UFC/MMA News: Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion confirms his retirement from MMA

Vitor Belfort will retire from Professional MMA later this year

What’s the story?

Come 12th May 2018, the world of Combat Sports will witness the end of an era, as former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort has confirmed that he will step into the Octagon one last time at the UFC 224 pay-per-view in his nation of Brazil.

In case you didn’t know…

Vitor Belfort announced his arrival to the UFC in style back in 1997, when “The Phenom” defeated two fighters in his debut event in the UFC, winning the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament.

During his stint with the UFC, Belfort engaged in a classic rivalry against the legendary Randy Couture, whom Belfort defeated in 2004 to capture his first ever UFC Title, winning the Light Heavyweight Belt in the process. Couture and Belfort collided with each other on three different occasions in the UFC, with Belfort managing to win only one of those three fights.

Also during his tenure with the UFC, Belfort has provided us with some of the most memorable moments and fights against the likes of Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold, Dan Henderson, Jon Jones, and Anderson Silva.

The heart of the matter

After being associated with the sport of Mixed Martial Arts for almost two decades, Brazilian fighter Vitor Belfort has seemingly confirmed his retirement from the sport as he gets set to step into the Octagon for one last time at this year’s UFC 224 PPV in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In a latest Instagram post, Belfort stated that for his last bout inside the UFC Octagon, “The Phenom” will face-off against his close friend and fellow Brazilian Lyoto Machida. Belfort posted a lengthy statement on the social media this past Saturday as he stated that over the course of these past 20 years, Belfort has broken a lot of barriers and paved the way for the next generation in the world of MMA and labeled himself as one of the pioneers of the sport, something which he is very proud of.

Lastly, “The Phenom” also said that come May 12th, he will still be friends with Lyoto Machida when the two men step into the Octagon as professionals.

I’m over 20 years being relevant in this sport. I broke a lot barriers and paved the way for a generation after me. I am one of the pioneers of the sport and I’m proud it it. I could not walk into the octagon for the last time without sending a relevant message to the: athletes, fans and to the sport itself. That is the reason why I chose to fight a friend of mine. An athlete that I have a lot respect. A good person a family man. I’m against the so famous “trash talk”. MMA is a sport! A sport that myself and a lot of family men work really hard to support our families. Lyoto and I have known each other for many years, I know his family and we have trained together. I wanted this fight to take place in Brazil because that is where everything started and now it’s time for us to send another message to the world. And the message is: RESPECT! May 12th @lyotomachidafw and I will step into the octagon as professionals and we still be friends. Always respecting each other and the way we will do that is giving our best in the octagon. I want people to understand that you don’t have to be a bully to be a fighter, you have to be a real man. And that is exactly what the world is in need, real man willing to pay the price to make a difference.

A post shared by Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (@vitorbelfort) on Feb 17, 2018 at 12:12pm PST

What’s next?

UFC 224 is scheduled to take place on the 12th of May in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the Jeunesse Arena as Vitor Belfort prepares to step into the MMA cage for the one final time.

Author’s Take

In my opinion, Vitor Belfort couldn’t have asked for a better opponent for his final fight and it is undeniable that “The Phenom” will go down as one of the greatest combat sports fighters of all time.