ...
, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 22–10 ,
Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...
, TKO (head kick and punches) , UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 ,
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–10 ,
Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...
, Submission (keylock) ,
UFC 152 ''UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort '' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 22, 2012, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background Rory MacDonald was expected to face fo ...
, , align=center, 4 , align=center, 0:54 ,
Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 21–9 , Anthony Johnson , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,
UFC 142 ''UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 14, 2012 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was the first UFC event of the year, and was broadcast live on pay-per-view ...
, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:49 ,
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 20–9 ,
Yoshihiro Akiyama , also known as and by his nickname Sexyama, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka who won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Championships for South Korea and for Japan at the 2002 Asian Games. A fourth-generation Japanese of ...
, KO (punches) ,
UFC 133 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:52 ,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–9 ,
Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 an ...
, KO (front kick and punches) ,
UFC 126 ''UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 5, 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background Former Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor B ...
, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:25 ,
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–8 ,
Rich Franklin Richard Jay Franklin II (born October 5, 1974) is an American businessman and retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and a former UFC Midd ...
, TKO (punches) ,
UFC 103 ''UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center. The event was broadcast on pay-per-view. Background This ...
, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:02 ,
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–8 ,
Matt Lindland Matthew James Lindland (born May 17, 1970), also known as The Law, is an American retired mixed martial artist, Olympic wrestler, speaker, actor, coach, entrepreneur and politician. He won the Oregon Republican Party's nomination for t ...
, KO (punches) , Affliction: Day of Reckoning , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:37 ,
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–8 , Terry Martin , KO (punches) , Affliction: Banned , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:12 ,
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–8 , James Zikic , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Rage 23 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England , , - , Win , align=center, 15–8 , Ivan Serati , TKO (punches) , Cage Rage 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:47 ,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–8 ,
Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...
, Decision (unanimous) , PRIDE 32: The Real Deal , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–7 ,
Kazuo Takahashi , ring name , is a Japanese retired mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1993 until 2013 (and then once again in 2018), he competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Pancrase, RINGS, K-1 HERO'S, and World Victory Road. ...
, KO (punch) , PRIDE: Critical Countdown Absolute , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–7 ,
Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Cha ...
, Decision (unanimous) , Strikeforce: Revenge , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,
San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–6 , Antony Rea , KO (punches) , Cage Rage 14 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:14 ,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–6 ,
Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Cha ...
, Submission (guillotine choke) , PRIDE: Total Elimination 2005 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 9:36 ,
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5 ,
Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...
, Decision (split) ,
UFC 51 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MM ...
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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 ,
Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial artist and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he becam ...
, TKO (doctor stoppage) ,
UFC 49 ''UFC 49: Unfinished Business'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 21, 2004, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and lat ...
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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 ,
Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial artist and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he becam ...
, TKO (doctor stoppage) ,
UFC 46 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 ,
Marvin Eastman Marvin Lee Eastman (born June 8, 1971) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor from 2000 until 2013, he competed in K-1, the UFC, World Fighting Alliance, Maximum Fighting Champions ...
, TKO (knees and punches) ,
UFC 43 ''UFC 43: Meltdown'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 6, 2003, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later relea ...
, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 ,
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 , Chuck Liddell , Decision (unanimous) ,
UFC 37.5 ''UFC 37.5: As Real As It Gets'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Bellagio (hotel and casino), Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 22, 2002. Background The fight card was headline ...
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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 ,
Heath Herring Heath Herring (born March 2, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division of Rizin. While perhaps best known for competing in PRIDE, he has also formerly competed for the UFC and K-1. ...
, Decision (unanimous) , PRIDE 14: Clash of the Titans , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 ,
Bobby Southworth Bobby Masai Southworth (born December 16, 1969) is a retired American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who fought in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. He has fought in PRIDE FC and appeared on Season 1 of The Ultima ...
, Submission (rear-naked choke) , PRIDE 13: Collision Course , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:09 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 ,
Daijiro Matsui is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor since 1998, he has competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, DEEP, Pancrase, and King of the Cage. Professional wrestling career Afte ...
, Decision (unanimous) , PRIDE 10: Return of the Warriors , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 10:00 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 ,
Gilbert Yvel Gilbert Ramon Yvel (born 30 June 1976) is a Dutch professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1997, Yvel competed in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Affliction, the UFC, Road FC, the RFA, RINGS, M-1 Challenge, Cage ...
, Decision (unanimous) , PRIDE 9: New Blood , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 10:00 ,
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 ,
Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and submission wrestler, currently signed to Rizin Fighting Federation and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Champions with Takashi Sugiura. ...
, Decision (unanimous) , PRIDE 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 10:00 ,
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 ,
Wanderlei Silva Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the ...
, TKO (punches) ,
UFC Brazil ''UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil'' (also known as ''UFC Ultimate Brazil'' or ''UFC 17.5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship in São Paulo, Brazil on October 16, 1998. The event was seen on pay-per-view in the ...
, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 ,
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 ,
Joe Charles Joe Charles (born July 18, 1958) is an American mixed martial artist. He competed in the Heavyweight division. He is best known for his time in the UFC from 1994 to 2000. Career Charles was an accomplished high school wrestler and judoka, worki ...
, Submission (armbar) , UFC Japan , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:03 ,
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 ,
Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial artist and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he becam ...
, TKO (punches) ,
UFC 15 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:16 , Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 ,
Tank Abbott David Lee "Tank" Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and author. He currently hosts his own podcast series titled "The Proving Ground with Tank Abbott." Abbott is perhaps best kn ...
, TKO (punches) ,
UFC 13 ''UFC 13: The Ultimate Force'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 30, 1997 in Augusta, Georgia. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on home video. History ...
, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:52 ,
Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 ,
Scott Ferrozzo Scott Ferrozzo (born April 26, 1965) is a retired American mixed martial artist, who is perhaps best known for his fights in the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. During his fighting career he participated in UFC 8, UFC 11, and ...
, TKO (punches) , rowspan=2,
UFC 12 ''UFC 12: Judgement Day'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 7, 1997 at the Dothan Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later releas ...
, rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:43 , rowspan=2,
Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner, ...
, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 ,
Tra Telligman Tracy Telligman (most often billed as "Tra" Telligman ; born February 7, 1965) is a retired American mixed martial artist and boxer who has fought in the UFC, PRIDE, and Pancrase. He is also known for fighting despite having only one pectoralis m ...
, TKO (cut) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:17 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jon Hess , KO (punches) , SuperBrawl 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:12 ,
Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...
, United States ,


Professional boxing record


Exhibition boxing record


Submission grappling record

KO PUNCHES , - style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Method , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Event , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - , Win, ,
Ricardo Almeida Ricardo Alves Almeida (; born November 29, 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist and current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in Bordentown, New Jersey. Almeida is a veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRID ...
, , Technical Submission (Injury) , , ADCC 2001 Absolute Division , , 2001, , , , , , , - , Loss, ,
Ricardo Arona Ricardo Arona (; born 17 July 1978) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional from 2000 until 2009, he competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships and RINGS in his mixed martial arts career, and was a member of Brazilian Top Te ...
, , Points , , ADCC 2001 Absolute , , 2001, , , , , , , - , Win, ,
Ricco Rodriguez Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American semi-retired mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, EliteXC, I ...
, , Points , , ADCC 2001 Absolute , , 2001, , , , , , , - , Win, ,
Genki Sudo is a Japanese MMA fighter, singer, actor and politician who has been serving as a political independent in the House of Councillors since 2019. Between 1998 and 2006, Sudo was a professional athlete and then was in the entertainment industry fro ...
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See also

*
List of male mixed martial artists This is a list of notable professional male mixed martial arts fighters in alphabetical order. __NOTOC__ A * Shamil Abdurakhimov - ( M-1, UFC) * Daichi Abe - (UFC, Pancrase) * Hiroyuki Abe - (Shooto, KOTC, Cage Rage, DEEP, Pride) * Papy Ab ...


References


External links


Official Website
* *
IMDB Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belfort, Vitor 1977 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Brazilian Christians Brazilian male judoka Brazilian male karateka Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian submission wrestlers Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Shotokan Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Brazilian people of French descent Brazilian people of Greek descent Heavyweight mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Brazilian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in mixed martial arts People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male boxers