Vitor Belfort: Breaking the Silence - 1/23/2004
by By Michael DiSanto

Vitor the Phenom Belfort. That name used to strike fear into opponents as he tore through them with a ferocity and brutality that weve never seen before or since. The world jumped on the Belfort bandwagon. He was unstoppable. He was invincible. He was destined for greatness. That is, until he stepped into the Octagon to face Randy the Natural Couture in 1997.

Couture beat Belfort by technical knockout, and fair weather fans jumped off the Belfort bandwagon as quickly as they jumped on. People began to call him overrated. They called him washed up. They said he would never fulfill his vast potential. In essence, they gave up on him.

During that time Belfort continued to train and he continued to fight. But more importantly, he continued to mature as a man. After all, the superstar Belfort who lost to Couture was only 20-years old.

As Vitor matured, he also grew as a fighter. How quickly people forget that, one year after losing to Couture, Belfort handed Wanderlei Silva the worst defeat of his career at Ultimate Brazil in 1998. People also forget that in 2001 he defeated Heath Herring, who was deep in the mix for the Pride FC heavyweight at that time.

Vitor Belfort is knocking on the steps of greatness once again as he prepares to face Randy Couture. But just when his life seemed to be back on track, strife hit his life once again. Now, as he deals with the toughest crisis of his life, he also faces the biggest fight of his professional career.

As of press time, Priscila Belfort's whereabouts were still unknown. Can Belfort focus on the task at hand in light of whats happening back in Brazil? Is he ready to face Randy Couture one more time? Well let him tell you himself!

InsideFighting: Vitor, tell me how training is going?
Vitor Belfort: Training is going just fine. We are training hard. Now we are coming to the end of the training, and winding down for the fight.

IF: What do you have lined up over the next few days? Is it just light wrestling and boxing with some conditioning?
Belfort: The last few weeks when my sisters thing happened I couldnt get much sleep, so I was not training good. But now Im getting back the training time that I lost. Im focusing on a lot of wrestling, a lot of boxing and a lot of Muay Thai. Im training very hard for this fight.

Since Randy Couture is a world class wrestler, are you focusing more on your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu than you do for other fights? Or are you focusing more on your standup?
Belfort: I focused a lot on my standup. I did a lot of standup fighting, you know, sparring, for this fight.

IF: Is that how you see the fight with Couture unfolding? Is your game plan to keep the fight standing?
Belfort: I think Randy is going to try to standup with me too. And when he cannot stand with me, he is going to try to take me down. So Im training a lot of boxing, you know?

IF: Sure. How do you think this fight will be different from your first fight with Randy in 1997?
Belfort: I see the fight going totally different than before because I am not going to be out of shape like I was before. Im going to be more in shape now.

IF: It had to be difficult getting your cardio up in 1997 because you muscled up to about 235 pounds, right?
Belfort: Yes, yes. I wasnt training at that time too. I was too out of focus.

IF: You know, the other day Randy said that strategically this fight wouldnt be much different [for him] than the last one. And that in pushing the pace of the pace of the fight, he will break you mentally just like
Belfort: The day of the fight, well see what happens!

IF: Nice![we both laugh] Your fans will love that kind of confidence! Vitor, if the fight does go to the ground, will you look to work back to a standing position or will you look to use your jiu-jitsu to try and submit him from your guard?
Belfort: I think I will try to go back up [to standing], but we will see what happens. I am very confident right now. But I will let the fight talk for itself, you know? Well see that day.

IF: Let me ask you about the day of the fight. Talk to me about what you do and what goes through your mind from the moment you wake up until you make the walk to the ring?
Belfort: I start thinking about the fight and try to relax. I start thinking more about what Im gonna do if this happens or that happens. You know, put in my game plan. And I try to focus to get my goal.

IF: What is going through your mind when you are walking to the Octagon? And what are you thinking about when you hear Big John McCarthy say, Are you ready? Are you ready? Lets get it on!
Belfort: I just think about putting everything that I did in training into the fight. I feel good at that time. When were inside and youre both ready to fight, you get anxious to see what happens.

IF: Last month, you got a chance to do some training with Minotauro Nogueira. How was that?
Belfort: It was good. You know, Minotauro is very, very tough. It was very good training.

IF: When you look back at your fights, Vitor, which fight represents you best as a fighter?
Belfort: My best fight?

IF: Yes.
Belfort: Every fight is good. But I think Wanderlei [Silva] was the best fight.

IF: That certainly was a great knockout.
Belfort: Yes, I think it was my best.

IF: Vitor, a lot of people kind of wrote you off again after the Chuck Liddell fight. But then you came back and exploded on Marvin Eastman and completely blew him up. Afterward, you were very emotional. Talk to me about that.
Belfort: I am who I am, you know? I am an emotional guy. I am very emotional about everything. I am very emotional because a lot of people talk like youre never going to come back; youre over. You know how people are.

IF: Sure.
Belfort: Thats just how I felt.

IF: Do you look at the fight with Couture as a chance to prove to your critics that you didnt need to come back because youve always been one of the best 205 pound fighters in the world?
Belfort: No, no. I am not there to prove that I am who I am. I am there to do my job. I dont have to prove to no one that I am one of the best because I know that anything can happen when you fight. Everybody is very good. Everybody can be the champion. Im not trying to prove nothing to no one. I dont have nothing to prove to no one. People like me because they like me. I dont want people to like me because of what I do, you know? Or what I represent. I would like for people to like me for of who I am.

IF: Do you have more fights on your UFC contract?
Belfort: Yes, I will keep fighting in the UFC.

IF: Your fans havent heard from you in a long, long time. Is there anything youd like to say to them?
Belfort: The message is to tell them that I appreciate the way they always treat me. I appreciate that they like the way that I fight and the way that I am. The message that I can give to them is to be simple, be humble and try to live a life more spiritual-wise than material-wise. So that way you will be more happy, more successful and more successful in life.

IF: Thats great advice. Do you think that you are a different person today than in 1997 because you
Belfort: Thats for sure! Everybody else is a different person too. Some are different for good, and some are different from bad. 1997 is 7 years ago, you know.

IF: And youre ready to go for January 31st, right?
Belfort: Yes. I am ready to fight. The results will happen either for him or for me. Both are good fighters, both are ready, both are champions. Who ever has the best day is going to win.

IF: Last few questions. When you look at Randy Couture as a fighter, what are his biggest strengths?
Belfort: His intensity. Hes good on top, good on the bottom. I think Randy is a very complete fighter.

IF: On the other side of that coin, what are his weaknesses?
Belfort: He does not know how to fight on his back when hes on the ground. If somebody can take him down, I think he has no guard.

IF: So if you can get him on his back, you think you can win the fight?
Belfort: No, I am going to win the fight, but that is his weakness. He does not have a good guard. Hes good on top. Hes good on takedowns. He has good punching. Thats his weakness. No guard.

IF: Vitor, thank you for taking a break to talk with us.
Belfort: It was a pleasure, man.

IF: Best of luck in your fight with Randy Couture, and Priscila is in our prayers for a quick and safe return. Take care, Vitor.
Belfort: Oh, thank you. Thank you so much, man. God bless you. Thank you. I will see you at the fight, buddy. Take care. God bless you. Bye.

Again, Vitor Belforts fight with Randy Couture for the UFC light heavyweight title is nothing more than a sporting competition. In the grand scheme of life, it pales in importance when compared to finding Priscila Belfort soon. We hope that she returns quickly and safely to the Belfort family.

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