Belfort Draws Ngalani For ONE Debut

Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titleholder Vitor Belfort should have already made his ONE Championship debut by now, but the coronavirus pandemic canceled a handful of fight cards and kept “The Phenom” on the bench in Brazil.

But once the promotion is up and running again, presumably this summer, the 43 year-old Belfort (26-14, 1 NC) is expected to collide with former kickboxing champion Alain Ngalani, 44, who made his ONE Championship debut back in late 2013.

“I like it,” Belfort told Asian MMA about his Ngalani match up. “He’s a very tough competitor and very skilled and very strong. A big man. That’s what I’m looking for, for a good challenge. I’m focused on what my skills and what my strength is, not where my weakness is. That being said, I’m focused on Belfort, not on him.”

Ngalani (4-5, 1 NC) has competed exclusively for ONE Championship with two of his bouts being contested under the promotion’s kickboxing banner. “The Panther” has not seen action since a knockout loss to Mauro Cerilli roughly one year back.

A weight class for his “Phenom” fight has yet to be determined.

Belfort 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 Brazilian was stopped in five of his last seven appearances inside the Octagon (with one later changed to a no contest).

I guess Roy Jones Jr. was busy this summer.