Ever since he made his Octagon debut as a thick-necked teenager in 1997, Vitor Belfort has tried out more hairstyles than any other fighter in the UFC besides Chris Leben. After seeing Belfort’s brand-new look last night — featuring a cross shaved into the back of his scalp and a braided rat-tail — we figured it was a good time to put together a chronological(-ish) history of the Phenom’s hair. Let’s begin…
Ever since he made his Octagon debut as a thick-necked teenager in 1997, Vitor Belfort has tried out more hairstyles than any other fighter in the UFC besides Chris Leben. After seeing Belfort’s brand-new look last night — featuring a cross shaved into the back of his scalp and a braided rat-tail — we figured it was a good time to put together a chronological(-ish) history of the Phenom’s hair. Let’s begin…
(Young, buzzed-down UFC champion Vitor.)
(“It’s a work in progress, bro.”)
(Trying out the “surfer dad” look while his wife breast-feeds.)
(The Phenom during his brief and terrifying “gangster cornrows” phase.)
Previous experiments have involved a flat iron and a tub of Crisco.
We enjoy a great hairdo as much as the next guy, but it’s not often that one plays a role in the outcome of a fight. Back in the day, Jason Fairn and Guy Mezger famously made a gentlemen’s agreement not to tug on each other’s locks during their fight, and more recently Louis Gaudinot has considered chopping off his tresses after his hair hampered his performance against John Lineker. Those men took a look in the mirror and decided the fate of their own follicles, an option that has sadly been taken out of the hands of Clay Guida.
“The Carpenter’s” signature coiffure was recently placed on the proverbial chopping block after Gray Maynard‘s camp filed a formal complaint with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. Sanctioning bodies are responsible for determining “whether head or facial hair presents any hazard to the safety of the unarmed combatant or his opponent or will interfere with the supervision and conduct of the contest or exhibition.” Though Guida has the right to contest Camp Maynard’s objection to his hair, he has opted to braid his Medusa-like top for their bout rather than bog himself down with legal wranglings.
Hear from all parties involved after the jump.
Previous experiments have involved a flat iron and a tub of Crisco.
We enjoy a great hairdo as much as the next guy, but it’s not often that one plays a role in the outcome of a fight. Back in the day, Jason Fairn and Guy Mezger famously made a gentlemen’s agreement not to tug on each other’s locks during their fight, and more recently Louis Gaudinot has considered chopping off his tresses after his hair hampered his performance against John Lineker. Those men took a look in the mirror and decided the fate of their own follicles, an option that has sadly been taken out of the hands of Clay Guida.
“The Carpenter’s” signature coiffure was recently placed on the proverbial chopping block after Gray Maynard‘s camp filed a formal complaint with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. Sanctioning bodies are responsible for determining “whether head or facial hair presents any hazard to the safety of the unarmed combatant or his opponent or will interfere with the supervision and conduct of the contest or exhibition.” Though Guida has the right to contest Camp Maynard’s objection to his hair, he has opted to braid his Medusa-like top for their bout rather than bog himself down with legal wranglings.
MMAJunkie.com spoke with the NJSACB’s Nick Lembo on Guida’s options in the matter:
“He doesn’t want to do it, and I don’t believe he’s 100 percent happy about it, but he’s being very understanding and very cooperative about it and he agreed to it. Otherwise, if he said, ‘No, I’m not going to do that,’ we’d have to have a hearing on it and let both sides present their case and have a commissioner’s ruling on the issue.”
John Fosco, Guida’s manager, also spoke with the Junkie about the Carpenter’s mindset headed into the fight:
“Clay chose to avoid any distractions and simply complied. Clay will be braiding his hair back. Clay is not focused on this and has one objective: winning. Nothing will distract him from his goal.”
Maynard wants it made clear that he couldn’t care less about Guida’s hair when they climb in the cage next Friday. Speaking with Duane Finley, the fighter stated that he personally had nothing to do with the complaint and isn’t concerned with the matter.
I for one think that Athletic Commissions have more important things to worry about than legislating hair styles and grooming habits, but if they do go down this road, might I suggest a good place to start?
Look Dan, I get that your last victory represented a dramatic change in every aspect of your life, but let’s face it — that mohawk was your trademark, and without it, you look like just another guy on the sex offender registry. Not that you look like a sex offender in this photo; I’m definitely not saying that. But really, sex offenders can look like anybody these days. They can look like the dude who bags your groceries, or the kindly piano teacher down the block, or the maintenance worker at your local park. So theoretically, sure, you now look like somebody who could be a sex offender — which again, is basically anybody — whereas your mohawk gave you a conspicuous “LOOK AT ME!” kind of vibe that most sex offenders would never try to pull off, as they tend to prefer secrecy and a low profile. Does that make sense? You look like a normal guy now. That’s all I meant.
Look Dan, I get that your last victory represented a dramatic change in every aspect of your life, but let’s face it — that mohawk was your trademark, and without it, you look like just another guy on the sex offender registry. Not that you look like a sex offender in this photo; I’m definitely not saying that. But really, sex offenders can look like anybody these days. They can look like the dude who bags your groceries, or the kindly piano teacher down the block, or the maintenance worker at your local park. So theoretically, sure, you now look like somebody who could be a sex offender — which again, is basically anybody — whereas your mohawk gave you a conspicuous “LOOK AT ME!” kind of vibe that most sex offenders would never try to pull off, as they tend to prefer secrecy and a low profile. Does that make sense? You look like a normal guy now. That’s all I meant.
(The “MMA Hairstyles” shirt in athetic gray. Click here for a full-size version of the t-shirt design on its own.)
In collaboration with artist/illustrator Derek Eads, we’re proud to announce the latest semi-official t-shirt design from CagePotato.com. The “MMA Hairstyles” shirt features the iconic silhouettes of 20 MMA stars — or more accurately, 17 actual stars plus three fighters who have made infamousfollicularstatements. How quickly can you identify them all?
You can purchase this masterpiece for the fair price of $22 at Society6.com in your choice of eight different colors, five different sizes, and two different genders. (Prove your loyalty to the Potato Nation and buy all 80 variations!)
(The “MMA Hairstyles” shirt in athetic gray. Click here for a full-size version of the t-shirt design on its own.)
In collaboration with artist/illustrator Derek Eads, we’re proud to announce the latest semi-official t-shirt design from CagePotato.com. The “MMA Hairstyles” shirt features the iconic silhouettes of 20 MMA stars — or more accurately, 17 actual stars plus three fighters who have made infamousfollicularstatements. How quickly can you identify them all?
You can purchase this masterpiece for the fair price of $22 at Society6.com in your choice of eight different colors, five different sizes, and two different genders. (Prove your loyalty to the Potato Nation and buy all 80 variations!)
