MMAFighting was the first to report the matchup.

The bout will be the main event and will take place at Spaten Fight Night 2.

Belfort, 48, will is coming off a decision victory over Jacare Souza at for Gamebred Boxing 4. He also holds a victory in the ring over former boxing heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield in 2021.

Silva, 49, last fought in 2019 losing a matchup against Rampage Jackson at Bellator 206.

This rematch comes 27 years after their original matchup at UFC 17.5: Ultimate Brazil. Belfort emerged victorious walking away with the UFC middleweight title before walking away from the promotion to join PRIDE FC.

Belfort returned to the UFC in 2004.

Silva followed shortly after putting together a legendary run as champion for PRIDE FC before also returning to the UFC later on.

Spaten Fight Night will hold it’s first event since 2024. That night the main event between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen put on a match in front of a crowd in Sao Paulo. While it wasn’t the most talked about event it has given former fighters a platform to compete once again.

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With 12 knockouts in those 15 wins, Belfort’s brawling and kickboxing have brought some of MMA’s most historic moments. Fights against Jon Jones, Randy Couture, Anderson Silva, and Chuck Liddell are just a few when discussing the number of legends Belfort has faced.

When looking back on his career, Belfort doesn’t see a certain generation that stands out. The legend himself doesn’t define his career by any one era. He enjoys being able to reflect on his success across various stages without a single standout period.

“I think I reinvented myself in many different [eras]. You can go back into the different generations, so that’s amazing. I was one of the guys to fight in different generations, and not a lot of guys did that,” Vitor Belfort said with pride, speaking with Cageside Press at the 2025 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

‘The Phenom’ then gave a short breakdown about how he progressed throughout his career.

“The early one was a little bit ego-centric, most prideful, and a lot of lessons learned. The one in the middle and at the end was amazing. It was an amazing experience.”

Belfort’s longevity and success in the sport are something rarely seen today. A Hall of Fame induction is not only just, but was anticipated by many for the Brazilian legend.

Watch our full interviews with Vitor Belfort from the 2025 UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony above.

The post Vitor Belfort Relishes Being a Top Fighter In Different Generations appeared first on Cageside Press.

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.”

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What Jorge Masvidal had to offer on Saturday was some of the best UFC athletes of yesteryear, competing not in the cage but the ring — which created a bit of a curiosity factor if nothing else. That certainly held true with the co-main event, where former UFC champ Vitor Belfort faced off with ex-UFC standout and Strikeforce champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

The six-round cruiserweight fight was the first action for Jacare since retiring from MMA in 2021, while Belfort had beat up Evander Holyfield in an exhibition bout that same year.

While there was plenty of feeling out early, Vitor let his power be felt in the form of his left hand, which split the guard at one point, and hooked around it a short time later. Jacare played a patient game, creeping forward, extending his left arm and occasionally pumping the jab. By the end of a mostly uneventful opening round, Souza’s nose was bloodied just a touch.

The pair opened up a little more in the second, trading blows in the corner, with Belfort standing with his back to the ropes. Belfort opted to clinch a little in this round, before ripping a 1-2. Another clinch, and it was Souza ripping the body on the restart. In the dying seconds of the frame, Souza hit an uppercut to the body, and Belfort landed his left. Right at the end of the round, Souza tripped and fell.

It was no trip in the third, with Belfort knocking his fellow Brazilian down inside of a minute. Souza would return to his feet and continue, but Vitor smelled blood. He went after Souza, forcing Jacare to clinch. Back underway, it was left hook after left hook as Belfort walked his opponent down. A second knockdown came in the final minute, care of an overhand left. Souza beat the count, and made it out of the round, but the was a brutal round for him.

Round four saw Souza land a right hand early, but another left hand hit home on Jacare ahead of the midway mark. Belfort was bloodied by an eye, but that didn’t seem to be bothering him much. Jacare continued to work the body throughout the round, but it was Vitor’s left hand that was the real threat.

The pace had slowed by the fifth, not surprising given Souza and Belfort had a combined age of 89. Lots of clinching peppered the round, with Jacare landing a right, and Belfort another big left with about a minute to go. Belfort was against the ropes, with Jacare working the dirty boxing. The fifth, especially the final minute, might very well have been the best round from Jacare Souza.

The sixth and final frame saw some heavy shots traded in the opening minute, with both men landing. Belfort had Jacare hurt, chased him, and nearly walked into a counter. Both men were bloodied. A left and an uppercut landed for Belfort! Jacare escaped and clinched, forcing the ref to break them.

Despite Jacare’s bread and butter in MMA being his grappling, he acquitted himself relatively well on Saturday night. But the fight belonged to Vitor Belfort, who took the clear decision on the judges’ scorecards. On his 46th birthday no less, giving “The Phenom” a nice little gift.

Official Result: Vitor Belfort def. Jacare Souza by unanimous decision (58-54, 58-54, 57-55)

The post Gamebred Boxing 4: Vitor Belfort Claims Decision Over Game Jacare Souza on “Phenom’s” 46th Birthday appeared first on Cageside Press.

To be clear, that’s not in reference to mainstream boxing, with the Tyson Furys and Anthony Joshuas of the world. When top-tier boxing matches get put together, they can be tremendously entertaining.

They’re just so damn rare. Instead, what’s left is a hodge-podge of lesser knowns protecting records, and celebrity boxers unwilling to take the plunge into the sport completely. Which is no doubt why the likes of KSI and Jake Paul have tried to cater to the MMA fanbase. It’s younger, more prevalent on social media, and beating up retired MMA stars (yes, Dillon Danis might as well be retired, though his fight with KSI never did happen) is basically easy money.

Credit to Jorge Masvidal, however, who is wearing several hats these days including promoter, fighter, tequila salesman, and unfortunately criminal defendant: he recognized the MMA fanbase was tired of young kids beating old MMA stars who were primarily wrestlers. And so Gamebred put together a boxing card so crazy, it just might work.

The key ingredient? No Youtube “influencers” (a term ripe for an early burial) beating on martial artists in it for a paycheck. Instead, it’s MMA versus MMA, in straight stand-up, with Jose Aldo facing Jeremy Stephens, and Vitor Belfort taking on Jacare Souza.

In other words, fighters of similar age, similar skill, from the same era, competing strictly in boxing. And in your main event, the role reversal: an aged Roy Jones Jr. coming back for one last fight against former UFC champ Anthony Pettis. Which, Anderson Silva fight aside, is leaps and bounds more competitive than anything Jake Paul has ever done.

With apologies to Fight Circus and their Siamese Twin fight, Gamebred Boxing 4 manages to look like a fight circus without anything actually feeling completely carnival level. Well almost. Still, Pearl Gonzalez, who fights Gina Mazany, showing up to a press conference in a dress made of fruit roll-ups feels very on-brand for her.

Regardless, as the UFC slowly works towards getting back on a regular touring schedule after over-saturating the fight world with lacklustre Apex-based shows, Gamebred Boxing 4 feels like a breath of fresh air. It may not feature much in the way of meaningful fights — but in terms of entertainment value, it is vastly more palatable than your usual MMA-boxing crossover card.

The post Gamebred Boxing 4 Might Be the Craziest Card of the Year — And It’s a Breath of Fresh Air appeared first on Cageside Press.

Jorge Masvidal has a big card planned for Gambred Boxing 4 on April 1, one that will include a host of MMA notables.

Appearing on The MMA Hour on Monday, Masvidal revealed that Anthony Pettis will headline the show against boxing legend Roy Jones Jr.

Pettis, a former UFC and WEC lightweight champion, was most recently seen competing for the Professional Fighters League. His last season didn’t end well, however, with “Showtime” losing to fellow UFC vet Stevie Ray twice in 2022, ending up being bounced from the playoffs by the Scotsman.

Roy Jones Jr., who retired as a pro back in 2018 with a record of 66-9, was last seen in an exhibition bout against Mike Tyson in 2020. The bout was ruled a draw as it went the distance due to its exhibition nature, with most feeling Tyson would have won.

The big name match-ups don’t stop there. Jose Aldo, who will make his pro boxing debut later this month, will return to the ring against an old UFC rival in Jeremy Stephens. Vitor Belfort, meanwhile, will take on Jacare Souza, in a match-up of Brazilian legends.

Paul “Semtex” Daley, who retired from MMA last year, will also take part, facing Anthony Taylor, who infamously scuffled with Dillon Danis following a Misfits Boxing weigh-in last year. UFC vets Pearl Gonzalez and Gina Mazany will also collide.

According to Masvidal, all of the announced bouts will be six rounds, except for the main event. That is likely to be a 10-round affair. All will also be professional bouts, not exhibitions.

“Always been a fan of Roy Jones, always wanted to work with Roy Jones in some capacity,” Masvidal said Monday.

Gamebred Boxing 4 will take place at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 1, 2023. The full card as it currently sits breaks down as follows:

Anthony Pettis vs. Roy Jones Jr.
Vitor Belfort vs. Ronaldo Souza
Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens
Devin Cushing vs. Damian Marciano
Pearl Gonzalez vs. Gina Mazany
Paul Daley vs. Anthony Taylor
Dillon Klecker vs. Josh Burns
Bi Nguyen vs. TBD

The post Anthony Pettis vs. Roy Jones Jr., Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens Among Bouts at Gamebred Boxing 4 appeared first on Cageside Press.

In his place, however, will step another UFC alum, albeit one with lesser credentials: former NFL star and UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy.

Promotion officials announced the switch on Tuesday, after an MMA Fighting report revealing Belfort’s withdrawal from the bout. DAZN, which will broadcast the November 19 event in Austin, Texas, confirmed that Belfort had tested positive for COVID.

🚨 CARD UPDATE: GREG HARDY TO FACE HASIM RAHMAN JR 💥

This Saturday @_HasimRahmanJr will face Greg Hardy on @DAZNBoxing as Misfits Boxing comes to TEXAS 🇺🇸 @SauerlandBros | @MamsTaylor | #MisfitsBoxing pic.twitter.com/miNTvT9AEt

— Misfits Boxing (@MisfitsBoxing) November 15, 2022

Belfort, a former UFC light heavyweight champion and tournament winner, was looking to follow up his beatdown of Evander Holyfield last year. That fight, an exhibition contest, was his first action in the sport since a 2006 pro match against Josemario Neves in Brazil.

Hardy, meanwhile, exited the UFC earlier this year, and made his boxing debut with a KO of Mike Cook last month. He now gets his sophomore outing in the sport on all of four days’ notice.

As for Rahman Jr., he was supposed to take part in a bout with Jake Paul in August at Madison Square Garden in New York, replacing Tommy Fury. However, the entire card was cancelled in late July, with Most Valuable Promotions, Paul’s promotion company, citing weight issues with Rahman, who had initially agreed to a cruiserweight match-up.

A 205lb catchweight for Paul vs. Rahman Jr. was briefly agreed to, prior to the event being called off. Rahman would go on to weigh in with despite the bout being cancelled, to show his weight had been under control— only to miss weight, coming in at 206.6lbs.

The post Vitor Belfort Out, Greg Hardy In Against Hasim Rahman Jr. at Misfits Boxing 3 appeared first on Cageside Press.

On the heels of reports of their upcoming event, a co-headliner for the second Triad Combat card is being reported in Vitor Belfort being expected to take on former boxing champion Chad Dawson in February.  MMAJunkie was first to report the news.  No exact date for the event has been announced.

Belfort (26-14) is coming off a lopsided first round stoppage of heavyweight legend Evander Holyfield in a Triller exhibition boxing match back in September.  The fight was the first for “The Phenom” since being released from the UFC in 2018.  In his three stints with the promotion, Belfort won the light heavyweight championship in 2004 and challenged for titles in both 2011 and 2012.

I’d be interested in boxing an MMA fighter or a celebrity 👀

— Chad Dawson (@OfficialBadChad) December 13, 2021

Dawson (36-5) previously sowed the seeds of a bout against an MMA fighter earlier this month with a tweet that expressed exactly this kind of bout.  A former WBC, IBF, and IBO champion, “Bad” is known for his high profile bouts against Andre Ward, Jean Pascal, and Bernard Hopkins.  Though he did not officially retire, this is Dawson’s first bout since 2019.

Earlier on Monday, reports emerged that the second Triad Combat event would be headlined by former UFC champion Junior dos Santos against former boxing champion Kubrat Pulev.

The post Triller: Vitor Belfort to Face Chad Dawson at Triad Combat in February appeared first on Cageside Press.

Appearing on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour on Monday, Paul responded to a callout from Vitor Belfort following Saturday’s Triller Fight Club card (Belfort quickly defeated Evander Holyfield in an exhibition bout).

“I’m going back-to-back-to-back on these b*tch-ass MMA fighters. Line them up, I will take all of them down,” Paul exclaimed after a callout from Belfort was read for him on-air. Thus far, Paul has put together wins over Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren. “You guys cannot box. I out-boxed a five-time UFC f*cking champion [Woodley]. Vitor Belfort didn’t even get close to winning that many championships. The notion that you guys are scared— you guys cannot box for sh*t. There was not one moment in the fight where Tyron was out-boxing me. Not one. The notion that you guys are scared, I just took on one of your best fighters, Hall of Fame, of all time, and sh*t all over him. On a bad night with a hyper-extended elbow. So f*ck all of you.”

While Paul did indeed defeat a seemingly hesitant Woodley, he was also rocked in the fight, facing adversity for the first time in his boxing career. As for Belfort, he’s fighting for Triller Fight Club, Paul’s former home before jumping ship to Showtime. That makes booking that fight an issue, although Paul had nothing but good things to say about Triller on Monday.

Then there’s Anderson Silva, who also appeared on the Triller card, knocking out fellow ex-UFC champ Tito Ortiz.

“I think it would be a huge fight for sure. He’s a legend of the sport, great head movement, great striking. For me, I would love it. I have nothing but respect for Anderson,” said Paul. “I watched him growing up, and was a fan of his growing up, so it would be cool to sort of get in there and see what would happen.”

Paul expressed concern over the age of “The Spider,” however. “There is the side of it that, he’s 46 or 47 years old. For me, I would want him to go through lots of testing to make sure that he’s actually good to get into the ring. I wouldn’t want some sh*t that just happened with Vitor and Holyfield,” continued Paul, referencing the early stoppage in Saturday’s main event, with the ref saving 58-year old Evander Holyfield from unnecessary damage.

“[Silva]’s out there looking good against these older guys, you know, Tito Ortiz and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I’m sorry but I’m built different. So it would be a lot of punishment for him, and I wouldn’t want to take out the old guy.

“A part of me is like, there’s a thing about Jake Paul fighting old guys, and like, retired guys, and Ben Askren and Tyron, whatever. People are trying to make excuses. Floyd Mayweather was 40 years old when he beat Conor McGregor. But when I fight a 39-year-old, people get mad. So part of me is like, if I were to just fight Anderson Silva, everyone would be like ‘aww just another old guy’ after I beat him.”

Paul called that a “lose-lose situation,” but the fight remains interesting to him if Silva “undergoes the testing.”

“We could figure something out. I think our teams are talking a bit. But we’ll see,” said Paul. Silva’s camp, he went on to reveal, is not the only one his manager is speaking to.

“We’re talking to multiple people right now. Four different parties, four different fighters, and then seeing which one really makes the most sense from a business standpoint. We sort of start there, at what makes the most sense for Jake Paul’s career,” he explained. “Who is the next big challenge with a big name that could sell a lot of pay-per-views. We’re exploring our options, and some of these fighters, when you go to talk to them, they like to price themselves out, or ask for way too much money, and that’s sort of their excuse for not making the fight happen.”

Asked who might sit at the top of the list, Paul replied with “Honestly, just from a personal standpoint, I would love for it to be [Jorge] Masvidal.” That, said Paul, is due to Gamebred being in his prime, and the pair having a personal beef.

“For me personally, I think that would be the toughest challenge, the toughest guy, the biggest name, and the most relevant currently.” That of course, comes with another promotional hurdle, with Masvidal under contract to the UFC.

The post Jake Paul Looking to Fight Another MMA Legend, In Talks With Four Fighters appeared first on Cageside Press.

That’s not just because the main event was little more than a sham. Rather, it now appears that three of four main card bouts on the boxing PPV will actually be considered exhibition bouts. The lone exception comes in the case of Jono Carroll vs. Andy Vences, which saw Ireland’s Carroll win a majority decision.

Following reports from boxing journalist Dan Rafael and MMA Fighting, Cageside Press reached out to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, under which the Florida Boxing Commission lies. In response to that inquiry, Deputy Communications Director Patrick R. Fargason confirmed that “The Jono Carroll vs Andy Vences fight was an official bout under the unified rules of boxing which will appear on both fighter’s professional records. The Holyfield vs. Belfort, Silva vs. Ortiz and Haye vs. Fournier fights will not count towards the fighter’s professional records.”

Reports of the Holyfield vs. Belfort fight falling on the exhibition side first arose Friday. Although initially positioned by Triller FC as a professional bout, Triller exec Ryan Kavanaugh later confirmed to ESPN that Holyfield had expressed concern about the fight appearing on his official record. Kavanaugh indicated that Triller would acquiesce to Holyfield’s request, and have the fight held under the pro ruleset, while officially counting it as an exhibition.

Hayes’s return, and Anderson Silva’s bout against Ortiz, being exhibition bouts come as something as a surprise. To be fair, Haye’s match against Joe Fournier was reported as an exhibition by multiple outlets the night of the fight, though it was never really marketed as such. In the case of Silva vs. Ortiz, meanwhile, there was really no legacy to protect. Ortiz had never competed as a boxer, while Silva was coming off a pro victory against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

In any case, only Jono Carroll actually gets an official W on his record following Saturday’s Triller Fight Club PPV.

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