Latest news with #Belfort
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former UFC rivals Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva will meet again in a boxing match in Brazil
Vitor Belfort joined Wanderlei Silva in the UFC Hall of Fame earlier this year. Now the two former rivals will rematch in a boxing match. (Photo by Mike Kirschbaum/Zuffa LLC) Nearly 27 years after their first fight at UFC Brazil, Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva are set to meet again — this time in the boxing ring. Belfort and Silva have agreed to square off at Spaten Fight Night 2 on September 27, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, according to a report from MMA Fighting. The two first clashed in 1998, when the UFC held its first event in Brazil, under the company's original ownership. Belfort, then just 21, scored a quick TKO finish in the opening minute of the fight after dropping Silva with punches almost immediately. Advertisement Now, with both men nearing the age of 50, Belfort and Silva will rematch in a boxing ring as Spaten Fight Night returns for its second event. The first Spaten Fight Night card also featured a boxing redux of a famed MMA rivalry, as former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva faced off against Chael Sonnen in a tepid exhibition bout. Belfort has participated in several boxing matches since his last UFC fight in 2018, picking up a TKO win over former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield in a 2021 exhibition bout, and also defeating fellow former MMA star Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza via decision in 2023. Silva, who turned 49 earlier this month, has been less active since finishing his MMA career with consecutive losses in Bellator, but he has consistently expressed interest in boxing matches with fellow contemporaries. Advertisement Belfort and Silva had been slated for a rematch under the UFC banner in 2012, following a coaching stint on "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil," but an injury to Belfort forced him off the card. Both Belfort and Silva have been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as members of its "pioneer wing."
New York Post
08-07-2025
- New York Post
Long Island mom demands attempted murder charges for her dogs killed in an arson: ‘He's still walking free'
A Long Island dog owner whose two pups fatally burned in a blaze allegedly set by her neighbor is calling for charges to be upgraded to attempted murder — with one state lawmaker looking to throw the book at pet killers. Ariana Belfort, 38, stood outside Nassau County Court Monday barking for justice for Jameson and Jack, her two dogs brutally murdered in an arson started by her downstairs neighbor, Jahan Kia. Belfort was joined by friends, animal rights activists and state Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz, with many adorning signs and t-shirts that read 'Justice for Jameson and Jack.' Advertisement 6 Ariana Belfort, 38, stood outside Nassau County Court Monday barking for justice for Jameson and Jack. Dennis A. Clark The lawmaker not only backed Belfort's calls to add attempted murder and two animal cruelty charges to Kia's rap sheet, but announced he would be introducing a statewide bill that would make murdering animals a felony that could carry a life sentence. '[Kia] shouldn't be in more trouble for destroying drywall than he is for killing a loved one,' Blumencranz, an Oyster Bay Republican, told The Post. 'Real human and animal lives have been destroyed. Advertisement 6 Mugshot of Jahan Kia, arrested for arson. Nassau County Police Dept 'Now we need to make sure we see justice for everyone involved.' The Animal Justice Act would make murdering man's best friend, or any animal, a Class A felony that could bring with it 25 years to life in prison — legislation that Belfort, a mother of three, wholeheartedly supports. 6 Jameson and Jack fatally burned in a blaze allegedly set by Jahan Kia. Dennis A. Clark Advertisement 'If someone is capable of murdering an animal, they are certainly capable of murdering a human,' she said, adding that killing pets is how most serial killers start their murderous tendencies. In May, Kia, 40, was arrested for allegedly setting the Plainview home — he lived in an illegal basement apartment — on fire killing Belfort's two dogs and at least one of his own cats. The blaze took 100 firefighters from six departments to get under control. Kia was charged with arson, criminal mischief and just one count of animal cruelty — despite allegedly killing three animals. 6 The Animal Justice Act would make murdering man's best friend, or any animal, a Class A felony that could bring with it 25 years to life in prison. Advertisement 'He's still walking free,' Belfort said outside the court where Kia was scheduled to appear that morning. 'He admitted he set the fire on the house, he admitted he did it on purpose, and he admitted he thought we were inside at the time he started the fire.' Belfort claimed Kia, who she barley knew, has shown no remorse. She also shared a recent Facebook post by Kia that showed a cat laying on top of a pair of brass knuckles, which are illegal in New York state. 6 Belfort was joined by friends, animal rights activists and state Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz. Dennis A. Clark In late June, the Nassau Legislature voted to expand the county's 2014 animal-abuse law to make it a misdemeanor for anyone who harms a pet, doubling time on the registry and upping punishments to potential jail time and a $1,000 fine for abusers. And following Monday's rally at the courthouse, Nassau DA Anne Donnelly told The Post she is considering tacking on additional charges. 6 In late June, the Nassau Legislature voted to expand the county's 2014 animal-abuse law to make it a misdemeanor for anyone who harms a pet. 'This was a shocking, senseless act, and my office is considering upgrading the charges in this matter,' Donnelly said in a statement. 'It is endlessly frustrating that defendants who commit arson or kill innocent animals can walk free without my prosecutors ever having the opportunity to ask for bail. Advertisement 'I am committed to holding defendants accountable for crimes against innocent, defenseless animals.' Gov. Kathy Hochul's office did not respond to The Post's request for comment on Blumencranz's proposal legislation.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Vitor Belfort's UFC Hall of Fame entry raises tricky questions — and for Michael Bisping, complicated feelings
Here's my first thought upon hearing that Vitor Belfort would be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer: Wait, he's not already in the Hall of Fame? Right after that, my second thought was: Wonder what Michael Bisping thinks about this. Advertisement That's not sarcasm, just to be clear. It's an honest admission that, more than anyone else, Bisping has a right to feel some type of way about it. That's because back in 2013, when Belfort and Bisping clashed in the headliner of a UFC Fight Night event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Belfort landed a knockout kick that eventually cost Bisping his right eye. The kick was clean. Belfort? Not so much. As we suspected at the time, and later had confirmed in the most hilarious way possible, Belfort was juiced up with synthetic testosterone. We didn't necessarily need lab results to tell us this (though we did eventually get them). All we had to do was look at the action figure physique he'd suddenly sprouted in his mid-30s and then apply some basic math. Belfort, who'd already been busted by one drug test nearly a decade earlier, was far from the only one taking advantage of the MMA world's laissez-faire approach to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) at the time. Chael Sonnen and Dan Henderson had helped stamp 'TRT' into the fight fan vocabulary, claiming they needed the hormonal boost due to their abnormally low testosterone levels. This was absurd, of course, but maybe we were living in an absurd time. Belfort simply took it to the next level by aggressively flunking the eye test while piling up highlight-reel finishes, which played a major role in eventually forcing the state athletic commissions to admit that the whole thing was too ridiculous to continue. Advertisement That's about when TRT was finally effectively ended in MMA, but it was shallow comfort to Bisping. Banning Belfort's supplement of choice didn't restore the vision in his right eye. There was arguably no one more harmed than Bisping by the TRT era in MMA. He fought and lost against at least three known users — Henderson, Sonnen, and Belfort — and suffered devastating knockouts in two of those fights. Since the Belfort loss cost him the most, at least physically, you might think Bisping would have some complicated feelings about enshrining the man in the UFC Hall of Fame. You'd be right about that. But only to a point. 'Was he a massive cheater? Of course,' Bisping told MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn recently. 'Did he take a lot of steroids? Of course. Were there a lot of other people doing that at the same time. Absolutely there was. So I was like, I get it. But then when I thought about it, I lost an eye because of this guy. I'm like, no, he can stick his Hall of Fame up his ass." Bisping then added: "But he does deserve it.' Advertisement This is where it gets tricky, for all the reasons Bisping just outlined. Just going by the official record, you have to admit Belfort had a great career. He burst onto the scene as a teenager in the wild west days of mid-'90s MMA, and was somehow still around — and very much in title contention — by the time the UFC had new ownership and a network television deal in the mid-2010s. Vitor Belfort knocked out Michael Bisping in an infamous 2013 bout in Brazil that ultimately cost Bisping his right eye. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) That right there is incredible all on its own. His UFC titles at heavyweight and light heavyweight also look good on paper, though they're arguably a lot less impressive under even the lightest scrutiny than the middleweight run that came later. Really, the only possible justification to keep a guy like Belfort out of the UFC Hall of Fame would be the doping stuff. And if you were doping in one or more of MMA's notorious doping eras (see also: the entire history of PRIDE Fighting Championships), how much can we hold it against you just for doing it less discreetly and more successfully than others? Advertisement Belfort lived many different lives across many different eras of this sport. He also inhabited several different bodies while doing it. You couldn't not notice this. He practically forced us to form some kind of opinion on it, one way or another. Usually fight fans get more forgiving of that stuff the further removed we are from it. While it's happening in the moment, sure, it's cheating and that's bad (especially when it's not your favorite fighter doing it). But give us a decade or so and we'll decide it was actually really fun to watch and we miss it. Bisping's missing eye makes that a little tougher to do in the case of Belfort. Professional fighting is the hurt game, as we know. There's not a doctor anywhere in the world who would tell you it's good for your health, and everyone who steps in the cage knows it comes with risks. Bisping could have easily lost that eye against a clean fighter. But he didn't. Should Belfort still get a place in the UFC Hall of Fame despite all that? I think so. But that doesn't mean we can't feel more than one way about it. And if you're Bisping, I don't think anyone would blame you if you skipped the induction ceremony entirely.
USA Today
26-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Michael Bisping has mixed feelings about Vitor Belfort's UFC Hall of Fame induction
Michael Bisping has mixed feelings about Vitor Belfort's UFC Hall of Fame induction Michael Bisping has mixed feelings about Vitor Belfort joining the UFC Hall of Fame. If there's anyone who would have a valid protest to Belfort having his name enshrined in the pioneer wing of the Hall during International Fight Week on June 28, it would be Bisping. The former UFC middleweight champion, who is a member of the Hall himself, received a serious eye injury in his January 2013 loss to Belfort at UFC on FX 7. The repercussions of a kick ultimately led to Bisping completely losing his vision, and now he famously has a prosthetic eye. Injuries are an inherent risk of combat sports, but what makes the situation with Bisping even worse, is that Belfort was competing while being granted a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT), which essentially was a then-legal performance-enhancing drug that was outlawed and banned from the sport in February 2014. Bisping understandably still has issue with Belfort for everything that happened. It makes the legacy of "The Phenom" highly complicated, but if Bisping can remove all emotion, he said Belfort belongs in the UFC Hall of Fame. "When we were in Des Moines, Paul Felder had a little piece for the (video) package where we speak about the greatness of the people getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. They said, 'We won't ask you Mike, for obvious reasons.' I said, 'You know what? I don't care. I'll do it,'" Bisping told MMA Junkie. "When you look at it and remove all the emotions from it, the man was the UFC heavyweight champion of the world at 19. He then became the light heavyweight champion. He almost became the middleweight champion. He's the closest thing we've had to a three-weight champion. "Was he a massive cheater? Of course. Did he take a lot of steroids? Of course. Were there a lot of other people doing that at the same time. Absolutely there was. I get it." During his storied career, Belfort owned UFC gold, won the UFC 12 heavyweight tournament and racked up an all-time UFC record 13 finishes in the first round of his fights. There are other athletes in the UFC Hall of Fame who have accomplished far less than Belfort, and had their own controversies as well. For that reason, Bisping can accept that Belfort, despite his faults, earned his place. "I lost an eye because of this guy," Bisping said. "He can stick his Hall of Fame up his ass. But he does deserve it. You can't deny what he did inside the octagon. You just can't deny it. If that's not a Hall of Fame career, I don't know what is. Whether you like it or not, he deserves it." To hear more from Bisping, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
Scottish Sun
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Inside the real Wolf of Wall Street's luxury home with nods to drug-fuelled lifestyle that inspired Leo DiCaprio film
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TAKE A look inside the incredible luxury home of Jordan Belfort, the real Wolf of Wall Street. The property features many nods to the drug-fuelled lifestyle that inspired that Leonardo DiCaprio film. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 8 Inside the real Wolf of Wall Street's incredible luxury home Credit: Instagram @wolfofwallst 8 Paying homage to the iconic 2013 film he proudly displayed a number related memorabilia Credit: Instagram @wolfofwallst 8 Belfort showed off various items in his lavish pad including a painted self-portrait Credit: Instagram @wolfofwallst 8 The video was complete with a clip of Jordan's two luxury Mercedes cars Credit: Instagram @wolfofwallst 8 Amongst the standout pieces was an iconic wolf statue Credit: Instagram @wolfofwallst In a clip posted to his official Instagram account Belfort, 62, showed off various items in his lavish pad. Amongst the standout pieces was a massive painted self-portrait, a custom Stratton Oakmont golf bag — a nod to the infamous brokerage firm Belfort founded, and a wooden cold plunge. Paying homage to the 2013 Martin Scorsese blockbuster he proudly displayed a number of cinematic-themed collectables. These included an iconic wolf statue, customised movie poster and a framed image of Belfort's 37 million superyacht Nadine which sank off the coast of Sardinia. READ MORE ON JORDAN BELFORT Wolf of Wall Street Jordan Belfort's ex wives - from Denise Lombardo to Nadine Caridi The former stockbroker also had various items in the home relating to Quaalude, a drug which he was notoriously addicted to during the peak of his Wall Street career. He showcased two large jars which had the name of the drug imprinted on as well as a framed image of Quaaludes' chemical structure. The video was complete with a clip of Jordan's two luxury Mercedes cars. Fans took to the comments reveling over the post, one user said: 'Bro took it to the limit and beyond!' 'Not the Quaaludes! (laughing emoji)' chimed another. 'Legendary' penned a third, whilst a fourth added 'King of Sales (fire emoji).' Titanic blunder spotted 28 years after film came out - and once you notice it you can't unsee it Belfort inspired Leo DiCaprio's character in the hit films which is based on his own book. He is an author and public speaker who became known as The Wolf of Wall Street during his life as a stockbroker. Born in 1962 in New York, Jordan became the founder of Stratton Oakmont - specialising in penny stocks and defrauding investors with "pump and dump" stock sales. He plead guilty to the crime in 2009 and was sentenced to four years in prison as well as ordered to pay back $110million. Releasing a book in 2008 about how he earned his money, Belfort also admitted to being a prolific drug user. Back in 2021 his estimated net worth was approximately -$100million. This comes after he was told to pay back after he was convicted of defrauding investors. 8 Jordan became the founder of Stratton Oakmont Credit: Getty Images - Getty 8 The former stockbroker had various items in the home relating to the drug Quaalude Credit: Instagram @wolfofwallst
