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EXCLUSIVE: Vitor Belfort Interview
Reported By: Boxing Insider - 02.24.2004 02:27 PM
BoxingInsider.com Interview with Vitor Belfort
Boxinginsider.com: Vitor, first off, how are you feeling?
Vitor Belfort: I’m feeling good.
Boxinginsider.com: Can you give us an update on the status of your sister?
Vitor Belfort: We don’t have any news yet. We don’t have a clue. We don’t have anything concrete, so we are kind of blocked right now. We don’t know what is going on.
Boxinginsider.com: I just wanted to let you know that the thoughts and prayers of all the fans are with you and your family.
Vitor Belfort: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Boxinginsider.com: Now going on to the fight at UFC 46. First off, your fight with Randy Couture had a bizarre ending. What are your thoughts on what happened?
Vitor Belfort: It wasn’t anything. I punched … I threw a punch on him and it hit him by the eye. He had a cut and they thought it was better to stop the fight.
It was the right decision. I feel I would like to have proven more of what I could do in the fight, but I didn’t have a chance to prove how well I trained, to show everything that I did in training—so it’s frustrating for everyone.
Boxinginsider.com: Will you give Randy Couture a rematch?
Vitor Belfort: For sure. Right now they’re talking with me about that. … My goal was to fight Couture. If I win—even Couture … because Couture went to Japan and challenged Pride to fight for the belt—so he did all this promotion. So I think it would have been very good for the sport. I would like to get a chance [to fight against Pride champion, Wanderlei Silva] and also to give Randy a rematch. I think this would be awesome. I think all the fans would be very interested to see those fights.
Boxinginsider.com: What made Randy Couture come out on the Internet last weekend and start bashing you? Randy was saying that you weren’t going to step up for a rematch. I guess he was looking for an immediate rematch? Randy was saying that you weren’t stepping up and going to give him a rematch. He was pretty vocal about it.
Vitor Belfort: Yes, because Randy said he would have beaten me. I know for sure that Randy would have wanted Wanderlei. That’s his main goal. Giving him a rematch would be very, very welcome, but I have to look out for my career, not for his career. He wants a rematch very badly because he came off from two good wins and then he lost to me. I think he’s frustrated right now. He wants the belt again. He deserves it, but I think he needs to understand that I am looking for the best for me right now. The best for Vitor is the [Pride] title, because if I beat Wanderlei, I will hold the title. I am looking for my best interests and the best interests for mixed martial arts. For sure my fight against Wanderlei will be a much, much bigger job than me and Randy Couture again.
Boxinginsider.com: Can you comment on the negotiations between you and Wanderlei Silva? Is the UFC involved? Are they looking at a UFC/Pride co-promoted event?
Vitor Belfort: That’s what Dana spoke to me about before I signed the fight. He said, “Vitor, if you beat Randy you will fight Wanderlei again. That’s our goal in UFC”. I don’t know what’s going on right now. I’m looking forward to see that fight happen. If not, I will do whatever UFC wants me to do. I mean I am under contract with them, but I would like to get a shot at [Wanderlei]. I’m looking out for my career and for all the fans. I know the fans would love to see me against Wanderlei. It would be the biggest draw in the whole world of mixed martial arts fighting.
Boxinginsider.com: Can you comment on your contractual status with the Ultimate Fighting Championship? How many fights left do you have on the contract?
Vitor Belfort: I have several more fights. I cannot talk about the contract.
Boxinginsider.com: So even though it didn’t really come out, I want to go back to that fight. What was your original game plan going into the Randy Couture fight? If it wouldn’t have ended, what was your plan?
Vitor Belfort: I was so prepared with my boxing skills. I knew I was so sharp. If God and Jesus could have stood up with me that night—I know God gave me the strength to go there and do my best. My main goal is to train, get very well prepared, step in the Octagon, and do the best I can do. That’s my main goal.
Boxinginsider.com: When do you plan on fighting again?
Vitor Belfort: Right now? Actually right now I’m going to Rio de Janeiro. I’m going to spend two weeks with my family—one week with my mother and right after that we are going off to help find my sister. Then I’m going to take my honeymoon because I couldn’t take my honeymoon yet. I’m going to spend a week on my honeymoon, and after my honeymoon I will be ready to fight again. I’ll go to a camp and train for the next fight.
Boxinginsider.com: Can you tell us a little bit about the training in Brazil and how it is different from training in the United States?
Vitor Belfort: Oh, I think it is not different. It is just a matter of opportunity, you know what I mean. Right now nobody gave me the opportunity to work in the States. I would like to open a gym in Miami one day. I am planning to go to the States in the future, but right now I don’t have any contacts, no opportunity yet. But I am going to work to make an opportunity in the future to open a gym in the States and I can keep more contacts with my fans in America, work and have a good life. That’s basically what I like to do, is to help the sport to grow. America is a very good place to be. It is a good market, and I think I have a very good name in America.
Boxinginsider.com: This is definitely true. Can you tell us about the reception you received from the people of Brazil upon your return?
Vitor Belfort: Everyone is very happy, very honored. But I am passing through a rough time right now and people understand that. It is hard to celebrate right now. But, I thank God every day for what he gave me. He gave me a chance to be a world champion, and it is not just because I am good. It was because of His will. I am very humble. I am not looking for the ego of the champion. I feel that everybody deserves to be a champion one day and everybody is definitely a champion—just to step into the ring makes you a champion. I am very happy to have the belt with me right now. I just want to thank Jesus for what he’s doing in my life and what he has done in my life. And I know His will is the best will for our lives. I just pray he keeps continuing to bless my life, to bless my career, and keep my head straight. I cannot just be champion inside the ring, but outside the ring is definitely the most hard and difficult area to be a world champion.
Boxinginsider.com: What are your thoughts on the upcoming Tito Ortiz versus Chuck Liddell fight?
Vitor Belfort: It is hard to pick, because both fighters have trained together in the past. They know the game. I think it can be a very interesting fight or a very boring fight. So I am cheering for a very good match, an exciting match, and the best man on the night to win. I am going to be here, just watching it and seeing what is going on.
Boxinginsider.com: Do you have any final messages or plugs or anything you would like to tell the fans?
Vitor Belfort: I would like to thank the fans for helping and supporting the fighters and the mixed martial arts. I would like to just tell them how important it is to have the fans supporting us and helping our careers and the sport, giving us opportunities to reach our goals. Without the fans the sport wouldn’t be what it is right now, and just tell them live a good life. Get a chance to meet Jesus and see how good it is to be a Christian. That’s definitely the most hard, hard part of life, because we’ve got to fight against temptation, against evil people—so we’ve got to be very, very calm, trying to have the mind of Christ, and this is a difficult area in which to be a champion. I hope one day I can go to eternal life. I want to meet all my fans there and all my family. Over there we are not going to have pain, we are not going to have bad feelings—just good stuff from God, giving us our eternity. Maybe that’s what I would like to tell the fans, that I would like to meet them one day over there.
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