Vitor Belfort can see the light at the end of the tunnel. No, Belfort isn’t dying, but his MMA career might be coming to an end in the near future.
Belfor spoke with Ben Fowlkes of MMAFighting.com about his career coming to an end and “enjoying the moment:”
I’m enjoying every time I can enjoy, all of this. Right now I’m enjoying everything as it comes…I want to finish the best I can finish. We’ll see when God’s going to decide to speak to my heart and tell me that it’s the moment to finish. I know that the time is coming, so I’m preparing to finish the best I can finish. (MMAFighting.com)
The end is coming soon, but “The Phenom” has had a great run in the sport.
Belfort broke onto the scene as a phenom and was thus dubbed with the nickname, “The Phenom.” His early bouts in the UFC are highlighted by a 44-second KO of Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil.
After a stint in Pride that saw the Brazilian go 4-1, Belfort returned to the UFC to face off against Chuck Liddell. Belfort would lose to “The Iceman” but rebounded by using an axe to defeat Marvin Eastman at UFC 43.
Belfort would go on to rematch Randy Couture and win the light heavyweight title. His run at the top would be short lived however, as Couture bested “The Phenom” in their rubber match at UFC 49.
The loss to Couture, coupled with the problems surrounding the kidnapping of his sister sent Belfort into a downward spiral that lasted nearly three years. Following the loss to Couture, Belfort went on to go a combined 2-4 in his next six fights.
“The Phenom” got his career back on track in England and began the talk of “Vitor is back!” when he made his debut for the Affliction promotion. Belfort’s stint in Affliction was highlighted by a 37 second KO of Matt Lindland.
In 2009, Belfort returned to the UFC again to fight Rich Franklin. He defeated “Ace” in emphatic fashion by a KO in the first round.
Belfort used this win to catapult himself into a title shot against Anderson Silva. With the months of delays, the two finally met at UFC 126 with Belfort losing by a highlight reel front kick.
Rebounding from the Silva loss, Belfort blasted through Yoshihiro Akiyama and looks to do the same to Anthony Johnson at UFC 142.
If Belfort can emerge victorious, I could see the former champion retiring inside the Octagon. The man will have nothing left to accomplish in MMA.
He rose to the top of the sport seemingly overnight and competed at a high level for the entire length of his career. He may not look it, but Belfort is an older fighter at 34.
The bout with Johnson will be Belfort’s 30th professional fight in MMA and while his face and body has managed to escape the battle scars that a 15-year veteran should have. It’s not like Belfort padded his record against scrubs either.
If you look at his record, Belfort has fought against the best and beaten some of the best.
But will “The Phenom” be remembered as one of the best?
The answer to that question has to be an emphatic “yes.”
Belfort’s losses have come against names like Couture, Sakuraba, Liddell, Ortiz (controversial), Overeem, Henderson and Silva. Quite a credentialed list of losses for a 15-year career.
“The Phenom” will always be a case of “what if” for me. How many times have we heard the words, “Vitor is back!” only to see him “back” for one or two fights?
He had the world at his feet at 19 and could’ve been one of the top pound-for-pound fighters of all time. Instead, he will just be remembered as one of the greatest middleweights and owner of some of the most explosive hands in MMA.
Still, Belfort shouldn’t hold his head in shame after he calls it quits. He’s reached the top of the mountain multiple times and has a long and storied career.
“The Phenom” has fought at an elite-level and fought top level talent for the past 15 years. But fans have to be left with a taste for more as Belfort could’ve and should’ve been so much more.
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