Vitor Belfort Nearly Became UFC's First Triple Champion at UFC 187

Eleven years before Alex Pereira's current bid for a third UFC title, Vitor Belfort came within one fight of making that history first — and was confident enough to print the merchandise before throwing a punch.

At UFC 187 in 2015, Belfort entered a middleweight title challenge against Chris Weidman having already held UFC gold in two divisions. So certain was his camp of victory that commemorative t-shirts celebrating a third championship were produced ahead of the bout. It did not go as planned. Weidman stopped Belfort by knockout, ending what would have been an unprecedented achievement in the promotion's history.

Belfort, now 49 and finished with competition, carried a 26-14-0 record across his career. The Brazilian southpaw stood six feet tall with a 74-inch reach, and his legacy as one of the sport's most dangerous finishers remained intact even after that Las Vegas setback.

Weidman, the man who denied him, is now 42 and holds a 16-8-0 record. The six-foot-two American out of Serra-Longo Fight Team was a formidable champion in his own right, averaging 3.27 takedowns per 15 minutes and landing significant strikes at a rate of 3.11 per minute.

Now it is Alex Pereira standing at the same crossroads Belfort once occupied. The reigning UFC light heavyweight champion is 38 — the same age Belfort was at UFC 187 — and carries a 13-4-0 record into his attempt at a third divisional title. The six-foot-four Brazilian, known as Poatan, is a genuinely elite striker, landing significant strikes at a remarkable rate of 5.16 per minute with an accuracy of 62 percent.

Why it matters

• Pereira is only the second fighter in UFC history to attempt a third title across three divisions
• His current light heavyweight championship gives him a platform Belfort did not have entering UFC 187
• The parallel in age between both fighters at the moment of their triple-title bids adds a striking historical footnote