Pioneering light heavyweight champ and later middleweight title challenger Vitor Belfort will join the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.
Belfort will join the Pioneer Wing, the promotion announced during Saturday’s UFC 315 broadcast.
Belfort, who also won the UFC 12 heavyweight tournament, later captured the promotion’s light heavyweight title in in 2004, defeating fellow Hall of Fame member Randy Couture to do so. Though he’d lose the title in a rematch in his very next fight, between the one-night tournament win and claiming gold, Belfort had established himself as one of MMA’s biggest stars.
Leaving the UFC, the Brazilian would compete for PRIDE, Strikeforce, and Affliction among others before returning to the confines of the octagon in 2009. He’d challenge Anderson Silva for the promotion’s middleweight title in 2011, only to be knocked out by a highlight reel front kick. Still, success for Belfort piled up, as he put together wins over Michael Chandler, Luke Rockhold, and Dan Henderson before falling in another title bid in 2015, this time to Chris Weidman.
Vitor Belfort announced his retirement following a loss to Lyoto Machida in 2018, but earned wins over Evander Holyfield (exhibition) in 2021 and Jacare Souza in 2023 in the boxing realm.
“Vitor Belfort was 19 years when he was signed by UFC and he quickly made an impact by becoming the youngest athlete to win a UFC fight, and UFC tournament,” said UFC President & CEO Dana White in a press release issued in conjunction with the announcement. “Vitor was a pioneer of the sport and is definitely a UFC legend. It will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”
