It has been over a year since Vitor Belfort signed on the dotted line with ONE Championship, but according to the man himself, when he does step into the Circle for his promotional debut, it will be a date to remember.
“I am going to be able to bring something that is going to shock the world if I am capable [of doing] what I have here in my mind and bringing [it] to fruition,” the 43-year-old MMA legend said in an interview with ONE’s Michael Schiavello.
” I think the sport of mixed martial arts has to evolve. I see ONE is the only one that is doing something different,[ONE] brings the dreams of the sport of MMA in different forms, and what I have in mind is a mind-blowing experience that I believe that when it will come to reality, this is going to be game-changing.”
The last time MMA fans saw “The Phenom” in action was in 2018 when he fought Lyoto Machida at UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro, Bazil. Belfort’s UFC tenure came to an end that night after he suffered a second-round KO loss to his fellow countryman.
Belfort, does not look back too fondly on the final years of his UFC career but it seems that since signing with ONE he has now found a new lease of life.
“I wasn’t happy, my last four fights I wasn’t happy, Mike, you know me, You know when a fighter is unhappy, and I can only work from joy. So I believe the worst thing for a man is to be unhappy. We have to be happy, and it’s very sad to see people unhappy today, for some real reasons, but you have to find joy to overcome challenges and so I had to find joy in my life.”
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced ONE to alter its 2020 schedule, but according to Belfort, once some form of normality has returned to the world, don’t be surprised if the promotion is soon sambaing its way to his homeland.
“This is something that is going to happen, it’s just about time, and like I said, Brazil is the land of the sport; that’s where everything started,” Belfort said regarding ONE entering the Brazilian market.
“I think Chatri he embodies martial arts values in a way that people can relate [to] it. I believe that going to Brazil is going back to where everything started. We have one hundred million radical fans, listen to this number one hundred million, like really no other sport, imagine when ONE arrives with the content that ONE has, man it’s going to be mind-blowing.”
For now, Belfort’s focus is on keeping himself in shape for his ONE debut. While no date or opponent has been officially confirmed for the Brazilian’s first ONE outing, Belfort has recently said that before the pandemic struck, he had accepted a bout agreement to face ONE veteran Alain Ngalani.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Ngalani bout goes ahead in the future, but regardless of who Belfort locks horns with, he is promising to put on a show for his legion of fans.
“I am looking forward to being in action for you guys and [bringing] something that really disrupts the industry of mixed martial arts, no better place to be in than ONE Championship.”