Vitor Belfort, From the Beginning

---

At the end of 2001, Belfort was invited to appear on “Casa dos Artistas” -- a popular reality show on SBT, the second-largest television station in Brazil. Inside the house, he began a relationship with Joana Prado, who at the time was the most famous and desired woman in the country, with a record-selling issue of the Brazilian edition of “Playboy” magazine behind her. The relationship between Belfort and Prado was a strong point of the show and resulted in a healthy audience. Some days, ratings even approached those normally reserved for Rede Globo, the No. 1 TV station in Brazil.

When the show ended, Belfort’s fame had grown again. He put in a request with Silvio Santos, the owner of SBT, to broadcast a UFC event for the first time on Brazilian television. Belfort was scheduled to face Chuck Liddell at UFC 37.5 on June 22, 2002.

“After two months with no training, I had around three weeks to get ready to face Liddell,” Belfort said, “but I knew it would be a turning point for the sport in Brazil.”

He was right. The fight aired in late night but drew an impressive audience of 11 points, almost twice that of Rede Globo in the same time slot. Belfort lost a unanimous decision to the future hall of famer, but the ratings called attention to MMA’s potential on Brazilian television.

TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY

Belfort’s personal dreams always involved building a family. It was an experience he lacked as a child since his father and mother separated while he was still quite young. He married Prado, and it looked like his fighting career was trending upward. Fans were seeing flashes of “The Phenom” again.

Following his loss to Liddell, Belfort stopped Marvin Eastman with knees and punches -- he left an axe-sized cut in his wake -- in 67 seconds at UFC 43. He was then awarded a rematch with Couture at UFC 46 on Jan. 31, 2004, with the light heavyweight championship hanging in the balance. However, on Jan. 9, three weeks before the most significant fight of his life, Belfort was forced to deal with the unthinkable. His sister, Priscila, disappeared in downtown Rio de Janeiro. Many versions of what happened surfaced, but none were confirmed and no body was ever found. News of Belfort’s missing sister hit the news stations and turned into a national drama.

Though emotionally distraught, Belfort elected to follow through and face Couture. He was considered a heavy underdog, but he cut Couture’s eyelid with his first punch, resulting in a stoppage 49 seconds into round one. The technical knockout made Belfort the UFC’s light heavyweight champion. Still, professional achievement did little to diminish personal anguish, as Belfort struggled to come to terms with his sister’s disappearance.

Eight months after he defeated Couture, the two men fought again and Belfort relinquished the title in a third-round TKO. In the two years that followed his victory over Couture, Belfort went 2-5, with losses to “The Natural,” Alistair Overeem (twice), Tito Ortiz and Dan Henderson scattered among wins over Antony Rea and Kazuo Takahashi.

In August 2007, Elaine Paiva confessed to having participated in Priscila’s death. According to Paiva, Priscila was kidnapped to pay a $4,000 debt to drug dealers, but police were unable to locate a body with Paiva’s assistance. From that point forward, it seemed Belfort lost all hope in finding his sister alive and instead refocused on his career, his wife and the family they had already started.

Belfort claims the birth of his first son, Davi, in February 2005, motivated him to train harder. Daughters Victoria and Kyara followed in January 2007 and June 2009. During this time, Belfort began a new phase in his career. He fought in Cage Rage, capturing gold there with back-to-back wins over Ivan Serati and James Zikic. Belfort then accepted an invitation to compete as a middleweight in Affliction, an American-based company with which he delivered violent knockouts against Terry Martin and Matt Lindland. He had found new life at 185 pounds, and other doors soon opened.

UNFORESEEN HEIGHTS

“The Phenom” returned to the Ultimate Fighting Championship at UFC 103, where he headlined opposite former middleweight champion Rich Franklin in a catchweight main event. Belfort stopped Franklin with punches in a little more than three minutes and was anointed the No. 1 contender to Anderson Silva’s middleweight title. Their fight would become a turning point for MMA in Brazil.

Belfort inadvertently raised Silva’s profile in Brazil with his challenge. Even though the UFC had grown in popularity in Brazil by 2011, only true MMA fans were fully aware of Silva. On the other hand, Belfort was a celebrity in the minds of most Brazilians. Brazilian media sent 46 journalists to cover UFC 126 on Feb. 5, 2011 in Las Vegas, guaranteeing one of the biggest MMA audiences ever in the country. Silva defended his middleweight crown in spectacular fashion, as he took care of Belfort with a front kick to the face and follow-up punches. Shock swept across the beaches, slums and countryside. No one, it seems, had envisioned “The Spider” beating Belfort so easily. Silva’s shadow widened overnight.

The popularity of the Silva-Belfort match served as the first step to Rede Globo buying the rights to the UFC in Brazil and transforming the sport of MMA into a national fever. It also made Silva more famous in Brazil than most soccer players, and he followed his performance against Belfort by avenging a disqualification loss to Yushin Okami and defeating longtime nemesis Chael Sonnen for a second time.

Following the loss to Silva, Belfort rebounded with decisive wins over Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson. He also put down roots with the Blackzilians camp in Florida.

“Carlson always told me that lions train with lions,” Belfort said. “I need to train in a place where I have hard sparring, and the Blackzilians is that place.”

In September 2012, Belfort agreed to challenge UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. He threatened with an early armbar but eventually submitted to a keylock from the young champion in the fourth round. Belfort went on to enjoy the best year of his career in 2013, though it was later revealed that he and 13 other UFC fighters had been granted a theraputic use exemption for testosterone replacement therapy by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Nevertheless, Belfort dispatched three of the middleweight division’s top contenders: Henderson, Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold.

With his latest tear, “The Phenom” earned the right to face undefeated middleweight champion Chris Weidman, the man who had ended Silva’s historic run atop the 185-pound division. While the fight has been postponed three times -- the first because of the NAC’s ban on testoserone replacement therapy and the other two because of injuries sustained by the champion -- the two men will finally meet in the UFC 187 co-main event on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. There, Belfort will seek to join Couture and B.J. Penn as the only fighters to win UFC titles in two weight classes.

Win or lose, Belfort’s place in history is secure. His talents have crossed generations, and he has spent the better part of two decades competing against the best fighters in the world. Carlson Gracie would be proud of the last representative of his line.