Fresh off his knockout victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133, Vitor Belfort has now had some time to reflect on his latest win.
In an interview with CagedInsider.com, Belfort said he was very grateful to earn the victory over the Japanese star and appears to be in the best shape in his career, despite the critics writing him off following his loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 126.
“The truth is the Vintage Vitor never left,” Belfort said.
“If you look at my record, I won 4 of my last five fights by KO and was knocked out once. I’ve had some ups and downs in my personal life but I have overcame them.”
Belfort unleashed a flurry on Akiyama that had stunned him and dropped him to the canvas at 1:50 into the first round. Coincidentally, Akiyama attempted the same front kick that had finished the Brazilian in his last bout, however Belfort read the move and timed his attack shortly after.
Although Belfort got the win, there are some who believed he landed a few illegal strikes to the back of his opponent’s head—obviously a cause for concern, but Belfort said the shots were unintentional.
“The referee was very close watching everything. Looking back it was only one strike to the back of the head, the other was on the side. It’s a fight and things like this happen sometimes unintentionally,” he explained.
For now, the Brazilian will rest and savour his victory as he officially put the middleweight division on notice, including the champion, Silva. But despite his interest for a rematch with the champion, Belfort will have to seek another challenger elsewhere for the time being. And he said he is content with the idea.
“I will just get myself ready for my next opponent. I work for the UFC and whoever they say I fight I will,” he said.
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