Coronavirus Puts Belfort’s ONE Debut ‘On Hold’

Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC

Former UFC champion Vitor Belfort signed with ONE Championship early last year and was expected to compete in first quarter 2020; however, the coronavirus pandemic shut down operations and put his debut “on hold” for the foreseeable future.

“So my agent has been taking to Chatri (Sityodtong) to finalize a fight, but then all of this came along,” Belfort told MMA Junkie. “It’s crazy. Everything is put on hold, but I’m definitely looking forward to stepping back into action and bring something (new), reinvent myself again. I think that will be the last time and for sure, I’m excited to go back to action.”

Belfort, 42, has 18 knockouts in 26 professional wins (with three submissions) but looked like a shell of his former self in his final fights with UFC. “The Phenom” got knocked out in five of his last seven appearances inside the Octagon (with one later changed to a no contest).

“‘I don’t want to be like my last four fights,” Belfort said. “I was fighting with injuries. I wasn’t happy. The situation is not what I wanted at the time, and I think now I kind of enjoy it. I was waiting for the moment, that thing to light up again. Everyone has their time. People get busy, people get complacent, and my thing is more that I didn’t want to fight out of need. I want to fight out of will, and I’m in the right place right now, at a place of happiness.”

Paging Mr. Jones …