On October 16,1998, mixed martial arts legends Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort brought their exciting styles to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the UFC’s first event in the country.
A former heavyweight tournament winner, Belfort made his debut at light-heavyweight at UFC: Brazil, which also marked his first professional bout in his home country. For Silva, the event was his promotional debut and his fifth professional match in Sao Paulo.
As the battle featured two of the sport’s premier strikers, it was no surprise that the match lasted only 44 seconds, ending in a vicious technical knockout. Belfort rocked Silva with a left cross and chased him across the Octagon with a barrage of punches, ending “the Axe Murderer’s” night.
Now, over a decade later, it is hard to believe that it has taken so long for two of Brazil’s hardest hitting fighters to have a rematch inside the Octagon.
Since their first bout, Silva had a meteoric rise, making the move to Pride exclusively after a UFC title loss to Tito Ortiz. Finding a home with a new promotion in Japan, Silva went on a tear as he dominated the competition en route to the Pride middleweight championship.
Holding the title from 2001 to 2007, Silva became one of the faces of the organization and built himself up as one of the baddest men on the planet.
Unlike Silva, Belfort bounced around a few different organizations, gaining a myriad of accolades as he became one of the elite of the sport.
After their first bout, Belfort made the immediate jump to Pride, going 4-1 with wins over Heath Herring and Gilbert Yvel. He would then return to the UFC from 2002 to 2005, winning and losing the light-heavyweight title to Randy Couture.
Belfort again left the UFC and went on to fight for numerous organizations, going back to Pride prior to the promotion going defunct and also becoming the light-heavyweight champion of Cage Rage.
Although their paths seemed to have diverged over the years, 2005 was the last time that Belfort and Silva even had a chance to face each other once again. Both fighters took part in the Pride Grand Prix 2005 middleweight tournament that featured almost every top fighter in the world at the time.
Silva made it quite far in the tournament, losing to Ricardo Arona in the semifinals. Belfort was not as luckly, getting caught in a guillotine choke by Alistair Overeem in the opening round.
Eventually, both fighters found their way back to the UFC but have had totally different experiences since their heydays in Pride.
Since 2007, Silva has gone 3-5 with two vicious knockout losses to Chris Leben and Quinton Jackson. Belfort has gone 6-1 in the same time span, his sole loss coming to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 126.
Luckily for Silva, his most recent win against former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le has temporarily revitalized his career, giving him this opportunity to coach on the upcoming Ultimate Fighter: Brazil alongside Belfort.
Despite Silva being passed his prime, fans will finally get to see these two legends square off once again inside the Octagon in what’s sure to be an exciting rematch.
Silva may have lost some of his allure, but he still possesses one of the best striking arsenals in the game and will not hesitate to go toe-to-toe with Belfort once again. In the former UFC champion’s last bout, he easily knocked out Yoshihiro Akiyama, once again showing his premier striking skills.
When these two warriors finally face off, this battle will be worth the over 13-year wait.
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