Vitor Belfort is not retiring: ‘I want to fight again soon’

Despite reports before UFC 204 and a vague Instagram post by the man himself, Vitor Belfort says he has no plans to retire right now.

Vitor Belfort is not done with MMA yet, despite some conflicting reports. Before his fight with Gegard Mousasi at UFC 204, there were whispers out of Brazil that Belfort would be hanging up the gloves after the bout. When Belfort was stopped in the second round, it seemed a bit more likely. After all, was 39 and had been finished via strikes in three of his last four bouts.

Today, Belfort posted something on Instagram that fanned the retirement flames even more:

Quem não conhecesse os seus erros não é digno de liderar a si mesmo, quanto mais as pessoas que o cercam. Reconheço que não sou perfeito, sou somente HUMANO , um SER HUMANO. O poeta já escreveu : ” – que o amor seja eterno enquanto dure.” Esse é um belíssimo trecho de um poema. Porém eu o considero ingênuo. Com todo carinho e respeito ao poeta, peço permissão para reescrevê-lo da seguinte maneira: ” – QUE O AMOR SEJA ETERNO ENQUANTO SEJA CULTIVADO.” Confesso que preciso cultivar meu desejo pela competição dentro do octógono. Sei que tenho que zelar por aquela chama que sempre ardeu em mim. Tendo conhecimento pleno disso: ” – DECIDI QUE CUSTE O QUE CUSTAR VOU REACENDER MAIS UMA VEZ ESSA CHAMA.” Muito obrigado pelo carinho e apoio. Vou finalizar esse capítulo na minha vida, olhando no espelho e reconhecendo a mim mesmo. Who does not recognize your own mistakes it is not worthy to lead yourself, even less the people around him. I recognize that I am far from perfect, I am only human; a human being. Once a poet in Brazil wrote: ” – may love be eternal while it lasts. It is a beautiful fragment of a poem, but a truly consider it naive. If I may and with all do respect, I would re write it like this: ” – may love be eternal while we nurture it.” I confess that I need to nurture my competitive will inside the Octagon. I must cherish that fire inside of me again. Having recognized that to myself; I DECIDED TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BURN THAT FLAME AGAIN! Thanks a lot for all the support and advices. But I decided that I will end this chapter of my life looking at the mirror and recognizing myself. @mundoboxing

A photo posted by Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (@vitorbelfort) on Oct 15, 2016 at 1:01pm PDT

If you can’t read the text, it says:

“Who does not recognize your own mistakes it is not worthy to lead yourself, even less the people around him.
I recognize that I am far from perfect, I am only human; a human being.
Once a poet in Brazil wrote:
” – may love be eternal while it lasts.
It is a beautiful fragment of a poem, but a truly consider it naive.
If I may and with all do respect, I would re write it like this:
” – may love be eternal while we nurture it.”
I confess that I need to nurture my competitive will inside the Octagon. I must cherish that fire inside of me again.
Having recognized that to myself;
I DECIDED TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BURN THAT FLAME AGAIN!
Thanks a lot for all the support and advices. But I decided that I will end this chapter of my life looking at the mirror and recognizing myself.”

The last line had many thinking he was done with the sport. However, when contacted by MMA Junkie, Belfort said that was not his intention with the post at all and he’s not leaving MMA:

“I’m not retired. I want to fight again soon.

“I am driven to get back on my feet and honor the nickname I so proudly carry. ‘The Phenom’ is back.”

…

“I am not pleased with my two last performances and changes are being made,” Belfort said. “I don’t want to end my career the way it is right now. I want to look at the mirror and recognize myself as the fighter I always have been.

“I have 20 years in this sport, and I intend to honor that legacy.”

So I guess that’s that for now. Belfort can still be a draw for the company, and it’s not like he was completely run through by Mousasi. It will be interesting to see which direction the UFC goes in terms of matchmaking for Vitor in the future though.

Despite reports before UFC 204 and a vague Instagram post by the man himself, Vitor Belfort says he has no plans to retire right now.

Vitor Belfort is not done with MMA yet, despite some conflicting reports. Before his fight with Gegard Mousasi at UFC 204, there were whispers out of Brazil that Belfort would be hanging up the gloves after the bout. When Belfort was stopped in the second round, it seemed a bit more likely. After all, was 39 and had been finished via strikes in three of his last four bouts.

Today, Belfort posted something on Instagram that fanned the retirement flames even more:

Quem não conhecesse os seus erros não é digno de liderar a si mesmo, quanto mais as pessoas que o cercam. Reconheço que não sou perfeito, sou somente HUMANO , um SER HUMANO. O poeta já escreveu : ” – que o amor seja eterno enquanto dure.” Esse é um belíssimo trecho de um poema. Porém eu o considero ingênuo. Com todo carinho e respeito ao poeta, peço permissão para reescrevê-lo da seguinte maneira: ” – QUE O AMOR SEJA ETERNO ENQUANTO SEJA CULTIVADO.” Confesso que preciso cultivar meu desejo pela competição dentro do octógono. Sei que tenho que zelar por aquela chama que sempre ardeu em mim. Tendo conhecimento pleno disso: ” – DECIDI QUE CUSTE O QUE CUSTAR VOU REACENDER MAIS UMA VEZ ESSA CHAMA.” Muito obrigado pelo carinho e apoio. Vou finalizar esse capítulo na minha vida, olhando no espelho e reconhecendo a mim mesmo. Who does not recognize your own mistakes it is not worthy to lead yourself, even less the people around him. I recognize that I am far from perfect, I am only human; a human being. Once a poet in Brazil wrote: ” – may love be eternal while it lasts. It is a beautiful fragment of a poem, but a truly consider it naive. If I may and with all do respect, I would re write it like this: ” – may love be eternal while we nurture it.” I confess that I need to nurture my competitive will inside the Octagon. I must cherish that fire inside of me again. Having recognized that to myself; I DECIDED TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BURN THAT FLAME AGAIN! Thanks a lot for all the support and advices. But I decided that I will end this chapter of my life looking at the mirror and recognizing myself. @mundoboxing

A photo posted by Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (@vitorbelfort) on


If you can’t read the text, it says:

“Who does not recognize your own mistakes it is not worthy to lead yourself, even less the people around him.
I recognize that I am far from perfect, I am only human; a human being.
Once a poet in Brazil wrote:
” – may love be eternal while it lasts.
It is a beautiful fragment of a poem, but a truly consider it naive.
If I may and with all do respect, I would re write it like this:
” – may love be eternal while we nurture it.”
I confess that I need to nurture my competitive will inside the Octagon. I must cherish that fire inside of me again.
Having recognized that to myself;
I DECIDED TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BURN THAT FLAME AGAIN!
Thanks a lot for all the support and advices. But I decided that I will end this chapter of my life looking at the mirror and recognizing myself.”

The last line had many thinking he was done with the sport. However, when contacted by MMA Junkie, Belfort said that was not his intention with the post at all and he’s not leaving MMA:

“I’m not retired. I want to fight again soon.

“I am driven to get back on my feet and honor the nickname I so proudly carry. ‘The Phenom’ is back.”

…

“I am not pleased with my two last performances and changes are being made,” Belfort said. “I don’t want to end my career the way it is right now. I want to look at the mirror and recognize myself as the fighter I always have been.

“I have 20 years in this sport, and I intend to honor that legacy.”

So I guess that’s that for now. Belfort can still be a draw for the company, and it’s not like he was completely run through by Mousasi. It will be interesting to see which direction the UFC goes in terms of matchmaking for Vitor in the future though.