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After a year's absence from the fight game, several injuries and personal problems, Vitor Belfort is finally coming back to the event where he first rose to stardom in the NHB world, the UFC! Belfort's opponent for his comeback is tough one, and "The Iceman" Chuck Liddell surely has his own plans to "welcome" Vitor. Winning or losing the Brazilian fighter plans to answer a lot of critics in this fight and show he still has the fire in his eyes when it comes to fighting. "The Phenom" is so serious about his fight that he moved to Sao Paulo and is living in a house with his trainers, literally thinking, eating and breathing fighting all day long, every day of the week. FCF had the opportunity to spend a day with Belfort and follow his training for the fight, and one thing is for sure, he is back by all means! In this conversation Vitor talked honestly about his views on the fight game, his career and the challenges he is welcoming from now on. FCF: You trained a lot to face Tito Ortiz; in fact you were supposed to face him twice. What changed in your preparation now that your opponent is Chuck Liddell? Vitor: Chuck is a fighter that likes to trade standing up more than Tito, so the strategy will be a bit different. I'll have to study the game a bit more and I won't have to worry that much about the double-leg takedown attempts. So I'll have to worry more about the stand up part, because I believe he is going to want to strike with punches, like crosses and hooks. I believe he will want to use those sorts of strikes more. I believe he is going to want to strike with me. FCF: Tito Ortiz has been saying on the Internet how he is going to beat you, crush you and things like that once he is recovered. What do you think of those statements by him? Vitor: Well, if your mouth would win the fight for you brother, whoever had the biggest mouth would win, and that's not the case. It's all about who trains more and has a better condition. I think he has a good condition, but his mouth speaks more than his acts sometimes. I think it's okay, it's his style so let him do what he wants. I have another style, I'm an athlete and I see it as a sport. I don't see it as a form of promotion or as an opportunity to please my ego. I don't have this need for self-promotion. FCF: Because of all those statements from him, or even because of the fact that he is the UFC champion, do you still want to fight him after the fight was postponed twice? Vitor: Man, I'll tell you something, I don't even want to talk about Tito Ortiz because he is not the one who is in-line now. I want to talk about Chuck Liddell. So, here at my training camp, my trainers like to pick fight by fight. So Tito Ortiz isn't even on my mind right now. For me he is on the "waiting-list" and Chuck Liddell is what matters right now. So we have to face Chuck Liddell, who is a great athlete, a great fighter and maybe has an even bigger potential than Tito Ortiz. FCF: When your fight against Tito was cancelled for the second time, you showed interest in facing Randy Couture in a rematch, but the UFC gave Josh Barnett the shot. Even with Couture's loss to Barnett, despite all the controversy, do you still want to face Randy in the future? Vitor: I want it! I want it because the time I fought Randy I wasn't well prepared, I almost didn't train and I was just enjoying life. It was a great lesson for me. But Randy Couture is an excellent athlete, a great fighter! So I would like to face him to see what would happen in a fight between us once I'm in shape to fight. Because the first time I didn't prepare at all! Zero! FCF: You were on Brazil's biggest reality TV show [House of Artists] recently. Being a professional fighter, was it tough to join the show, and stop training for that long? What motivated you to accept this invitation? Vitor: What motivated me was what I had the chance to [publicize] the sport of NHB here in Brazil with the show. I believe that nowadays we have a new era for every fighter here in Brazil, even if he is not famous. An NHB fighter is now seen by the public as an athlete and not like a troublemaker or someone who doesn't have anything better to do. So I managed to help the fighters to get rid of a stigma that we suffer here in Brazil. Nobody knew NHB, only the hardcore fans! Nowadays everybody knows what NHB is. Everyone, from the smallest town in Brazil, or in places that we never even [think of] knows what is NHB now. People nowadays know what the sport of NHB is, what it takes to be a fighter and that the person who does it is a serious person like everybody else and deserves respect. So I managed to help the fighters here to get rid of that stigma, and it's like I told everyone; here in Brazil people have this way of thinking that if you are a doctor, you can only be a doctor! If you are a soccer player, you can only be a soccer player, you can't also be a businessman, or stuff like that. People here expect you to do only one thing, and that's wrong. Brazil is a poor country and we need people who are willing to take risks, like I did going on the TV show and exposing myself, in order to improve things for everybody. I think we always have to think about the cause, and that was my cause. I managed to get SBT [Brazil's second largest TV network] to buy the rights to show my fight live. I also managed to improve my image, my image nowadays is way bigger than it was before, and despite being a champion in your sport, this doesn't mean that you are a champion in life also. The true champion is the one who manages to overcome life's obstacles, I mean, the difficulties you have in your everyday life, so that's what I have been doing. FCF: People commented that you declined the invitation to join the TV show once, but then when you got your allergy problems and Tito got injured you reconsidered it and decided to accept. Was it tough to make this decision? Vitor: Life is a risk, but it wasn't very tough to accept it, because I knew Silvio Santos [The TV channel owner and host of the reality show Vitor was in] knows how to do things. So it's a TV show that despite all the exposure you suffer, like everything in life, has a good and a bad side. We can't only expect to win in life, it's like I told you, I didn't want to come out of the show like a hero, I wanted to come out being respected and I succeeded in what I wanted, therefore I'm very happy! FCF: How was the experience of staying locked in a house without even being allowed to use the phone for two months? What is easier, fighting inside the Octagon or staying inside the "House of Artists"? [Laughs] Vitor: We were even talking about it here, because I left the "House of Artists" and came straight to the "House of fighters"(Laughs) [Belfort is living in a house with his trainers and sparring partners in order to focus 100% for the fight] The only difference is that here you can go out to date your girl and also to train. But it's the same thing brother! I don't care much about the phone, and I don't care much about speaking. I even believe that I'm in a worst situation now that I was in the "House of Artists", here is a day by day suffering, it's not easy at all but I like it! FCF: You went without training for about two months because of the TV show. Did you find any difficulties when you got back to training? Vitor: For sure. It was tough to get in shape again, but we're managing to do it. Besides the challenge of the fight itself, we also have the challenge to overcome all those things, and that's what I really like in life! My trainers also like challenges a lot, I mean, life wouldn't be the same without challenges. It's not only a challenge for me, it's also a challenge for Paulo Caruso [Vitor's physical trainer and personal friend], for Darrel Gholar, for my sparring partners, it's a challenge for everyone that is on the team to help me get inside the Octagon and have a good showing. So this is our challenge! Winning or losing is a consequence, and this won't be my last fight either way. It's only one of the first fights of my career. We're not worried, we're only worried about my showing in the fight and winning is a consequence of the training. So we're trying to overcome the barriers day by day. FCF: Did you get worried that the time you have to prepare for this fight wouldn't be enough to get in shape? Vitor: I got a bit worried at first, but now I'm not worried about it anymore because I'm managing to get in shape. I'm succeeding in my objective, so let's see what'll happen on the day of the fight. FCF: How have your allergy problems been lately? Are you able to overcome those problems so they won't hinder your training? Vitor: Man, I'm managing to avoid this problem and nowadays the allergy hasn't being expanding so much, but it hinders a lot. Thank God now I have been able to overcome it, and it isn't spreading that much now. FCF: Let's talk about what matters the most now. What do you think of Chuck Liddell as a fighter? Vitor: I think he is an excellent fighter, one of the best in the world for sure. He is a very dangerous fighter. FCF: Did you watch his fight against Bustamante? What did you think of it? Vitor: I liked it a lot, I thought he [Liddell] fought a very smart fight and avoided the ground game. He traded strikes with Murilo a couple of times while standing up and he fought a smart fight. The difference is that Murilo doesn't have my explosion and my stand-up game. However Murilo is a great athlete and fought a very good fight too. It's just that we have different characteristics. FCF: I know it's tough to say because anything can happen in a fight, but do you believe he will be looking for an open fight against you? Trying to strike and win the fight, or do you believe he will be more cautious? Vitor: I don't know man! I imagine a lot of things, but I can't be sure about anything. I'll try to impose my rhythm and my game. I'm not worried about what he is thinking or what he is looking to do, I'm worried about doing my strategy and my objective in the fight. FCF: So every time you're going to fight, like in this case for instance, you enter the fight with a strategy? Vitor: I have some strategies in my head already. FCF: I also know it's tough to say right now, but what do you plan doing after Liddell? Do you plan to pursue the UFC title? Vitor: I have two fights on my contract after this one against Chuck. The goal of every fighter that enters an event is to look for the title. Since Tito Ortiz is holding the title now -- in fact it doesn't matter who is holding the title, because I'll be going after the title, not after the fighter who is holding it. The important thing, like I told you, is for you to reach your objective, and right now my objective is Chuck Liddell. If tomorrow another guy is holding the title other than Tito, then it'll be him. Because I'm a professional fighter, I make my living out of fighting! The milk in my house comes from the money I get from fighting! So I can't stay without fighting. It's like a football team. If the other team can't show up to play, you're going to face another team instead. So I'm not worried about who is going to be in line after this fight, I'm worried about who is in line right now! My goal is to fight. If I have to win titles, that's my objective. My goal is to win, but [whether it's] winning or losing, the most important thing in the end is to have a good showing. FCF: You have been training at Macaco's academy here in Sao Paulo lately, and there are also people from Rio, and from the USA such as Gholar helping you out. Do you have plans to form a new team, or will you stay on your own from now on? Vitor: We're thinking about forming a team now. Marcelo Clemente is already together with me, and I'm looking to get a fight in the UFC for him in July. He is already well prepared and I believe he is already ready for it. And there are other guys helping me out, like Napao and Macaco. So I'm sure we're going to form a team and I'll be able to help the people that are with me, so everyone is going to be able to achieve the dreams they have. I think it's nice to have a team, and it's about time for me to have my own team and create ways for me to help people as well. FCF: Who is going to be on your corner for this fight? Vitor: Paulo Caruso, Darrel Gholar, Nicolai and we're getting Marcelo Clemente the plane tickets so he can go with us too. We want everybody to be together, because I think it's important to have everyone's energy together there! I think we have to go together till the end! It's part of the process. FCF: You suffered some injuries and went through some personal problems that caused you to stay away from fighting for a period of time. There was a lot of talk about how you lost the desire to fight, and that now you were only interested in TV shows and the like. Did those comments bother you? What do you think of it? Vitor: How can I say? People won't talk about nobodies, you know? Nobody would talk about someone who doesn't have importance or is not worth it. People only talk about the ones who have some expression in what they do. I think I'm an example to a lot of people that are in this business, and sometimes they demand the most out of you. I don't condemn them because they are right in the sense that they want the most out of you! They want you to be the champion forever. They want you to be the best forever. You won't always be able to be the best, or be the champion. I had my share of injuries and personal problems, and I couldn't deliver what they expected, what they demanded from me back then. I believe, as my career goes on, they'll be able to understand how serious things were, like "Man, Vitor was really hurt, he really had those problems." Nobody is perfect in life, so I don't want to be seen as a perfect guy or superman. I want to be seen as a human being with defects and qualities. But in the end my cause is to do my best. FCF: At what condition are you right now, and do you believe you'll be 100% by fight time? Vitor: No, I don't believe I'll be 100% because I only have one month to train, but my heart and my mind will be 100%! I believe I'll be around 60 or 70% by fight time, because I can't delude myself. But I'll be fulfilling my commitment with the public, because I think I'm in debt to them, since I got injured and then Tito got injured and it has been a year since I last fought! So I miss getting inside the ring, and despite the result I really want to make a good showing. The result is another story, because when you enter the ring against a very good guy you have a chance to win, as well as a chance to lose. So I expect to be able to bring the win to Brazil, to my friends and my fans! But I'll have a good showing and this is my objective. FCF: What have you been training for this fight? Vitor: Wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, ground fighting, physical training, everything! It's NHB! That's the sport I do! FCF: Are you really going to get married after this fight against Chuck Liddell? Vitor: For sure! This is already decided between us [Vitor and his girlfriend, former Playboy Playmate and TV host, Joana Prado], we're going to get married. This is not bullshit, and we plan to get married at the end of the year, or early next year. FCF: Any final messages for your fans that are anxious to see you back in the ring? Vitor: Keep supporting me because this year I'll have a lot of wars to conquer and titles to win. If God helps, we'll be able to achieve our goal, but the most important thing is, like I told you, the results of all the training we're doing. My trainers have been helping me a lot, especially Paulo Caruso and Darrel Gholar who has been training me in wrestling. They are people who I would like to thank a lot because, without them, I wouldn't ever achieve the level I have been able to achieve. Despite the fact that I have the talent for it, if it wasn't for them teaching me and spending their time with me, despite the fact that they are professionals and are being paid, but they do it with pleasure and I can feel it. So I would like to share this with my fans. I would like to say to everybody to try, in whatever they do, to always have good people around you because when we have good people helping us, we always achieve our goals for sure. FCF: "The Phenom" Is back? Vitor: Hopefully! FCF: Good luck in your fight! Vitor: Thanks a lot! Be sure to check out the rest of the interview with Vitor in this month's issue of Full Contact Fighter |
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