Vitor Belfort

Mixed martial arts career

Belfort came to the United States at age 19 for his first sanctioned MMA match, defeating Jon Hess by knockout in 12 seconds despite a seven-inch height and more than 100-pound weight disadvantage. He then moved to the UFC, winning the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament in his debut event and becoming the youngest fighter to score a victory inside the octagon. His next match was a TKO against Tank Abbott. In 1997, Belfort fought Randy Couture for the first time, losing by TKO after Couture negated his boxing with clinch fighting.

He later defeated Joe Charles via armbar without throwing a punch, then knocked out Wanderlei Silva in 44 seconds. Moving to PRIDE Fighting Championships, Belfort faced Kazushi Sakuraba in 1999, losing after being taken down and stomped. He then fought Alistair Overeem, Gilbert Yvel, Daijiro Matsui, Bobby Southworth, and Heath Herring, winning most by ground-and-pound except for a rear-naked choke victory over Southworth. In the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix opening round, he lost to Overeem via guillotine choke.

Boxing career

Belfort made his professional boxing debut on 11 April 2006 against Josemario Neves, winning by TKO within the first minute after knocking his opponent down three times. In 2008, he expressed interest in talking with Golden Boy Promotions regarding a deal. In 2010, after James Toney challenged an MMA fighter to a boxing match, Belfort expressed interest in representing MMA against Toney, but Toney instead fought Randy Couture in the UFC. Later that month, Belfort agreed to an exhibition match with Oscar De La Hoya, later changed to a professional bout scheduled for 11 September 2021.

De La Hoya withdrew due to COVID-19, and Evander Holyfield stepped in; Belfort won the exhibition by technical knockout. On 27 August 2022, DAZN announced Belfort would box Hasim Rahman Jr., but the bout was postponed and Belfort withdrew after testing positive for COVID-19. On 1 April 2023, Belfort defeated Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza by unanimous decision in a professional boxing match.

Personal life

Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro to a French-Brazilian father and a Greek-Brazilian mother. He is married to Joana Prado, with whom he has three children; they started dating in 2000, broke up, and reunited during a reality show in 2002. That year, Belfort appeared with Joana when she was photographed for the Brazilian edition of Playboy. On 9 January 2004, Belfort's sister Priscila disappeared; in August 2007, a woman confessed to participating in her kidnapping and killing, claiming it was to pay off a four thousand dollar debt.

Three others were arrested, but Priscila's remains have never been found, and her family believes she is still alive. Belfort speaks Portuguese, English, and Spanish, and is a devout Christian. He became a naturalized American citizen on 26 April 2018. His son Davi Belfort is an American football quarterback who committed to Virginia Tech in 2023 and later played at UCF.

Submission grappling record

In 2001, Belfort competed in the ADCC championships. He won his opening round against Hiroki Fukuda by submission, then lost to Mark Robinson by points. In the Absolute division, he defeated Genki Sudo and Ricco Rodriguez by points, lost to Ricardo Arona by points in the semi-final, and won the bronze medal by defeating Ricardo Almeida after Almeida could not continue due to a knee injury.