On Saturday night, in front of a delirious Brazilian crowd at UFC Fight Night 32, Vitor Belfort not only became the first man to knockout Dan Henderson, he also became the first fighter in UFC history to earn three head kick KOs. And those three? Yeah, they came consecutively. All in 2013, all against top-10 ranked opponents. Not bad for a 36-year-old.
The young dinosaur’s unbelievable performance capped off a wild night in Goiânia, one which shaped quickly into a dream show for any self-respecting violence aficionado — nine finishes in 11 fights, seven of which ended in the first round, and two of which ended via the elusive ‘tapout due to strikes.’ And as always, as the hits piled up, Twitter couldn’t help but jump aboard for the ride.
That upper cut was #streetfighter status #UFCFightNight
— Ramsey Nijem (@RamseyNijem) November 10, 2013
Holy fuck … Vitor amazes me.
— TJ Grant (@TJ_Grant) November 10, 2013
Wooooooooooohoooooooo!!!! BZ killin It!!!
— Edward Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) November 10, 2013
WOW, old school @vitorbelfort came to bang and throw. Love it, miss those fighters http://t.co/ZFkPg1BY8r
— Roy Nelson (@roynelsonmma) November 10, 2013
Belfort can contend with anyone. He deserves the winner of Weidman and Silva. That said I believe @ChrisWeidmanUFC is champ for a long time.
— Kyle Kingsbury (@Kingsbu) November 10, 2013
Vitor Belfort’s hair wins the walkout.
— Stipe Miocic (@smiocic) November 10, 2013
Great ko by Belfort, I was really pulling for Dan, tough sport to call…
— Mark Bocek (@MarkBocek) November 10, 2013
You are still my hero, my mentor! Keep your head up my friend! @danhendo
— Tarec Saffiedine (@tarecfighter) November 10, 2013
All this TRT talk. The substance doesn’t give you perfect timing like @vitorbelfort has! He is a very skilled fighter and thats what counts!
— Akira Corassani (@AkiraCorassani) November 10, 2013
There are no losers in a fight amongst legends
— Jon Tuck (@JonCruzTuck) November 10, 2013
Usually a south paw wants to step to the right but Vitor was moving left. Huge uppercut. @kennyflorian said it perfect… Speed vs Power.
— Joe Lauzon (@JoeLauzon) November 10, 2013
Not even Toby Keith can stop Vitor!!
— MIKE RICHMAN (@MikeUSMCRichman) November 10, 2013
Well fuck @vitorbelfort just did that with ease #amazed
— Sergio Pettis (@sergiopettis) November 10, 2013
Vitor has to be the baddest 36 year old man in the world ! #UFCFightNight32
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunsonMMA) November 10, 2013
K so vitor dropped the B bombs first.
— Scott jorgensen (@Scottjorgensen) November 10, 2013
Wow!
— Hector Lombard (@HectorLombard) November 10, 2013
That was a Deebo uppercut
— Abel Trujillo (@AbelTrujillo1) November 10, 2013
Holy shit! Belfort is on fire! @vitorbelfort
— Brad Tavares (@BradTavares) November 10, 2013
If the @ufc wants to crack down on cheaters, fighters with TRT exceptions should not be allowed to receive post fight bonuses. #UFN32
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) November 10, 2013
Great night of fights, ton of finishes. Vitor looked very impressive.
— Ryan Bader (@ryanbader) November 10, 2013
Parabens @vitorbelfort , mandou super bem !!fechou a noite com chave de ouro!!
— Leonardo Santos (@LeoSantosbjj) November 10, 2013
The power of Christ compelled him
— isaac vallie-flagg (@IKEVF) November 10, 2013
Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwww lindo demais..
— Antonio Pezao Silva (@BigfootSilva) November 10, 2013
Gotta be the best killer instinct in the game. @vitorbelfort
— Charlie Brenneman (@SpaniardMMA) November 10, 2013
We are at the press conference. Big things coming for Vitor!!!! Dana withe http://t.co/R4zeCmU8VM
— Vitor Belfort (@vitorbelfort) November 10, 2013
Bisping must be watching this like f**k I’m on the shit end of these guys highlights
— Brad Tavares (@BradTavares) November 10, 2013
2 juice heads.
— michael (@bisping) November 10, 2013
FOR THE UNOFFICIAL TUF BRAZIL CROWN
That’s how the @blackzilians do work congrats @vitorbelfort and @cezarmutante on their wins keeping it going!!!
— Michael Johnson (@FollowTheMenace) November 10, 2013
Otima luta do mutante e do serafian,2 grandes lutadores,tem futuro os 2
— Wanderlei Silva (@wandfc) November 10, 2013
Why go for spinning techniques when you haven’t yet found your rhythm striking all night?
— TJ Grant (@TJ_Grant) November 10, 2013
Congrats @danielsarafian, great fight! Unfortunately they gave him the split. But I thought u r the aggressor most of the time.
— Demian Maia (@demianmaia) November 10, 2013
Parabens aos guerreiros @cezarmutante e @danielsarafian pela grande luta e pelo respeito de ambos… 👍
— Antonio Pezao Silva (@BigfootSilva) November 10, 2013
Damn son… “@guicruzzz: And the crowd chants “Mutante faggot.” They don’t like him at all.” #UFConFox
— Marcelino Evil (@KCBanditMMA) November 10, 2013
Man these some big ass middleweights. .lol @ufc
— Dylan Andrews (@dylanthevillian) November 10, 2013
Congrats @cezarmutante nice fight! @GilbertDurinho
— Brad Tavares (@BradTavares) November 10, 2013
Muito obrigado a todos pelo apoio !! Essa vitória é para vcs !!!!
— Cezar Ferreira (@cezarmutante) November 10, 2013
FEIJAO IS BACK
Feijao melting dudes…damn. #UFConFOX
— Marcelino Evil (@KCBanditMMA) November 10, 2013
That’s twice this card a finish has happened from knees to the body. #SPECTACULAR
— Kyle Kingsbury (@Kingsbu) November 10, 2013
Damn. It’s all good @igorpokrajac You will come back stronger than ever.
— Stipe Miocic (@smiocic) November 10, 2013
Wow…fun fight!
— Matt Serra (@MattSerraUFC) November 10, 2013
Boa @RAFAEL__FEIJAO wowwwwwwww…
— Antonio Pezao Silva (@BigfootSilva) November 10, 2013
Thank you everyone on support, I’m all good
— Igor Pokrajac UFC (@igorpokrajac) November 10, 2013
LIVING UP TO THE HYPE
Great fight dude, I’m looking forward to seeing more @RUKUSMMA303
— Phil Davis (@PhilMrWonderful) November 10, 2013
Oh my gooooooooodness. Tapped out to the knee to the body…
— Marcelino Evil (@KCBanditMMA) November 10, 2013
That knee must’ve felt like death . Tap to strikes . God lord ! #UFCFightNight32
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunsonMMA) November 10, 2013
@RUKUSMMA303 congrats on another 1st rd finish bro. Doing Colorado Proud!!
— Chris Camozzi (@ChrisCamozzi) November 10, 2013
Yeah baby!! Love ya @RUKUSMMA303 !!
— Cody Donovan (@donnybrookcody) November 10, 2013
@RUKUSMMA303 Looked great out there bro, big things to come for you!!! #UFCGoiania
— Mark Bocek (@MarkBocek) November 10, 2013
LAFLARE DOMINATES PONZINIBBIO
Huge fight and great showing by @RLaFlare way to go snatch the win and not let up #Blackzilians #UFC
— Michael Johnson (@FollowTheMenace) November 10, 2013
@RLaFlare Osss!!! Great job!!! That’s why I call u “Gucci Mane LaFlare”
— Abel Trujillo (@AbelTrujillo1) November 10, 2013
Great win for @RLaFlare! He looked awesome! #WellRounded
— Gian Villante (@GPVillante) November 10, 2013
Gas must be $10 a gallon in Brazil cause Ponzinibbio has been running on fumes early ! #UFCFightNight32
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunsonMMA) November 10, 2013
Wow @RLaFlare Dominant !!! #longisland !!!
— AL IAQUINTA (@ALIAQUINTA) November 10, 2013
#FOTN great performance LaFlare
— Bubba McDaniel (@BubbaTheMenace) November 10, 2013
Omg how did he throw directly into umaplata? (or however you spell it)
— Phil Davis (@PhilMrWonderful) November 10, 2013
Gotta admit I’ve never seen anybody throw themselves into an omoplata.
— Marcelino Evil (@KCBanditMMA) November 10, 2013
THE NEW KID ON THE FEATHERWEIGHT BLOCK
HOLY SHIT! Big KO Jeremy Stephens
— Dana White (@danawhite) November 10, 2013
Killer KO @LiLHeathenMMA congrats! #UFCFightNight32
— Jon Tuck (@JonCruzTuck) November 10, 2013
Wow!! @LiLHeathenMMA nasty KO!! @ufc
— Urijah Faber (@UrijahFaber) November 10, 2013
@LiLHeathenMMA congrats killer!!!
— Kelvin Gastelum (@KelvinGastelum) November 10, 2013
Jeremy Stevens has serious power
— Chris Camozzi (@ChrisCamozzi) November 10, 2013
Crazy KO by Stephens… #UFCGoiania
— Mark Bocek (@MarkBocek) November 10, 2013
Daaaaammmmmit. I love good but I also love watching @LiLHeathenMMA sleep people. This shit I’m cookin better be good.
— Marcelino Evil (@KCBanditMMA) November 10, 2013
OMG!!!!! That was NASTY!!!! @LiLHeathenMMA @ufc
— Bubba McDaniel (@BubbaTheMenace) November 10, 2013
Whoa!!! @LiLHeathenMMA
— Yves Edwards (@thugjitsumaster) November 10, 2013
Another big win for @LiLHeathenMMA and @AllianceMMA good work baby pic.twitter.com/hHtrv7OPWe
— Phil Davis (@PhilMrWonderful) November 10, 2013
It’s crazy how quiet the crowd was after that KO. Usually the place would erupt.
— Brad Tavares (@BradTavares) November 10, 2013
That was an AWESOME KO! #PayTheManHisMoney in my Rounders KGB voice.
— MIKE RICHMAN (@MikeUSMCRichman) November 10, 2013
Jeremy Stephens is starting the H-Bomb early tonight ! #UFCFightNight32
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunsonMMA) November 10, 2013
Great KO by Jeremy Stephens!! Another Alliance victory!!!
— Jason Lambert (@MMA_Punisher) November 10, 2013
Nice @LiLHeathenMMA !!! Congrats bro!!!
— Abel Trujillo (@AbelTrujillo1) November 10, 2013
Gostaria de pedir desculpas para quem acredita em mim, fico muito triste com a derrota, NÃO QUEBREI A MÃO, estou bem já no hotel.
— Rony Mariano Bezerra (@RonyJasonMMA) November 10, 2013
Thanks @ufc @danawhite for everything! I’m so grateful. from bottom of my heart my family thanks you! Best yet still to come! #UFc #145
— Jeremy Stephens (@LiLHeathenMMA) November 10, 2013
People always ask who has hit me the hardest, and I always tell people it was @LilHeathenMMA. That is why. #UFC #MMA #UFCFS1
— Joe Lauzon (@JoeLauzon) November 10, 2013