Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort whose nickname “The Phenom” is of Brazilian decent and was born in Rio de Janeiro. Vitor was born on April 1st, 1978. Studying his MMA (mixed martial arts) under Carlson Gracie, he received a black belt at the age of 19 in Gracie Jiu-jitsu. He also studied western boxing and many have argued that he has some of the fastest hands in the MMA.

Vitor Belfort travelled to the Unites States to progress his MMA career. His first fight was in a mixed martial arts event called Superbrawl. He fought Jon Hess who he dispatched early setting a record for the quickest stoppage in 12 seconds. Following this victory Vitor fought in his first UFC, fighting two opponents and beating them with his blistering hand speed. He would later go on to beat the highly feared fighter Tank Abbot convincingly by causing a TKO (Technical Knockout).

Following these victories, Vitor was to fight the unknown Randy Couture. Despite Vitor Belfort being the favourite to win the contest, Randy caused a major upset by implementing a vicious display of Clinch and Pound techniques. Randy Couture would later on go to become one of the most decorated mixed martial arts fighters in the world. Following this loss, Vitor would fight again, once against his former training partner Joe Charles and against Wanderlei Silva. Vitor would win both fights successfully and reclaim himself as a title contender. However, Vitor Belfort would leave the UFC and go to fight in Pride, a Japanese mixed martial arts tournament.

The first opponent that Vitor Belfort faced in the Pride Fighting Championships was against the Japanese Kazushi Sakuraba. In this fight Vitor would break his and eventually lose a points decision. Vitor would fight again in Pride against numerous other MMA fighters who he would beat. His return to the UFC would bring mixed results which included losing to Chuck Liddell via a decision and winning Marvin Eastmen. He would then go on to fight in a rematch against randy Couture and win becoming the UFC champion. A further match against Randy would result in him losing the title again. Couture won via doctor stoppage after the third round, due to accumulated punishment and a cut which was opened by Couture.

Vitor would go on to fight many more times. However he has failed in producing the performance which so many fight fans have grown to expect from Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort.

In summation, it could be said that Vitor Belfort can be one of the most exiting MMA fighters in the world. However, whether we see that performance that we have seen in the early part of his career is another question.