Tag: Uriah Hall

Vitor Belfort Says He’ll Retire After Uriah Hall Fight This Sunday

Capping off a nearly three-decade-long career in mixed martial arts (MMA), Vitor Belfort (26-13 1 NC) will reportedly retire following his fight with Uriah Hall on Sunday night in St. Louis. Belfort, who briefly held the light heavyweight belt in the mid aughts, fought for several UFC titles in his lengthy career, falling short to […]

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Capping off a nearly three-decade-long career in mixed martial arts (MMA), Vitor Belfort (26-13 1 NC) will reportedly retire following his fight with Uriah Hall on Sunday night in St. Louis.

Belfort, who briefly held the light heavyweight belt in the mid aughts, fought for several UFC titles in his lengthy career, falling short to Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, and Chris Weidman.

“The Phenom” revealed his intention to retire this weekend during an interview with UFC Unfiltered:

“I think we got to know the time to start and I think we need to know the time to end.”

“Life is about seasons, and I think you got to know the seasons. I think I did more than enough. Sometimes I flashback and say, ‘Wow I’m still doing this. Wow, it’s crazy.’ And I’m very thankful, but I think my body needs a rest.”

Belfort will ostensibly finish out his career against fellow middleweight striker Uriah Hall. A few years ago, Belfort would have been the prohibitive favorite during his TRT use, but his body and aggression have noticeably deteriorated since USADA began seriously cracking down on performance-enhancing drug use in MMA.

For that reason, coupled with a failed drug test, there will always be an asterisk next to Belfort’s name when discussing his legacy.

However, when Belfort was on, he was the epitome of fast-twitch muscle violence; his head kick knockouts of Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping, and Dan Henderson and his iconic 44-second knockout of Wanderlei Silva will forever remain etched in the annals of UFC knockout highlight reels.

Belfort’s career may have had its controversy, but the man is a pioneer of the sport for both Brazilian and North American MMA.

If Sunday is his last fight, then more power to him. But in MMA retirement is thrown about rather recklessly, and we’ve heard him say he would step down before.

Have we truly seen the last of “The Phenom” after Sunday night?

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UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi Betting Preview, Odds, Card Analysis

In December 2016, Korean fighter Dooho Choi was the talk of the UFC after turning in a Fight of the Year performance opposite Cub Swanson at UFC 206 in Toronto.
Choi (14-2) has not fought since, but the featherweight contender will be back inside the O…

In December 2016, Korean fighter Dooho Choi was the talk of the UFC after turning in a Fight of the Year performance opposite Cub Swanson at UFC 206 in Toronto.

Choi (14-2) has not fought since, but the featherweight contender will be back inside the Octagon as a -160 betting favorite (bet $160 to win $100) against Jeremy Stephens (26-14) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 124 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis Sunday.

Choi fell to Swanson via unanimous decision in the aforementioned bout, which won Fight of the Night honors, to end his 12-fight winning streak. He had knocked out eight straight opponents prior to that setback and earned Performance of the Night bonuses in his previous two bouts, first-round knockouts of Sam Sicilia and Thiago Tavares.

Meanwhile, Stephens is a +130 underdog (bet $100 to win $130) at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark and coming off a UD win over Gilbert Melendez at UFC 215.

Each of his past five fights has gone the distance, with his hand getting raised just twice during that stretch. Two of those losses came at the hands of featherweight champion Max Holloway and No. 1 contender Frankie Edgar, who will fight each other for the title in the main event at UFC 222 on March 3 in Las Vegas.

Before Choi-Stephens, a pair of middleweight contenders will meet in a co-main event that should not last long, as Uriah Hall (13-8) takes on Vitor Belfort (26-13, 1 no-contest).

Hall is listed as a consensus -310 favorite and has seen five of his past six bouts end inside the distance, with three finishing before the first-round bell. He knocked out Krzysztof Jotko in the second round of his most recent fight, at UFC Fight Night 116, to win a Performance of the Night bonus after losing his previous three contests.

Belfort is a +250 underdog and also ended a three-bout winless streak in his most recent outing, scoring a UD victory against Nate Marquardt at UFC 212 June 3. The 40-year-old Brazilian had not gone the distance in almost a decade, and 21 of his wins have come by finish (18 knockouts and three submissions).

He was knocked out in his previous three fights, with one of them overturned to a no-contest after opponent Kelvin Gastelum tested positive for marijuana.

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‘F*ck You, USADA’: Uriah Hall is ‘Sick of Steroid Using D**kheads’ Impacting his Life

UFC middleweight Uriah Hall hit out at USADA agents and the dopers who have justified the efforts of the organization  Hall claims to have been woken up on Monday morning for the purposes of a test – one which he clearly feels was unnecessary. Ur…

UFC middleweight Uriah Hall hit out at USADA agents and the dopers who have justified the efforts of the organization  Hall claims to have been woken up on Monday morning for the purposes of a test – one which he clearly feels was unnecessary. Uriah Hall is not happy with USADA pic.twitter.com/QpYnZ9gP96 — Tom Taylor […]

Belfort vs. Hall, Eye vs. Faria Made Official For UFC St. Louis

Vitor Belfort vs. Urijah Hall has been made official for UFC St. Louis and a new bout has been confirmed. ESPN broke the news of Belfort vs. Hall being confirmed by the UFC. The two will meet inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri on Jan. 1…

Vitor Belfort vs. Urijah Hall has been made official for UFC St. Louis and a new bout has been confirmed. ESPN broke the news of Belfort vs. Hall being confirmed by the UFC. The two will meet inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri on Jan. 14 for a UFC Fight Night event. Jessica […]

Vitor Belfort Teases Potentially Exciting UFC Return Bout

Controversial MMA legend Vitor Belfort was supposedly set to retire following his decision win over fellow veteran Nate Marquardt at June’s UFC 212 from Brazil, but apparently, ‘The Phenom’ isn’t hanging up his gloves just yet. The former UFC champion took to Instagram this morning (Thurs., October 19, 2017) to reveal that he’s supposedly signed […]

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Controversial MMA legend Vitor Belfort was supposedly set to retire following his decision win over fellow veteran Nate Marquardt at June’s UFC 212 from Brazil, but apparently, ‘The Phenom’ isn’t hanging up his gloves just yet.

The former UFC champion took to Instagram this morning (Thurs., October 19, 2017) to reveal that he’s supposedly signed a bout agreement to face explosive striker Uriah Hall at a yet-to-be-named UFC card on January 14, 2018.

Check it out:

I just signed my bout agreement for January 14th at UFC. I always looked for big challenges and in my last UFC fight it couldn’t be different… @uriahhall it’s a honor to share the cage with a such young and talented fighter. Thanks for accepting the fight!

Undoubtedly one of the greatest knockout artists in UFC history, the 40-year-old Belfort has garnered a lackluster 1-2(1) record in his last four bouts after his TKO loss to Kelvin Gastelum last March was changed to a no contest when Gastelum tested positive for marijuana metabolites.

All told, he’s lost three of his last four and four of his last six, with his only wins coming against fading stars in Dan Henderson and Marquardt. He’ll face a clearly difficult challenge in the flashy Hall, who recently rebounded from a three-fight losing streak of his own by defeating Krzysztof Jotko in a rousing comeback at September 16’s UFC Fight Night 116.

Both fighters still have the knockout power to end a fight with any shot despite their recent struggles, so this fight could produce some of the fireworks we’ve grown accustomed to witnessing in bouts involving “The Phenom.” Yet while it’s never up to the media or fans to decide when a fighter should hang up his or her gloves, it’s also fair to wonder if Belfort is playing with fire against the dangerous Hall.

What do you think?

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Belfort Back For One More Against Hall

According to long time UFC veteran Vitor Belfort, he has signed the bout agreements to fight Uriah Hall at the beginning of 2018. This coming from a post on his Instagram account this morning. Acabo de assinar o contrato para lutar no UFC dia 14 de Janeiro. Eu sempre busquei grandes desafios e na minha […]

According to long time UFC veteran Vitor Belfort, he has signed the bout agreements to fight Uriah Hall at the beginning of 2018. This coming from a post on his Instagram account this morning. Acabo de assinar o contrato para lutar no UFC dia 14 de Janeiro. Eu sempre busquei grandes desafios e na minha […]