Vitor Belfort is an MME champion, a heavyweight champion, and a retired Brazillian mixed martial artist. He has deliberately raced to a height where his main focus is getting not just getting to the peak but getting there in excellent style. Though most may call him ‘Victor’ instead of ‘Vitor’ which is his real name, his popularity rings a bell when fans scream the nickname ‘The Phenom’.
Vitor Belfort Biography
Although he is not a very young sportsman, Vitor has ensured that age doesn’t limit his success. He was born on April 1, 1977, to Brazillian parents José Marcos Belfort and Maria Jovita Vieira in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil where he was raised before he took up residence in the United States of America at Boca Raton, Florida.
Having grown to speak the English language rather fluently, he also speaks Portuguese and Spanish. He loves religion and practices Christianity. He has made several videos declaring of his faith in Jesus Christ and also appeared in the video ‘I am down’ sung by the gospel crew The Almost. He has an incredible body build which is not a surprise considering what he does for a living. He is 6 feet tall and weighs about 84 kg.
He took interest in publishing a book in 2012 about himself where he told his lessons of determination, faith, and success, he titled it ‘Vitor Belfort-Licoes de Garra, Fe & Sucesso.’
His Career
Vitor Belfort took interest in boxing and started out as a trainee at the age of 12 when he was employed to train under Claudio Coelho. He developed his amazing skills at 17 having trained alongside other champions like Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Loborio, Ricardo De La Riva, Mario Sperry and Wallid Ismail. He moved to the US at 19 in readiness to take his career to professional height. This proved to be a good move as he knocked out his very first opponent Jon Hess in a mixed martial arts match entitled Super Brawl in Hawaii.
In the same year, Vitor Belfort moved on to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, scoring a resounding victory over two challengers to be named the youngest fighter ever to make such bold strides inside the octagon. This also got him the nickname “The Phenom.” He also won his second match against Tank Abbot. His three other fights before he left the UFC were a wonder to many fans to date. First, he was defeated by Greco-Roman wrestler, Randy Couture whose obvious excellence in clinch fights was no match for the champ’s boxing skills. His final match saw him take his fury out on his unsuspecting opponent who he chased around the ring until he was declared the winner.
Leaving the UFC, Vitor moved on to the PRIDE fighting championships. His first fight was a disaster that saw his opponent pummel him without mercy. The loss prompted him to change his trainer after which he came back to better performance and greater success.
He returned to UFC and had his shares of winning and losing also, though he never relented in having more wins. Despite the pain he had in January when his sister got missing, he scheduled for a match on January 31, 2004, and won the fight under 49 seconds with Randy Couture being his challenger, however, Randy challenged Vitor again in August 20014 and defeated him, making it a win-win situation. He finally sealed his contract with the fight with Tito Ortiz where he fought bravely but lost to Ortiz. He returned to Pride on October 21, 2006, but his time there did not last long as he soon went for a third run at the UFC where he was until he announced his retirement from Mixed Martial Arts competitions in 2018.
Controversies
After his return to Pride in 2006, he was accused of ingesting 4-hydroxytestosterone; a synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroid. Vitor Belfort denied taking the drug intentionally, and an investigation was launched to determine how he could have tested positive. He explained that it might have been contained in a drug he recently bought over the counter or probably one of the drugs used to treat a knee injury he had earlier in the year.
Eventually, his doctor, Dr. Rodrugo M Greco wrote a formal statement to The Nevada State Athletic Commission explaining that the drugs he had used to treat the champ contained testosterone. Despite all of this, the commission still went ahead to suspend him for nine months with a fine of $10,000, saying the violation stands, be it intentional or otherwise.
Achievements
Vitor’s championship has literally been a record that started rolling in when he studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlson Gracie and got a black belt. He also became a champion for Absolute and Heavyweight titles at the age of 18 when he won his blue belt; and when he got into UFC, he amazed the world with his train line of achievements.
He won the UFC 12 heavyweight tournament champion in the heavyweight lifting league, he also won the light heavyweight champion in UFC which did not stop him from winning the Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight Championship. He has not only been recognized as an ultimate champion, but he also broke the record for the most Finishes in UFC history.
Vitor Belfort’s Net Worth
Vitor has a net worth of $5.5 million. He has built his wealth by being really good and successful in all aspects of the career he took an interest in. Being a champion in Mixed Martial Arts certainly paid him well.
Family – Wife (Joana Prado) and Sister
In the year 2000, Vitor Belfort found love with Joana Prado with whom he began a relationship that was quite rocky at the start but later led them to the altar. They are blessed with three children; Victoria Belfort born October 31, 2007, David Belfort born on February 6, 2005, and Kyara Belfort born June 5, 2009. Prado is a Brazilian entrepreneur and model.
Trouble began in Vitor’s family on the 9th day of January when his beloved sister and only sibling, Priscila Belfort went missing after she was dropped off to work by their mom. Three years after her disappearance, a woman who later identified herself as Elaine Paiva openly confessed to having a hand in Priscilla’s disappearance and eventual killing.
She boldly said the reason behind Pricilla’s kidnapping was to pay off a debt she owed some drug dealers, however, things got shitty and they killed and buried Priscilla in Rio De Janerio. The kidnapping was done by a four-man group who were also arrested. The Belforts’ to this day do not believe that their daughter, Pricilla, is dead as they claim they have not buried her body. On what would have been her 43rd birthday (December 5th, 2017), Vitor wrote her a heart-warming message hoping she would see it where ever she was.
