MONTREAL – UFC announced this Saturday that former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.
Belfort (26-14) developed most of his career in the UFC, which he started in 1996. He debuted in the sport as a phenomenon, a 19-year-old Brazilian who won the UFC heavyweight tournament in his first appearance in 1997.
That same year, he suffered the first defeat of his career in a fight for the number 1 heavyweight position against the legendary two-division champion Randy Couture.
Belfort achieved notable victories over figures like Wanderlei Silva, Couture, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold, and Dan Henderson.
He competed against two of the best champions of his era, Anderson Silva in middleweight and Jon Jones in light heavyweight, but he failed to obtain the titles on both occasions.
In 2013, he possibly had the best year of his career by knocking out Bisping, Rockhold, and Henderson in a span of 11 months. That year, he became the center of a controversy in the sport due to the legal use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Subsequently, the Nevada State Athletic Commission banned the use of TRT in competition without proof of medical exemption.
Belfort also competed in Pride Fighting Championships and participated in two exhibition boxing matches in 2021 and 2023.
