Report: Vitor Belfort severely injured his knee before UFC 224 loss to Lyoto Machida

Vitor Belfort severely injured his knee leading up to last weekend’s Lyoto Machida fight at the UFC 224 pay-per-view (PPV) event, taking place on May 12, 2018 inside Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

That’s according to a report from Combate (via MMA Fighting), which also suggests doctors told “The Phenom” he was better off withdrawing from his “Dragon” contest. Belfort ignored that advice and soldiered on for his UFC retirement fight because he’s an old lion or something along those lines.

Belfort has yet to comment on today’s reveal but this would not be the first time a pre-fight injury surfaced after the fact. Not long after Jon Jones finished him at UFC 152, the Brazilian claimed he battled “Bones” with a broken hand.

The Ontario Athletic Commission refuted that report, insisting Belfort passed his medicals with flying colors. Team “Phenom” was unable to provide any documentation to corroborate his story, but that’s water under the bridge at this point.

Injured or not, that jaw-jacking front kick from Machida was still impressive — and “satisfying” for one longtime rival.