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Vitor Belfort out, Hasim Rahman Jr. to face Shannon Briggs or Greg Hardy

The boxing fight between Vitor Belfort and Hasim Rahman Jr. has been canceled. The MMA legend Belfort tested positive for COVID and is not allowed to compete. Boxing Scene first reported: “Former UFC champion Vitor Belfort has fallen ill and is no longer able to proceed with a planned showdown against Las Vegas’ Rahman Jr.” […]

The boxing fight between Vitor Belfort and Hasim Rahman Jr. has been canceled. The MMA legend Belfort tested positive for COVID and is not allowed to compete.

Boxing Scene first reported:

“Former UFC champion Vitor Belfort has fallen ill and is no longer able to proceed with a planned showdown against Las Vegas’ Rahman Jr.”

When the news broke, Rahman Jr. said on Twitter:

“Prayers up for [Vitor Belfort] get well soon Champ. Inshallah I’ll take care of business Saturday and we can make it happen ‘23. @DAZNBoxing @MisfitsBoxing … Y’all gonna LOVE this new opponent. Misfits Series 003 DONT BLINK!”

Vitor Belfort’s replacement?

Action has quickly been executed to find a replacement for the Brazilian Vitor Belfort in this boxing bout. Boxing Scene reported that Hasim Rahman Jr. will be facing either Shannon Briggs or Greg Hardy.

Briggs is a former boxing heavyweight lineal champion. He last fought professionally in 2016. At one point he held the WBA boxing heavyweight championship.

Greg Hardy was a former NFL player who made waves in the UFC’s heavyweight division. As an MMA fighter, Hardy earned a record of 7-5 professionally. At the end of his UFC contract, he was not re-signed. As a free agent, he participated in a boxing match earlier in 2022 winning by TKO. Additionally, he signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

Hasim Rahman Jr. fought earlier this year for the WBC heavyweight title, this was his first professional loss as a boxer.

At the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, Hasim Rahman Jr. needs a replacement for Vitor Belfort. This fight event is booked for this weekend on November 19.

Vitor Belfort and Hasim Rahman Jr. show great respect to each other ahead of boxing match: “Test myself against a legend.”

November 19 will host a showdown between heavyweight boxer Hasim Rahman Jr. and MMA legend Vitor Belfort. The two will have an exhibition boxing face-off as the headlining fight of MF & DAZN: X SERIES 003. Brazil’s Vitor Belfort was a phenom in MMA, winning the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament at just the age of […]

Brazil’s Vitor Belfort was a phenom in MMA, winning the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament at just the age of 19, he is still the youngest tournament champion in UFC history. The Brazilian athlete would later capture the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship as well. Belfort was notable for his hand speed and power, having won nearly 70% of his career fight by way of KO/TKO. In his storied professional career, Belfort fought a massive list of notable fighters including Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, Randy Couture, Jon Jones, Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin, Alistair Overeem, Chuck Liddell, Kazushi Sakuraba, Wanderlei Silva, among many others.

Belfort has not fought in MMA since 2018. In a 2021 exhibition boxing match, the Brazilian striker earned a first-round TKO win over Evander Holyfield who was in his late 50s at the time.

Hasim Rahman Jr. is a 31-year-old professional boxer who is just coming off a losing bid in his match to capture the vacant WBC-USNBC heavyweight title earlier in 2022.

Respect between Vitor Belfort and Hasim Rahman Jr.

During a media call, Vitor Belfort and Hasim Rahman Jr. showed a tremendous amount of respect for one another. Rahman Jr. said of Vitor Belfort:

“It’s an amazing event. I’m excited to be a part of it and to especially test myself against a legend. This is a former UFC champion, a Brazilian Olympic alternate in boxing, a true martial artist and competitor; I’m ready to prove why he speaks so highly of me. He’s been at the top of a bill before, the main event, he’s done it all. I’m here to take advantage of these opportunities and I’m happy to show people why I’m one of the most dangerous people in combat sports. Period.” [Transcript Courtest of Britishboxingnews]

Vitor Belfort responded in kind with:

“This is legendary. For me, martial arts is something I’ve always grown up doing so I’ve never been able to do both. Now I’m fighting one of the best prodigies in boxing and I’m very excited for it.”

Even though this may be booked as an exhibition, both fighters have been training at maximum ability and will be seeking the knockout win. Rahman Jr. finished by saying:

“We already know what he is, what he does, what his strengths are, and there’s nothing hungrier than a wounded lion that’s still hungry like him. He’s been at the top of this sport, but it’s time for a new king.”

Wanderlei Silva eyes boxing venture following MMA retirement, pursues former world champions

Former PRIDE FC champion and UFC alum, Wanderlei Silva recently confirmed his retirement from professional mixed martial arts, however, has announced plans to pursue professional boxing – as well as poking barbs at compatriot and past opponent, Vitor Belfort. Silva, a former undisputed middleweight champion under the PRIDE FC banner, as well as the 2003 […]

Silva, a former undisputed middleweight champion under the PRIDE FC banner, as well as the 2003 middleweight Grand Prix victor, recently called time on his professional mixed martial arts career with immediate effect, having last competed in a fourth fight against Quinton Jackson under the Bellator banner back in 2018.

Revered as one of the most lethal and devastating knockout artists in the sport’s history, Silva holds the record for the most wins, knockouts, title defenses, and the longest streak of victories under the PRIDE FC banner.

Wanderlei Silva blasts Vitor Belfort for boxing Evander Holyfield last year

Competing under the scrutiny of the UFC from 2007 until 2013 in his second tenure, the Curitiba striker announced his intentions to compete in professional boxing next – eyeing former world champions, as well as criticizing fellow Brazilian, Belfort’s knockout win over Evander Holyfield last year.

“I would like to fight a boxer, right?” Wanderlei Silva told MMA Fighting’s Trocacao Franca podcast with Guilherme Cruz. “I always liked to do it in their game. Even when I was training, I liked to do Jiu-Jitsu with Jiu-Jitsu guys and wrestle wrestlers. I like to test myself.”

“I would like to box one of the good guys, maybe a former world champion, something like that,” Wanderlei Silva explained. “That would be interesting. But I don’t want to fight an old man like our friend (Vitor Belfort) did, fighting someone who’s almost 70. It has to be someone younger, right? To fight an old man and beat them quickly is something other type of fighters do. I won’t do that. I wanna someone good.”

Headline a Triller Fight Club event against the 59-year-old former world champion, Holyfield last year, Belfort scored a brutally one-sided first round knockout win.

Sharing the Octagon all the way back at UFC Brazil in 1998, Silva suffered a first round knockout loss to Belfort inside just 44-seconds in Sao Paulo.

Hasim Rahman Jr. urges the PFL to book him professional MMA debut before the end of 2023: ‘I’m with it’

Following the recent cancellation of his Madison Square Garden headliner against the undefeated, Jake Paul, Baltimore puncher, Hasim Rahman Jr. has called for a transition to professional mixed martial arts by the close of next year – urging the PFL (Professional Fighters League) to land him an outing in their SmartCage. Rahman Jr., the son […]

Rahman Jr., the son of former world champion boxer, Hasim Rahman, recently seen a scheduled headliner against outspoken Ohio native, Paul cancelled at the beginning of this month, however, has since landed himself a boxing outing against former UFC heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort on October 15. in Sheffield, England.

“It’s going to be a great show and I’m looking to put on a hell of a performance,” Hasim Rahman said of his upcoming fight with Vitor Belfort. “My main goal when I put on a pair of gloves was to become a world champion like my father was so nothing is ever going to deter me from that. If this is going to catapult me to be able to make the bigger fights at the end of the day, then I’ll go ahead on that route.”

12-1 as a professional, Hasim Rahman Jr. – whose sole professional loss came in the form of a defeat against Kenzie Morrison, the son of the late former heavyweight champion, Tommy Morrison – replaced British upstart, Tommy Fury in a scheduled short notice matchup with the aforenoted Paul.

Hasim Rahman Jr. eyes a transition to MMA following his October clash with Vitor Belfort

Weighing up his continued options post-Belfort in two months, Rahman Jr. appears willing to trade his boxing gloves for a pair of mixed martial arts gloves, urging the above-mentioned, PFL to book him a debut in the sport.

“Can @PFLMMA get me in the cage before 2023 is over?” Hasim Rahman Jr. tweeted. “I’m with it (gorilla emoji).”

The PFL recently hosted the debut and sophomore mixed martial arts appearance of two time Olympic gold medalist professional boxer, Claressa Shields in June and October of last year, respectively – with the Michigan world champion so far establishing a 1-1 mixed martial arts record.

Vitor Belfort vs. Hasim Rahman Jr. booked for Oct. 15 in Sheffield, England

Vitor Belfort will mark his return to the boxing ring against Hasim Rahman Jr. Rahman Jr. is coming off the first loss of his professional career in April. He faced James McKenzie Morison, son of Tommy Morrison, in a collision of two sons of the former boxing heavyweight champions. Morrison got the best of his […]

Vitor Belfort will mark his return to the boxing ring against Hasim Rahman Jr.

Rahman Jr. is coming off the first loss of his professional career in April. He faced James McKenzie Morison, son of Tommy Morrison, in a collision of two sons of the former boxing heavyweight champions. Morrison got the best of his opponent, scoring a win by TKO in the fifth round.

Following the outing, Rahman Jr. was slated to face YouTube sensation Jake Paul in a major move up in competition for the social media influencer. However, the bout never happened as Paul scrapped the whole card, which also featured Amanda Serrano as the double main event, claiming Rahman Jr. indicated that he would not make the contractual weight.

Vitor Belfort vs. Hasim Rahman Jr. is set for Oct. 15 in Sheffield, England

At last Saturday’s DAZN X Series 002, headlined by popular YouTube KSI, a boxing match between Vitor Belfort and Hasim Rahman Jr., scheduled for Oct. 15 in Sheffield, England, was announced.

“It’s going to be a great show and I’m looking to put on a hell of a performance,” Rahman Jr. said on the broadcast (ht MMA Fighting). “My main goal when I put on a pair of gloves was to become a world champion like my father was so nothing is ever going to deter me from that. If this going to catapult me to be able to make the bigger fights at the end of the day, then I’ll go ahead and that route.”

MMA veteran Vitor Belfort has been expanding his footprint in the sport of boxing. He defeated the legendary boxer, Evander Holyfield, via first-round TKO in an exhibition match in Sep. 2021. Although Belfort came out on top, he faced a much older Holyfield, who went into the outing at the age of 58.

Next, Belfort pursued a clash with former boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya, who appeared to be willing to entertain the idea. “The Golden Boy” ended up contracting a severe case of COVID-19 and the match was called off.

Vitor Belfort Out Of Boxing Showdown Against Hasim Rahman Jr.

Vitor Belfort is out of his boxing matchup against Hasim Rahman Jr. that was scheduled for this weekend. Vitor Belfort was scheduled to compete in a boxing match against Hasim Rahman Jr. in Sheffield, England last month. The bout was later rescheduled …

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