Tag: Lyoto Machida vs. Vitor Belfort

Bisping: It Was Satisfying To See Machida Knock Out Belfort

Michael Bisping loved every second of Vitor Belfort’s knockout loss to Lyoto Machida.

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There’s no love lost between former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and former opponent Vitor Belfort, as “The Count” said it was satisfying to see Belfort get front kicked into unconsciousness by Lyoto Machida at UFC 224 last weekend.

Bisping gave his thoughts on the fight during the most recent episode of his “Believe You Me” podcast, and didn’t hold back in classic Bisping fashion:

“It’s very satisfying to see him lose if I’m honest. I don’t care for the guy. I think he’s built a career off being a cheat. The amount of insane steroids that he’s done over his life, over his career, is evident to see. I mean you go back and look at him in his early career, the guy was insanely jacked. When we fought he was insanely jacked, and now you look at him and he looks like a f**king beat up old man, and he’s getting knocked out like so and he’s performing like so. When he was juiced out of his mind, [he was] just f**king tearing through everybody.”

Bisping and Belfort headlined a UFC on FX event back in 2013, when Belfort’s use of testosterone replacement therapy was at its most rampant due to lax drug testing enforcement. “The Phenom” was an animal during his TRT years, head kicking Luke Rockhold, Bisping, and Dan Henderson into oblivion.

Bisping now has a permanent eye injury from the Belfort fight, and despite the fact that Machida actually called Bisping out following the Belfort knockout, Bisping was very complimentary of “The Dragon”:

“He has the hypocrisy to go out and talk about being a good person and this and that. The guy’s a cheat, the guy has no honor. I would have loved to have been the person to do that, but it’s kind of still enjoyable to see him get what he deserves because he’s gone out and done that to many people and caused injuries. He f**ked up my eyeball, he’s the one to blame for that, so yeah. God bless Machida. Job well done.”

Belfort officially retired and left his gloves in the cage after his UFC 224 loss in front of his native Brazilians in Rio De Janeiro.

Is Bisping just bitter over the loss to Belfort or does “The Count” have a point about Belfort’s nefarious past?

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Report: Vitor Belfort Fought With Significant Injury At UFC 224

Reports of a knee injury for Belfort emerge just days after his retirement fight against Lyoto Machida…

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UFC legend and former champion Vitor Belfort suffered a knee injury a week into his UFC 224 training camp for fellow Brazilian MMA legend Lyoto Machida.

Machida ultimately knocked Belfort out with a front head kick in the second round in front of a raucous Brazilian crowd.

Combate was the first to report the injury, which was so bad that several doctors suggested a Belfort pull out of the fight, but “The Phenom” refused to withdraw.

The 41-year-old Belfort retired after his loss at UFC 224, and left his gloves in the cage to officially put an end to a career that spanned decades.

Does news of the injury change your opinion on his preparation and ability against Machida? Or is this an excuse to justify a possible comeback?

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Vitor Belfort Walks Back On Post-UFC 224 Retirement Talk

Vitor Belfort’s last fight may be at UFC 224 this weekend, but he says he’ll be far from retired:

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Vitor Belfort is an absolute legend when it comes to MMA, and now that he’s on the cusp of his last fight, “The Phenom” wants to make something clear.

The former light heavyweight champion’s career has now spanned three decades, and he’s fought at the most elite level since debuting in the 1990s.

It was only natural that talk of retirement emerged following his recent losing streak, and although Belfort concedes this will be his last fight, he’s far from retired from the fight game (via MMA Junkie):

“I’m not retiring because when you retire, you’re still getting paid. I’m not getting paid, so I’m not retiring.”

“But this is my last fight. That’s important because people say, ‘OK, what’s the legacy you’re leaving?’ Legacy is not what I did for myself. It’s what I’m doing for the next generation. So I think I’m leaving one of the biggest legacies in the sport, for sure, worldwide. And I’m not retiring because I’m not getting paid after I finish (fighting), so I’m looking for jobs. I’m looking for opportunities.”

Whether he means coaching or opening his own gym, Belfort remained quiet on just exactly what he means by not retiring. The Brazilian legend kept it pretty vague when discussing his future capacity in the sport.

“But this is my last fight, for sure, and I’m very content with what I accomplished in this sport. But I still believe I can contribute so much with the sport, and I love what the UFC is doing, creating the (UFC Performance Institute) and creating all that. But we have so much left to do.”

Belfort will take on fellow Brazilian Lyoto Machida at UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro next month. What do you see Belfort doing once he’s completely retired from fighting?

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Amanda Nunes’ Next Title Defense Set For UFC 224

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes will defend her belt against Raquel Pennington at UFC 224, Combate reported on Friday. Nunes (15-4) will be defending her belt for the first time on her home soil in Rio de Janeiro on May 12. The Brazilian is on a six-fight win streak, having violently taken the title […]

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UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes will defend her belt against Raquel Pennington at UFC 224, Combate reported on Friday.

Nunes (15-4) will be defending her belt for the first time on her home soil in Rio de Janeiro on May 12. The Brazilian is on a six-fight win streak, having violently taken the title from Miesha Tate before TKOing former champion Ronda Rousey in less than a minute, and will look to secure her third title defense against Pennington, who herself is on an impressive four-fight win streak.

Pennington (9-5) is coming off of a nasty leg injury due to a hunting accident following her dominant victory over Tate at UFC 205 in 2016. While talks of a super fight with UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg gained steam recently, it appears as though both women will be defending their belts separately before fighting each other.

Brazilian legends Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort will throw down elsewhere on the card, as well as Jacare Souza vs. Kelvin Gastelum.

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Report: Lyoto Machida vs. Vitor Belfort Targeted For UFC 224

Two Brazilian MMA legends are set to do battle at UFC 224 in what could be a retirement fight for both men in front of their Brazilian fans, according to a report by MMA Fighting. Lyoto Machida will reportedly take on Vitor Belfort in a battle of aging former champions in at May’s UFC 224 […]

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Two Brazilian MMA legends are set to do battle at UFC 224 in what could be a retirement fight for both men in front of their Brazilian fans, according to a report by MMA Fighting.

Lyoto Machida will reportedly take on Vitor Belfort in a battle of aging former champions in at May’s UFC 224 Rio de Janeiro.

Both men have seen better days as fighters, with Machida recently snapping a brutal three-fight losing streak with a split decision victory over Eryk Anders this month. Meanwhile, Belfort was knocked out by Kelvin Gastelum (which was overturned due to a failed drug test by Gastelum), and was then TKO’d by Jacare Souza and Gegard Mousasi before snapping his losing streak with a decision victory over Nate Marquardt at UFC 212.

Belfort (26-13-1 NC) has indicated multiple times that his next fight will likely be his last and seeing how he specifically mentions Brazil as the location of his swan song, this appears to be the UFC placating a longtime veteran. “The Phenom” was supposed to take on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 17 winner Uriah Hall last month, but Hall was removed at the last minute following a bad weight cut.

Machida too has his back up against the proverbial wall, and could likely retire should he suffer another blistering knockout loss. The two have trained in the past, but apparently had no qualms about signing on to fight one another.

UFC 224 takes place on May 12, 2018.

Who do you think wins this fight between two Brazilian former UFC champions and MMA pioneers?

Does a win for either man keep him from retirement?

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