Vitor Belfort announced for UFC Hall of Fame Pioneer Wing

Vitor Belfort can add UFC Hall of Famer to his legendary list of accomplishments.

During Saturday’s UFC 315 broadcast in Montreal, Belfort was announced as the latest member of the 2025 Hall of Fame class, which is set to be inducted June 28 in Las Vegas. Belfort, 48, was in attendance at Bell Centre to celebrate the moment.

Watch Belfort’s reaction to the announcement below.

Belfort joins the Hall of Fame’s Pioneer Wing.

In 26 appearances across multiple stints with the promotion, Belfort established himself as a multi-division threat with terrifying knockout power and competed for UFC gold on five different occasions. He actually captured the light heavyweight title with a win over Randy Couture at UFC 46, an accomplishment dimmed due the bout ending in a freak cut that prevented Couture from continuing. Couture defeated Belfort in the subsequent rematch.

Regardless, Belfort had plenty of success in his career competing for the UFC, PRIDE, and Affliction among other notable organizations. It’s with the UFC where Belfort was most well-known as in addition to his two-fight championship series with Couture, he also fought Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and Chris Weidman with a belt on the line.

Among Belfort’s notable knockout victories are Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold, and Rich Franklin.

Belfort was billed as a superstar from Day 1 when he made his UFC debut in February 1997 at the age of 19. At UFC 12, “The Phenom” needed two minutes combined to defeat Scott Ferrozzo and Tra Telligman to win a one-night heavyweight tournament. He followed that up with a 52-second knockout of Tank Abbott at UFC 13 that further boosted his fast-rising profile.

Now, he joins the UFC’s Pioneer Wing alongside the likes of fellow Brazilian legends Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva, Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell, and Couture.

Other inductees scheduled for the June 28 ceremony at T-Mobile Arena include two-division champion Amanda Nunes, former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler (Modern Wing), the classic UFC 236 title clash between Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum (Fight Wing), and producer Craig Piligian (Contributor Wing).

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