Turd Ferguson
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With UFC 152 in the books, I think it's appropriate that in our look at whether or not a fighter is Hall of Fame worthy, we look at Vitor Belfort's candidacy and if he's worthy of being inducted.
Credentials:
UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Winner
W - Tank Abbott (UFC 13)
W - Wanderlei Silva (UFC Brazil)
W - Randy Couture (UFC 46, Became UFC Light Heavyweight Champion)
W - Matt Lindland (Affliction: Day of Reckoning)
W - Rich Franklin (UFC 103)
W - Yoshihiro Akiyama (UFC 133)
W - Anthony Johnson (UFC 142)
Vitor Belfort has had a rollercoaster career. He was the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament winner at the age of 19. He had spectacular knockouts of Tank Abbott and Wanderlei Silva, and a KO loss to Randy Couture. He then moved to the PRIDE Fighting Championships, lost to Sakuraba, and had success against also-rans like Heath Herring and Bobby Southworth, returning to the UFC afterwards.
He then returned to the UFC, losing to Chuck Liddell, beat Marvin Eastman, which earned him a title shot at his former adversary, Randy Couture. He beat Couture on a cut in just 46 seconds. He lost the title to Couture, and this is where his career slide began. With the disappearance of his sister weighing heavily in his mind, he then lost to Tito Ortiz, left the UFC, and lost to Alistair Overeem via Guillotine. Vitor then floundered around for awhile, fighting for Cage Rage, PRIDE (where he lost to Dan Henderson and got mired in a Steroid scandal), Strikeforce, did some pro boxing, but it looked Vitor might not have ever returned to the UFC.
In 2008, Vitor left Cage Rage (coming off a couple wins off of cans) and signed with the upstart Affliction promotion. He had a spectacular knockout of Terry Martin and followed it up with a stellar KO of Matt Lindland that damn near killed him. The Lindland KO made the rounds all over YouTube and people began to wonder if Vitor still had something left in the tank. Soon enough, Affliction went out of business and the UFC acquired Belfort.
Belfort returned at UFC 103 and fought Rich Franklin at Franklinweight. He knocked him out in just three minutes. This somehow gave Belfort an immediate title shot at Anderson Silva. However, injuries would become the bane of Belfort's title shot. It took him a year and a half to get his shot at Anderson Silva, losing by KO in one of the most spectacular KOs in UFC History.
He then rebounded against Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson before a title shot against Jon Jones fell into his lap. It was a fight nobody give Vitor much of a chance in. He put Jones in a position where he was in trouble at the beginning, nearly getting armbarred. He then fought hard for four rounds, with one of the most insanely awful gameplans, but he kept the fight going, and he might have given Jon Jones the toughest fight of his career.
The question is, is Belfort a Hall of Famer? He peaked very early in his career. People always question his win over Randy Couture as being legitimate as it was stopped on a cut just 46 seconds in. He's gone through a lot of hardship in his career. He had a chance at both the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Championships in the past two years and failed to win each time. He has some spectacular wins in his career, but besides Couture, Wanderlei, and Franklin, the guys he's beaten aren't really much to write home about. He's lost to Liddell, Couture (twice), Sakuraba, Tito, Overeem (twice), Henderson, Anderson, and Jon Jones. All Champions, but still, it speaks to the fact that Vitor may be overrated, and a lot of fans consider his Couture win to be illegitimate.
In my opinion, Vitor is a Hall of Famer. He did win the Heavyweight Tournament at UFC 12 in spectacular fashion. He is a former Light-Heavyweight Champion, you can't take that away from him. He's dished out some very spectacular finishes in his career. He began fighting in 1996. Sixteen years later, not only is he still relevant, but he just fought for a title. To sustain a Championship level of success for 16 years is very rare in this sport and that should count for something, especially given the personal ups and downs he suffered through.
Vitor may never get that big signature title win that would cement his place in UFC history, but he is nonetheless, a Hall Of Famer.
What say you?
Credentials:
UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Winner
W - Tank Abbott (UFC 13)
W - Wanderlei Silva (UFC Brazil)
W - Randy Couture (UFC 46, Became UFC Light Heavyweight Champion)
W - Matt Lindland (Affliction: Day of Reckoning)
W - Rich Franklin (UFC 103)
W - Yoshihiro Akiyama (UFC 133)
W - Anthony Johnson (UFC 142)
Vitor Belfort has had a rollercoaster career. He was the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament winner at the age of 19. He had spectacular knockouts of Tank Abbott and Wanderlei Silva, and a KO loss to Randy Couture. He then moved to the PRIDE Fighting Championships, lost to Sakuraba, and had success against also-rans like Heath Herring and Bobby Southworth, returning to the UFC afterwards.
He then returned to the UFC, losing to Chuck Liddell, beat Marvin Eastman, which earned him a title shot at his former adversary, Randy Couture. He beat Couture on a cut in just 46 seconds. He lost the title to Couture, and this is where his career slide began. With the disappearance of his sister weighing heavily in his mind, he then lost to Tito Ortiz, left the UFC, and lost to Alistair Overeem via Guillotine. Vitor then floundered around for awhile, fighting for Cage Rage, PRIDE (where he lost to Dan Henderson and got mired in a Steroid scandal), Strikeforce, did some pro boxing, but it looked Vitor might not have ever returned to the UFC.
In 2008, Vitor left Cage Rage (coming off a couple wins off of cans) and signed with the upstart Affliction promotion. He had a spectacular knockout of Terry Martin and followed it up with a stellar KO of Matt Lindland that damn near killed him. The Lindland KO made the rounds all over YouTube and people began to wonder if Vitor still had something left in the tank. Soon enough, Affliction went out of business and the UFC acquired Belfort.
Belfort returned at UFC 103 and fought Rich Franklin at Franklinweight. He knocked him out in just three minutes. This somehow gave Belfort an immediate title shot at Anderson Silva. However, injuries would become the bane of Belfort's title shot. It took him a year and a half to get his shot at Anderson Silva, losing by KO in one of the most spectacular KOs in UFC History.
He then rebounded against Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson before a title shot against Jon Jones fell into his lap. It was a fight nobody give Vitor much of a chance in. He put Jones in a position where he was in trouble at the beginning, nearly getting armbarred. He then fought hard for four rounds, with one of the most insanely awful gameplans, but he kept the fight going, and he might have given Jon Jones the toughest fight of his career.
The question is, is Belfort a Hall of Famer? He peaked very early in his career. People always question his win over Randy Couture as being legitimate as it was stopped on a cut just 46 seconds in. He's gone through a lot of hardship in his career. He had a chance at both the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Championships in the past two years and failed to win each time. He has some spectacular wins in his career, but besides Couture, Wanderlei, and Franklin, the guys he's beaten aren't really much to write home about. He's lost to Liddell, Couture (twice), Sakuraba, Tito, Overeem (twice), Henderson, Anderson, and Jon Jones. All Champions, but still, it speaks to the fact that Vitor may be overrated, and a lot of fans consider his Couture win to be illegitimate.
In my opinion, Vitor is a Hall of Famer. He did win the Heavyweight Tournament at UFC 12 in spectacular fashion. He is a former Light-Heavyweight Champion, you can't take that away from him. He's dished out some very spectacular finishes in his career. He began fighting in 1996. Sixteen years later, not only is he still relevant, but he just fought for a title. To sustain a Championship level of success for 16 years is very rare in this sport and that should count for something, especially given the personal ups and downs he suffered through.
Vitor may never get that big signature title win that would cement his place in UFC history, but he is nonetheless, a Hall Of Famer.
What say you?
