‘Lion’ Vitor Belfort explains decision not to pull out of UFC 224 fight against Lyoto despite knee injury

No fighter goes into a fight at 100-percent. That’s a line you here from, well, every fighter who has ever stepped foot inside the Octagon. In the case of former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, he suffered a knee injury weeks away from his final fight against Lyoto Machida, which took place last Saturday (May 19, 2018) at UFC 224.

To hear “The Phenom”tell it, there was no way he was going bow out of the fight even if he was hurting despite certain doctors telling him to do so. That’s because competing for the last time in front of his fellow countrymen was something he desperately wanted to do.

Vitor took to Instagram to explain:

With the intention to be as honest as I can be with my fans and specially with my opponent, I will go straight to the point. The injured that happened with me during the training camp somehow made the news. My team nor I had mentioned before, during or after the fight. Winning or losing, fighting injured or not; it is part of an athlete’s life. I’m not the first one nor will be the last one athlete to fight injured. Even though all the limitations imposed to me because of the injured I suffered. It is my decision to step into the octagon or not. And I decided to do it! I did not want to miss the chance to have my last fight at the UFC; in my country, my hometown and with a such respected opponent.I gave my best on the fight and my opponent was the better man that night. And this is what counts! Nothing that happened with me during the training camp takes anything away from his victory. Of course wasn’t the outcome I wished for. Not because of the defeat, because we can’t control the outcome. What bothers me is knowing that I performed bellow of what I know that I can. I literally grew up in the cage, I was wrought to be a fighter, to leave it all in the cage... and this teachings I brought to all the aspects of my life. Dedicated every minute, every second doing the best you can in whatever you’re committed to. To the ones genuinely concerned with me, I will tell you this: I feel like an injured Lion. To the haters and envious, I will tell you this: I might be injured, BUT I’M STILL A LION! See you all very soon...

Furthermore, according to MMA Junkie Belfort didn’t disclose any information to the athletic commission for fear of getting pulled from the contest at the eleventh hour.

“In the physical exam, where such injury should be communicated and/or identified by the physician who evaluated him, it had no information related to it,” CABMMA stated. “In the pre-fight medical held at the weigh-ins, he again did not mention, complain nor disclose such injury to the commission’s physician and, therefore, was cleared for the fight.”

Of course, Belfort lost the fight via second round knockout after “The Dragon” clipped him with a front kick to the face; similar to the one Anderson Silva landed on Vitor years back in Las Vegas, Nevada.

No, really, they are identical.