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Exclusive: Vitor Belfort Discusses UFC 152, Why He Deserves a Title Shot and More on “UFC Tonight: Special Edition” Tonight

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LOS ANGELES, CA – On this week’s “UFC Tonight: Special Edition ‘Vitor Belfort Uncut,’” FUEL TV presents an exclusive and extended interview with UFC 152: JONES VS. BELFORT title contender Vitor Belfort. The interview was conducted by “UFC Tonight” Host Todd Harris and “UFC Tonight” Analyst Kenny Florian. Plus, Florian breaks down what Belfort has to do against Jones.

Quote of the week: Belfort on fighting Jon Jones: “We have the youngest fighter and one of the oldest guys and it is the old lion and the new lion. I have history in the UFC. Not like all the other clowns talking on twitter. You know which clown I’m talking about. I think he doesn’t deserve a shot at all but I think the event should continue with another fighter. I don’t know what happened, but I am thankful that the fight came to me. I am really thankful to Lorenzo and Dana for giving me the chance and to the fans.”

Vitor Belfort on how he found out about this fight: “First thing that I heard is that they called me and told me about the cancellation for UFC 151. I was very bummed out because as an old fighter and as a part of the old school guys, I have never seen one show get cancelled, especially in Vegas. So I told Lorenzo Fertitta ‘if you need me to replace Hendo I can’. That’s how it’s supposed to be with every fighter, to be able to go in there and to replace a guy who is injured. He texted me back telling me that they have it all under control and that they are going to cancel the fight and Lyoto Machida is going to fight him in Canada. I said ‘ok.’ I was just trying to help the organization. All of a sudden I am in my house and my cousin said ‘Hey you are going to fight Jones.’ I said ‘Yeah stop, stop saying that.’ I thought he was just playing. He says to me that he is serious, and that he has the contract. All of a sudden I see my phone and I see Lorenzo’s text asking me if I’m willing to fight Jones in Canada. I was so excited, I was jumping. It was a great opportunity. It was really God’s willing for this to happen and we have history behind that.”

Belfort on why he believes he deserves this fight: “I am coming into a weight class that I am not really fighting in, but I have history. I think I have a right to go in and fulfill that replacement. I have history behind it and I have a chance. How many guys from my generation get this chance? And here I am, 35 years old, 17-year career, fighting the best fighter of all time in the history of the UFC and I have a lot of respect for the guy, but I will be ready to put up a fight and bring the competition to a high level.”

Belfort on who he is training with: “I am training with the best guys here: Rashad Evans, Coach Eric, Coach Roberto, we got Alistair Overeem, we have all kinds of good guys here helping me. Thiago Silva, all of the Blackzilians here helping me to get prepared. Plus, Rashad fought with him in the last fight so it is a good fit. It brings me confidence. I am happy. I am doing this for the main reason because I’m a guy from the old school fighting. I was ready to fight. I used to fight every week when we had our gym in LA. Every week a guy was coming and challenging us and that is how I learned to be ready. I was starting my camp and when that fight came, I took it. We have a lot of heart, a lot of faith and a lot of trust. I am going to have fun. Jon Jones is going to have fun and everyone is going to have fun.”

Belfort on how long he has been training: “The way I feel, is one feeling. It is all here (pointing at his head). I have trained my whole entire life. Now there is that thing of fighters needing one month, three months or six months. When I was injured, I was training with my other hand. I was biking. The way I live life is training. When I’m with my son, a father, a husband, it’s a way of life. You know it is habit. I believe we have to make habits in life. That is my mentality. That is the way I approach things. Some people need to get ready, I live ready. I am ready. That is the difference between UFC fighters and boxers. Boxers need a year or six months, UFC fighters that is the way we have been doing this sport for years. We do replacements. I remember Chris Weidman replaced someone to face Demian Maia, he cut 20 pounds in three days. Some guys in the new generation still have that mentality and some guys they don’t. That is why I am so thankful for the opportunity and to the organization and the sport. I remember they used to have one UFC event every three months and now they have one like every week.”

Belfort on coming back to fight again: “I think we have to bring the old mentality back a little bit. And that is who I am, I am about to finish my career. And I know Kenny that you are retired, but maybe I will be an inspiration for you to come back from retirement because one thing is I want to finish strong and I think I have some gas in my tank. I am facing the champ, the best fighter in UFC history. The new breed. I am very honored and privileged to fight him as an old school fighter. I don’t want to go into the science, too much science. I need to go into the attitude. This is an attitude fight.”

Belfort and how it has been training with the Blackzilians: “It has been great. When I came here everyone received me with a lot of love. I brought my jiu jitsu coach with me and he is great. He is restarting his career here. And I have my whole family here with me. I have different coaches and they all work on different things, but I am really happy with my decision because I was looking for partners. And, I am training with the best trainers and I am having a blast. I am learning the wrestling mentality with Rashad. How they fight. It is so good for me to learn. I feel so young. Everyday I got to the gym and I see the new breed of fighters. I see them train and I really get energy from them and I try to use everything they have to take it in and learn new techniques and new moves. I am training with Tyrone Spong, one of the best K1 fighters ever. Rashad has all the inside points. He is very technical, a very good coach. It is a about knowledge, you know in MMA you have to have the division, the attitude and you have to have people who push you to the right limit, not over cook you. I am really having a blast. It is like I am going to Disneyland everyday.”

Vitor on why he deserves this fight over Chael Sonnen: “It’s not that I deserve it, but I have history in the UFC. I have been the champion of the light heavyweight division. It’s not about Chael, it’s just I think it is a better fight with me. I think John Jones vs. Belfort makes more sense. The way Chael got beat by Silva in the last fight, he doesn’t deserve to go for a title fight. There were so many guys that were willing to fight Jon Jones that had good wins and good records in the UFC like Chris Weidman. Chael is trying to move up in weight and give up on his weight class, that’s the way I see it. But guess what, I am really thankful Jones didn’t accept that fight with Chael that week and that fight came to me and I really have to thank god. And the way I went about trying to get the fight was the professional way. I sent a text to Dana and Lorenzo offering myself to fight Jones. And then the fight came to me and I just have to thank god and the opportunity.”

Belfort’s favorite Brazilian fighter: “That is a tough question bro, you put me on the spot. It is hard. We can talk about which Brazilian I am not a fan of that I can say, I don’t know. But we have all kinds. I am a fan of all of them. Like from a fighter perspective, career perspective, we have all kinds of talent. We have these guys, the young guys, the old guys, Royce Gracie, Mauricio Rua, you know we have guys that came and are no longer in the UFC like Pedro Rizzo. We have so many guys in this new breed like Jose Aldo, Renan Barao. We have Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira - man we have plenty.”

Belfort on his love for what he does and the UFC: “The cool thing about UFC is that it is exploding to other countries like Australia and Brazil. It is expanding, giving jobs and giving opportunities. We bring values, we motivate people how to live a life and what kind of habits you have to create. This is Disneyland bro. That is why I am so proud of myself to work with this kind of organization. I get to go to the park every day. The gym is my park. Don’t let people create outcomes for you, you create outcomes. Guess what, the world is a mess, you need to start everything in you mind the way you treat your family, the way you live your life, everything. And this is a challenge. This is one more challenge in my life. I am having one opportunity that no one from my generation has and I am so happy. I am going to be so happy in that Octagon when that bell rings and I am going to fight like I have never fought before. So you guys don’t miss Toronto on the 22^nd. You are going to get to see the young lion against the new old lion.”

“UFC Tonight” Analyst Kenny Florian on Vitor Belfort vs. Jon Jones: “I think it is a great scenario for Vitor Belfort. You know the guy that is going to beat Jon Jones is going to have to have great hands, great footwork and is going to have to be able to get on the inside of Jon Jones and that is definitely Vitor Belfort. Not only that, he is a south paw and he is a very experienced striker. He is a little under size, but that is going to give him speed.”

Florian on why this fight is intriguing: “Well it is an interesting fight because the original fight Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson was a great example of the old guard vs. the new guard. We have that very same thing here with Vitor Belfort who is a part of the old guard, who was a champion at 19 years old in the UFC. He has fought in several weight classes and he is truly a legend. He is very, very dangerous. Not only does he have knockout power, but he is a south paw which is always difficult for fighters to adjust too. We saw Lyoto Machida give Jon Jones problems earlier. It is going to be a game of long reach against the explosive power of Vitor Belfort.”

Florian on if Belfort has a chance to take the belt: “Without a doubt, he has a chance. They call him The Phenom for a reason. This is the kind of guy who really could match Jon Jones from the talent department and that is really something we probably haven’t seen before. Any time you get that kind of talent and athleticism that Belford poses, he can beat anyone in the world and if he is on at UFC 152, that is a scary fight.”

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