A motivated Vitor Belfort takes aim at colleagues who hand-pick fights – including champ Bisping

Following a TKO loss to Gegard Mousasi that had him on a two-fight skid, Vitor Belfort wrote a rather enigmatic Instagram post that spoke of his need to rekindle a flame moving forward.

Three months later, Belfort (25-13 MMA, 14-9 UFC) says that mission has been accomplished. As he prepares to make his octagon return against Kelvin Gastelum (13-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), at UFC Fight Night 106, “The Phenom” praises the changes between then and now.

“(I’m) literally a different person,” Belfort told MMAjunkie. “Totally motivated and happy. It’s something I can’t even explain. (The changes) have been made with tears and blood, but they were made.

“I’ve always been able to reinvent myself. And I think this is a good quality, people who reinvent themselves, people who won’t let the circumstances dictate how they’re supposed to live. On the contrary – (you need to) turn the circumstances into paint with which to write a new story. That’s what I did.”

The upcoming five-round headliner was announced a few days after Gastelum, then fresh off his first win in the UFC’s 185-pound division, offered his services against the Brazilian veteran before a possible return to welterweight.

Belfort, on his end, says he was already in “beast mode” at the time of the offer. And he didn’t hesitate to take Gastelum up on it.

“He asked for it, and he got it,” Belfort said. “That guy who’s fighting Anderson Silva (Derek Brunson) turned down a fight with me. My fight was going to be with Brunson, and he declined it. Gastelum, who was excited about his win, asked to fight me, and I said ‘yes’ right away.

“He’s a guy who goes after it. He’s young, tends to want to show what he can do. That’s all I want, a fighter like him, who’s going to push me to put on a good show. I’m very happy.”

UFC Fight Night 106 takes place March 11 at Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil. The card airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

The word “reinvention,” commonly tossed around to describe career resurgences, takes on special meaning when it comes to Belfort. After all, throughout his over-two-decade-long career, we’ve seen “The Phenom” change camps, attitude, fighting style and hair-dos. At the root of all of this, he says, is a willingness to take chances in spite of possible negative outcomes.

Something that, he believes, is lacking in some of his competition.

“(My last opponents, Ronaldo Souza and Gegard Mousasi) are unfortunately struggling with a problem,” Belfort said. “Now nobody wants to fight them? How does that work? Now fighters pick their own fights. There’s no respect. People don’t want to be known for whom they fought against, they want to be known for how they fought. Odds of winning, odds of losing.

“The great competitors want to fight the best. That’s what I learned – in sports, you fight the best. Wanting to fight the best, taking on challenges, that’s the cool thing about sports.”

Someone who apparently doesn’t fit within Belfort’s idea of a true competitor is champ Michael Bisping, who was TKOd by Belfort in 2013 before going on to conquer and successfully defend the UFC’s middleweight title.

“Now we see that the titleholder is a wimp,” Belfort said. “A guy who doesn’t honor – ‘Oh, now I’m injured, I can’t fight. ‘Jacare,’ I won’t fight you, I’ll fight the guy from the lower division (Tyron Woodley).’ This is a guy who’s picking fights.

“This is what he is leaving for his fans, a legacy of wimpiness. You can’t do that. When a guy is the champion, he needs to fight the best. I think that’s the real champion.”

Bisping (29-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC), who’s been the target of similar criticism from other middleweights, is expected to face Yoel Romero, though a date hasn’t been set. After some vocal complaints, Mousasi (41-6-2 MMA, 8-3 UFC) has since been booked to face ex-champ Chris Weidman at UFC 210, while Souza (23-4 MMA, 6-1 UFC) faces Tim Boetsch at UFC 208 after his own share of public pleas.

Currently ranked No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, Belfort is proud of the high caliber of competitors that, especially in his most recent octagon outings, have rarely strayed too far from the title pictures.

After winning a UFC a title and challenging for multiple UFC belts, Belfort believes what he’s already done can’t be taken away. From now on, at least as far as the cage is concerned, it’s about enjoying the ride – and making sure his audience is in it with him.

“In my case, I see that I’m free,” Belfort said. “I see these past two setbacks as opportunities. I go in there free. I’m going into my next fight free to put on a great fight. The rest is consequence. My legacy is already there. Vitor Belfort doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. I’m in there to compete.

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I want fans to enjoy it. I want media to be able to write great stories. I can’t expect everyone to think like I do, but I need to share the way I think. I think that’s resilience, and that’s personal success. It’s not letting defeats become bitter, but turn them into sweet things. That’s what I do.

“As long as there’s a flame in my heart, I’ll keep pursuing the call of fighting.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 106, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.