Issue 113

April 2014

If you thought Vitor Belfort, the self-proclaimed ‘old dinosaur,’ was on his last legs after suffering a submission defeat to Jon Jones at the back end of 2012, the 36-year-old Blackzilian proved you wrong last year. He capped arguably his best 12-month period in the sport with three devastating ‘Knockout of the Night’ performances.

And pick of the crop was ‘The Phenom’s inspired spinning heel-kick finish of former Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold, which not only set him on the road for a middleweight title shot in 2014 but also silenced critics. 

Many believed Belfort wouldn’t be able to hang with the much younger Rockhold when they headlined the UFC on FX 8 card in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil. After all, Rockhold had just arrived in the UFC following an impressive middleweight title run in Strikeforce. 

However, Belfort moved quickly to dispel any doubts critics had by showing new flashes of brilliance in his top-level skill-set, by spinning around and smashing his left foot clean into Rockhold’s mug. His finishing instinct saw him follow up with strikes, but Rockhold and the fight were already long over. What made the KO even more impressive was that prior to 2013 kicks simply weren’t part of Vitor’s arsenal. However, now under the tutelage of esteemed kickboxing coach Henri Hooft, Belfort not only has some of the fastest hands in MMA, but he’s also got some of the most accurate and devastating kicks in the middleweight division too. 

Who says you can’t teach an old dinosaur new tricks?