Vitor Belfort's historic mixed martial arts career has come to an end after his technical-knockout loss against Gegard Mousasi at UFC 204 on Oct. 8.
Belfort announced his decision to hang up the gloves on Instagram on Saturday:
Jon Fuentes of LowKickMMA.com provided a translation of Belfort's announcement [sic]:
Who does not recognize your own mistakes it is not worthy to lead yourself, even less the people around him.
I recognize that I am far from perfect, I am only human; a human being.
Once a poet in Brazil wrote:
” – may love be eternal while it lasts.
It is a beautiful fragment of a poem, but a truly consider it naive.
If I may and with all do respect, I would re write it like this:
” – may love be eternal while we nurture it.”
I confess that I need to nurture my competitive will inside the Octagon. I must cherish that fire inside of me again.
Having recognized that to myself
I DECIDED TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BURN THAT FLAME AGAIN!
Thanks a lot for all the support and advices. But I decided that I will end this chapter of my life looking at the mirror and recognizing myself.
Belfort's retirement did not from come out of nowhere, as Brazilian journalist Breno Massena tweeted before last week's UFC event that he was expected to retire after battling Mousasi (via Bloody Elbow's Mookie Alexander).
The 39-year-old had started to show the wear and tear that comes from fighting professionally for 20 years. He lost three of his last four fights, including his middleweight title bout against Chris Weidman in May 2015.
Belfort's first fight with the promotion was at UFC 12 on Feb. 7, 1997, when he defeated Tra Telligman and Scott Ferrozzo on the same night in a total of 120 seconds to win the heavyweight tournament.
After his third UFC victory over Tank Abbott in May 1997, Belfort had his first match with Randy Couture in a rivalry that continued for seven years.
Belfort defeated Couture in their second head-to-head matchup in January 2004 to capture the UFC light heavyweight title.
It was the only championship he won in his career, though the fight was controversial because doctors stopped it after Couture's eye seemingly exploded after Belfort grazed it with a seam on his glove in the first minute of the first round.
Couture got his revenge in the rematch, which doctors stopped after the third round, recapturing the light heavyweight title.
Belfort's legacy in MMA is complicated. He holds the UFC record with 12 knockout wins and won 25 matches in his career.
Ben Fowlkes of MMAkunkie broke down what makes Belfort a complex figure in MMA history:
It’s also a well-intentioned message from a flawed messenger. Belfort’s history with performance-enhancing drugs is among the most well-documented in MMA history. He went from whispers and accusations to actual drug test failures to sanctioned use that blurred the lines of abuse.
He’s a kind of walking fossil record of MMA’s doping past, which serves as both a stain on his reputation and a context for his actions.
Belfort also struggled to compete against the best fighters in the sport. His fights were exciting because most of them ended in knockouts, but his career record against Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson and Jon Jones was 2-9.
There's no denying Belfort's presence as a star and his impact in the UFC. He was an easy fighter to root for and always put himself in position to challenge the best fighters in the sport for two decades.
