Nobody knew for sure what Vitor Belfort was going to say after his UFC 212 matchup with Nate Marquardt last night (Sat., June 3, 2017) at UFC 212 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rumors had swirled about the MMA legend possibly retiring, or even taking his talents to another promotion.
After capturing a unanimous decision win over Marquardt to earn his first UFC win since a knockout of Dan Henderson in 2015, Belfort eased the minds of Brazilian fans everywhere during his post-fight interview by saying he plans to fight five more times. “The Phenom” expanded on that notion backstage.
“We are reinventing Vitor Belfort again,” Belfort said during UFC 212’s post-fight press conference (watch here). “So, we are changing a lot of things in the game, a lot of things I was doing wrong. Not rushing, taking my time. We had more power in the third round than the first round. That’s a good thing.”
UFC 212 marked the first fight Belfort has had under new head coach, and king of Tristar, Firas Zahabi. It was a pairing that was sure to deliver results, but Belfort needed to be motivated again to put his previous Octagon defeats behind him.
“Something stirred in me, so I love to train again, I love to fight again,” Belfort added. “That’s something that’s been away from me for my last three fights, to tell you the truth. I was burned out.”
As long as Belfort can continue to shows improvements at 40 years of age, and UFC wants him back inside of the Octagon, fight fans will still get to see one of the best fighters ever compete. Belfort may not be able to challenge for a title in 2018, but his dominant performance over Marquardt at UFC 212 suggests he can wreak some havoc on the middleweight top 15.
For complete UFC 212 results and coverage click here.