Vitor Belfort: 5 Defining Moments

They call him “The Phenom,” a mesmerizing package of power, speed and technique who made the spectacular commonplace. Never has a nickname felt more appropriate.

Vitor Belfort has been part of the mixed martial arts landscape for more than 20 years, his stay marked by exhilarating highs, embarrassing lows and polarizing controversies. The Carlson Gracie protégé captured titles in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Cage Rage, tested himself against all-time greats, became a posterchild for testosterone replacement therapy and overcame unimaginable personal tragedy to succeed in the most unforgiving of sports. Now nearing the age of 40, Belfort will return to the cage opposite Kelvin Gastelum in the UFC Fight Night 106 main event on Saturday in Fortaleza, Brazil. There, for better or worse, he will write the next chapter in his journey.

In a long and storied career brimming with defining moments, here are five that stand out:

1. Teen Spirit

When Belfort made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut on Feb. 7, 1997 in Dothan, Alabama, “Jerry Maguire,” “Scream” and “Evita” were in theaters and Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart” was the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 list. He entered the UFC 12 heavyweight tournament at the Dothan Civic Center as a 19-year-old. It did not take long for Belfort to get acquainted with his surroundings. The Brazilian cut down Tra Telligman in 77 seconds in the semifinal and then shredded Scott Ferrozz in 19 seconds in the final. The tournament was his, and a star was born. Only 3,100 fans were there to witness it.

2. Axe Handled

In what was perhaps the greatest single performance of his career, Belfort locked horns with rising Brazilian star and future Pride Fighting Championships middleweight titleholder Wanderlei Silva at UFC 17.5 on Oct. 16, 1998 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It did not unfold as Silva had hoped. Belfort smashed “The Axe Murderer” with a left cross during one of their first exchanges, chased him across the cage and pinned him to the fence with punches. Silva’s head resembled a speed bag, as “The Phenom” brought it to a dramatic and decisive close just 44 seconds into Round 1. Superstardom seemed inevitable, but Belfort took his talents to Pride six months later and dropped a unanimous decision to Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba, a maddening propensity for inconsistency beginning to take shape.

3. Reaching the Summit

Belfort made it to the mountaintop on Jan. 31, 2004, albeit in anticlimactic fashion. “The Phenom” challenged Randy Couture for the light heavyweight title in the UFC 46 headliner at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, as he sought to avenge his technical knockout loss to “The Natural” six years prior. Complicating matters for Belfort was the fact that his sister had disappeared 22 days earlier, leaving his family in a state of despair and ruin. He found refuge inside the cage. Less than a minute into their rematch, Belfort uncorked a grazing punch that sliced open Couture’s eyelid and left the three-time NCAA All-American wrestler with a corneal abrasion. It prompted an immediate stoppage 49 seconds into the first round and made Belfort the fourth light heavyweight champion in UFC history.

4. Aced

Between April 23, 2005 and Jan. 24, 2009, Belfort plied his trade in Pride Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, Strikeforce and Affliction. He returned to the Octagon for the UFC 103 headliner on Sept. 19, 2009 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, where he met former middleweight champion Rich Franklin at a 195-pound catchweight. Franklin moved in and out of range as Belfort remained planted and crowd of 17,428 grew increasingly restless with the inaction. Then it happened. Belfort zapped “Ace” with a blinding left hand to the temple, the Ohio native hitting the deck in a kneeling position. Another left hook connected, and “The Phenom” mopped up what was left with punches from both hands. Referee Yves Lavigne stepped in 3:02 into Round 1, giving Belfort his first Ultimate Fighting Championship victory in five years, seven months and 19 days.

5. Stroke of Genius

Luke Rockhold saw Belfort as a potential steppingstone. The Brazilian had other ideas. Belfort leveled the former Strikeforce champion with a spectacular spinning heel kick and polished him off with a swarm of punches on the ground on the UFC on FX 8 main event on May 18, 2013 at the Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil. “The Phenom” finished it 2:32 into Round 1. Rockhold pecked away with punches and kicks but never had a chance to establish himself in his Octagon debut. Belfort measured his steps, let loose with the kick and delivered it with equal parts power and precision. Rockhold went down, and though he was still conscious, the American Kickboxing Academy standout could not withstand the follow-up barrage. “I’ve got to take my hat off. It’s already off,” Rockhold said. “He landed a spinning heel kick to my head. I didn’t see that one coming. I thought I was finding my time, and what can I say? Kudos to him.”