The Phenom is back!
One fight after losing to UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva in a first-round knockout, Vitor Belfort turned the tables and turned back the clock.
At UFC 133 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Saturday night, Belfort stepped into the Octagon with Yoshihiro Akiyama, but it was like he was 21 all over again fighting Wanderlei Silva.
Belfort came out from the bell looking to take off Akiyama’s head, and less than two minutes into the first round he did just that.
He clipped Akiyama, sending him to the mat then quickly swarmed him. Akiyama somehow got briefly back to his feet, but Belfort sent him down again, this time unleashing a series of left hands that put his Japanese foe out cold.
“I’m back, I’m back,” yelled the Phenom after the fight.
“I know everyone is struggling in this economy,” said Belfort, offering words of encouragement for his fans. “I make my own atmosphere. You make sure and make your atmosphere and live for your dreams.”
Touching on the loss to Silva earlier this year, Belfort proclaimed, “I feel like if (Anderson) didn’t land the kick, that would have happened to him.”
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Ken Pishna is the managing editor of MMAWeekly.com.
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