UFC Middleweight Vitor Belfort's Top 5 Greatest MMA Fights Of All Time.
In 1997, a 20 year old MMA fighter from Brazil would make his UFC debut in electrifying fashion.
Vitor Belfort would quickly earn his nickname "The Phenom" and would become part of the legend in the UFC's infancy. Belfort has fought in the UFC, Pride, Strikeforce, and Affliction organizations throughout his career and has battled a whose-who of MMA superstars over the last 14 years.
Belfort has had many exciting fights in his storied career but here are some of the best.
#5 Vitor Belfort vs Terry Martin at Affliction Banned, July 19th 2008.
After having not fought in almost two years, Belfort made his return to MMA at the first Affliction event and debuts at middleweight for the first time in his career.
At this point many people thought that Belfort was finished with MMA and was well beyond his glory days where he made a name for himself in the early days of the UFC.
Showing patience, and a little hesitancy, Belfort and Martin traded strikes in the first round of their bout with neither fighter gaining the upper hand. After the urging of his corner man, Randy Couture, Belfort came out in the second round with a little more aggression.
With two minutes to go in the second round, Vitor landed a huge flying knee with surgical precision that rocked Martin and allowed Belfort to close the distance.
After landing a couple of punches in the clench Belfort stepped back and landed a right-left combo that sent Terry Martin flying into the ropes and ending the fight abruptly.
The Phenom was back and looked better than ever at his new weight class, which sent a minor ripple through the world of MMA.
Vitor Belfort vs Scott Ferrozo, UFC 12, February 7th, 1997.
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#4 Vitor Belfort vs Scott Ferrozo, UFC 12, February 7th, 1997.
In 1997 the UFC was still in the infancy of its existence and people were just starting to get used to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
This all changed at UFC 12 as Vitor Belfort secured part of his legacy and locked in his rightfully deserved nickname, “The Phenom”.
After dismantling Lion’s Den Fighter, Tra Telligman in his first fight at UFC 12, Belfort would move onto the championship bout against, “The Pitbull” Scott Ferrozo.
Ferrozo didn’t look like much of a fighter, but definitely could pack a lot of KO power in his punches and his body mass made it hard to take him down to the ground. Belfort however had an easy solution for this; throw a lot of precision strikes with a lot of power, and it took Vitor just 43 seconds to destroy Ferrozo and to secure the UFC Heavyweight Tournament Championship at UFC 12.
Vitor Belfort Vs Tank Abbott, UFC 13, May 30th, 1997.
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#3 Vitor Belfort vs Tank Abbott, UFC 13, May 30th, 1997.
After winning the UFC Heavyweight tournament in his first appearance in the Octagon, Belfort would face fan-favorite Tank Abbot in the “Superfight” at UFC 13’s main event.
Many people were blown away by Belfort's UFC debut, as he rightly earned the nickname “The Phenom” for dispatching his opponents so quickly. On the other hand, Tank Abbot had earned his reputation as one of the most feared strikers in the world and he would be taking a 60-pound weight advantage into his bout with Belfort.
All the hype was in place for the main event of the evening and the fans were anxious to see who would take the mantle as the UFC’s deadliest striker.
It took just 52 seconds of the first round for Belfort to decimate the much bigger Abbot with a flurry of punches that forced “Big” Jon McCarthy to stop the fight.
At just 20 years old Vitor Belfort had quickly become known as one the deadliest MMA strikers in the world after improving his UFC record to 3-0 in just fewer than 3 minutes of work.
Vitor Belfort vs Rich Franklin, UFC 103: Franklin vs Belfort.
3 of 4#2 Vitor Belfort vs Rich Franklin, UFC 103: Franklin vs Belfort.
In 2009 Vitor Belfort returned to the UFC for the first time in nearly five years.
Belfort would be taking on former middleweight champion, and long-time UFC veteran, Rich Franklin. The bout would take place at a catch-weight of 195 pounds.
After knocking out his last two opponents in devastating fashion, Belfort earned a new contract with the UFC and the whispers of past glory quickly began to circulate once again.
With a lot on the line for both fighters, Belfort and Franklin started their bout cautiously and traded light strikes for the first half of the round.
At the two-minute mark of the first round, Belfort landed a left hook that dazed Franklin and sent him to the ground. Vitor wasted no time in pouncing on the former champ and finished him by TKO in the first round.
Belfort would be granted a title shot after his victory over Franklin and will face Anderson Silva on February 5th.
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Vitor Belfort Vs Wanderlei Silva, UFC Brazil, October 16th, 1998.
4 of 4#1 Vitor Belfort vs Wanderlei Silva, UFC Brazil, October 16th, 1998.
After suffering his first loss in the UFC the previous October against MMA legend Randy Couture, Belfort was scheduled to take on a relative unknown MMA fighter by the name of Wanderlei Silva in UFC Brazil.
This fight would mark the debut for Belfort in the 200-pound weight class and would be the UFC’s first event in Brazil.
Belfort wasted little time before throwing a barrage of some the fastest and most powerful punches ever thrown in a MMA fight that sent Silva flying backwards until he collapsed into the cage just 44 seconds into the fight which ended the fight emphatically.
What made this victory so impressive is that Wanderlei Silva would spend the next 8 years destroying almost every opponent in his path and becoming one of the most dominant fighters in the history of MMA.
Belfort would cement his legend in the UFC as being one of the fastest and most devastating strikers ever to step into the Octagon.
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