Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort: A Tale of Two Careers

When Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort touch gloves on Feb. 5, it will mark the crossing of two very different career trajectories.

One was a teenage prodigy who has shouldered the burden of massive expectations and at times has crumbled underneath them. The other was never pre-determined at a young age to be the best fighter in the world but has gone on to do so anyway.

Vitor Belfort is “The Phenom”. He was 19 years old when he made his debut in the UFC, and he was quickly deemed a world-beater, MMA’s answer to Mike Tyson. His career has been up and down since then. He has won two UFC titles at two different weight classes, and now he is fighting for his third at a third weight. His highlight reel is one of the most impressive in the sport.

However, his career is largely viewed as a disappointment. He wasn’t able to defend his UFC light-heavyweight title even once after winning it due to a doctor stoppage. He has a losing record against the only two fighters he has fought more than once (Randy Couture, Alistair Overeem), and he has bounced around between promotions and weight classes in search of lasting success.

After a close decision loss to Tito Ortiz in 2005, Belfort was cut by the UFC and went on to have a mixed record fighting in Japan. In 2008, in an attempt to revive his career, he moved down to middleweight and found instant success. His first two fights at 185 lbs were KO victories, and his fans declared once again that the “old Vitor” was back.

He then made a triumphant return to the UFC with a first round TKO of former champion Rich Franklin. That win earned him a shot at Anderson Silva’s middleweight strap.

Anderson Silva is marketed by the UFC as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He has won 12 straight fights since signing with the UFC and has utterly dominated the middleweight division.

However, Silva was never pre-ordained to dominate the sport. After he left the Chute Boxe team, he was dropped by the Pride Fighting Championship promotion. It’s unclear exactly what happened, but Pride obviously did not view him as a future superstar and placed a higher value on its relationships with Wanderlei Silva and his heir apparent, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. 

After being dropped by Pride, Silva fought in several promotions before finding a home in the Octagon. In his UFC debut, he landed every strike that he threw and knocked out Chris Leben 49 seconds in to the first round. His next fight was for the title, and Silva displayed a devastating Muay Thai clinch in another first round KO win. He has successfully defended his title seven times since then in addition to testing the waters at 205 lbs on two occasions.

But the Muay Thai fireworks have been cooling off. He has shown a strange reluctance to engage against Thales Leites and Demian Maia. And his last fight against Chael Sonnen was the toughest of his career. Silva pulled out a fifth round submission victory after losing the first four rounds.

Silva will need his Muay Thai skills to be as sharp as possible when he steps into the cage this Saturday, because Belfort is the best striker that he ever faced. Belfort is cut from the same fighting cloth as Silva: a vicious Muay Thai attack balanced with an under-rated submission game. Belfort has legendary hand speed while Silva has displayed more diverse stand-up skills. Neither fighter has ever suffered a KO/TKO loss on his feet.   

If Belfort beats Silva, then “The Phenom” will have finally achieved his potential by defeating the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. For Silva, it would be the first time in over six years that he didn’t have a title to his name.

However, if Silva has his hand raised in victory, then it will be yet another chapter in Silva’s amazing UFC run and another case of Belfort under-achieving in the sport he was supposed to dominate.    

Either way, two of the best strikers in the world will be squaring off on Saturday. One has tantalized the fans with seemingly limitless potential. The other has amazed the MMA world with the realization of that same potential. But only one will leave with the belt.