By The Numbers: Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort was a mold-breaking talent.

The Brazilian burst on the mixed martial arts scene as a 19-year-old wunderkind in 1996, tore through his first four opponents in a little more than three minutes combined and established himself as a must-see attraction for more than two decades. At his best, Belfort was a breathtaking blur of violence who paired dizzying hand speed with world-class grappling skills. He captured titles in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Cage Rage promotions and won the UFC 12 heavyweight tournament, but inconsistency and a perceived lack of commitment often left fans wanting more. While Belfort has not competed since he announced his retirement following a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 224 on May 12, 2018, “The Phenom” continues to leave the door open for a possible return.

Now three-plus years removed from his most recent appearance in the cage, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied Belfort throughout his career:

44: Years of age for Belfort, who was born on April 1, 1977 in Rio de Janeiro.

21: Belfort victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission, accounting for 81% of his career total (26). His list of victims includes Dan Henderson (twice), Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva. Belfort owns five other victories by decision.

8: Sub-minute stoppage wins on the Belfort resume. He recorded the fastest finish of his 41-fight career in his pro debut at SuperBrawl 2, where he punched out Jon Hess in 12 seconds on Oct. 11, 1996 in Honolulu.

203: Days spent by Belfort as undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion. As the fourth man to ever strike gold in the promotion’s 205-pound weight class, he held the title from Jan. 31, 2004 to Aug. 21, 2004. It ranks as the fourth-shortest reign in the history of the division.

6: Organizations in which Belfort has plied his MMA trade. He has gone 15-10 with one no contest in the UFC, 5-3 in Pride Fighting Championships, 3-0 in Cage Rage, 2-0 in Affliction, 1-0 in SuperBrawl and 0-1 in Strikeforce.

2: Submission losses on the Belfort ledger. He tapped to a guillotine choke from Alistair Overeem at Pride Total Elimination 2005 on April 23, 2005 and surrendered to a keylock from Jon Jones at UFC 152 on Sept. 22, 2012.

335,000: Dollars in post-fight bonus money banked by Belfort across his 26 appearances in the UFC. He was awarded “Knockout of the Night” on five occasions and “Performance of the Night” once.

21: Calendar years in which Belfort has fought at least once. He went 1-0 in 1996, 4-1 in 1997, 1-0 in 1998, 0-1 in 1999, 2-0 in 2000, 2-0 in 2001, 0-1 in 2002, 1-0 in 2003, 1-1 in 2004, 1-2 in 2005, 1-2 in 2006, 2-0 in 2007, 1-0 in 2008, 2-0 in 2009, 1-1 in 2011, 1-1 in 2012, 3-0 in 2013, 1-1 in 2015, 0-2 in 2016, 1-0 with one no contest in 2017 and 0-1 in 2018.

38: Rounds completed by Belfort as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance 10 times and holds a 5-5 record in those bouts.

.719: Cumulative winning percentage between the 12 men—Machida, Jones, Overeem (twice), Henderson, Randy Couture (twice), Gegard Mousasi, Ronaldo Souza, Chris Weidman, Anderson Silva, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell and Kazushi Sakuraba—who have defeated Belfort. They boast a combined record of 341-129-4.