MONTREAL — The UFC will induct former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort into the Hall of Fame later this year, the promotion announced Saturday.
Belfort (26-14) fought primarily in the UFC throughout his career, which began in 1996. He entered the sport as a phenom, a 19-year-old Brazilian who won the UFC heavyweight tournament in his first promotional appearance in 1997. Later that year, he suffered the first loss of his career in a heavyweight No. 1 contender fight against legendary two-weight champion Randy Couture.
Belfort went on to earn notable victories over the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Couture, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson. He challenged two of the best champions of his era in Anderson Silva at middleweight and Jon Jones at light heavyweight, but came up short in both title bids.
In 2013, he put together arguably the greatest year of his career by knocking out Bisping, Rockhold and Henderson in a span of 11 months. He came to embody a sport-wide controversy that year due to his legal use of testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT). The Nevada State Athletic Commission later banned TRT use from competition without proof of a medical exemption.
Belfort also fought in Pride Fighting Championships and competed in two exhibition boxing matches in 2021 and 2023.
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