While the former middleweight champion believes his ex-foe is a ‘cheater’ – he insists he deserves all the plaudits following his UFC Hall of Fame induction
Michael Bisping has stated that his ex-rival, Vitor Belfort, is deserving of his spot in the UFC Hall of Fame. The pair famously fought back in 2013 when the Brazilian fighter blinded Bisping with a head kick that detached his retina.
The British fighter underwent surgery and now uses a prosthetic eye. Despite this setback, he went on to have a successful career in the ring, picking up the middleweight title in 2016 after defeating Luke Rockhold. Bisping retired in 2017 following consecutive losses to Georges St-Pierre and Kelvin Gastelum.
With a professional record of 30-9, the ‘Count’ has victories over notable names such as Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, Matt Hamill, Chris Leben and Dan Miller. Belfort’s career was not without controversy, as he legally used testosterone-replacement therapy [TRT] throughout his time in the UFC.
The former light-heavyweight champion was recently welcomed into the UFC Hall of Fame in recognition of his impressive achievements in the octagon. Upon hearing the news from UFC boss Dana White earlier this month, the 48-year-old was visibly moved and broke down in tears.
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Bisping still believes his rival is a ‘cheat’ when reacting to the reward – despite giving him some praise. “When we were in Des Moines, Paul Felder had a little piece for the (video) package where we speak about the greatness of the people getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. They said, ‘We won’t ask you Mike, for obvious reasons.’ I said, ‘You know what? I don’t care. I’ll do it,’” he told MMA Junkie.
He continued by acknowledging the fighter’s achievements despite personal grievances: “When you look at it and remove all the emotions from it, the man was the UFC heavyweight champion of the world at 19. He then became the light heavyweight champion. He almost became the middleweight champion. He’s the closest thing we’ve had to a three-weight champion.
He added: “I lost an eye because of this guy. He can stick his Hall of Fame up his a**. But he does deserve it. You can’t deny what he did inside the octagon. You just can’t deny it. If that’s not a Hall of Fame career, I don’t know what is. Whether you like it or not, he deserves it.”
Belfort, known for winning the light-heavyweight championship against Randy Couture in 2004, faced many big names during his MMA career, including Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Tito Ortiz, Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Luke Rockhold, and Jon Jones. With a professional record of 26-14-1, he retired in 2018 following a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida.