In 2015, Vitor Belfort entered his UFC 187 middleweight title fight against Chris Weidman believing so strongly in victory that he had commemorative T-shirts printed declaring himself a three-division champion. Belfort started the fight aggressively, opening a cut with a knee and landing heavy strikes against the cage, but Weidman weathered the pressure, scored a takedown, and finished him with ground-and-pound. The piece draws a parallel to Alex Pereira's current bid to become only the second fighter in UFC history to challenge for a third divisional title, at the same age of 38.
Long before Alex Pereira chased history, another Brazilian power puncher came agonizingly close to rewriting the UFC record books. At UFC 187 in 2015, Vitor Belfort stepped into his middleweight title fight against Chris Weidman with such certainty of victory that he had already printed commemorative T-shirts proclaiming himself a three-division champion — a feat no fighter in UFC history had achieved.
Belfort, now 49 and carrying a career record of 26-14, was aggressive from the opening moments. The southpaw from Brazil opened a cut on Weidman with a knee and pinned him against the cage with heavy shots, threatening a finish. But the dream unraveled. Weidman absorbed the early storm, secured a takedown, and finished Belfort with ground-and-pound, the T-shirts never leaving the box.
Chris Weidman, the six-foot-two New Yorker now 42 years old with a record of 16-8, was well-suited to withstand that kind of pressure. He averaged 3.27 takedowns per 15 minutes across his career, and his ability to drag elite strikers to the mat repeatedly proved decisive that night against Belfort's six-foot, 74-inch-reach frame.
Why it matters
- The story resurfaces because current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, at 38, is now pursuing a challenge at a third divisional title — which would make him only the second fighter in UFC history to reach that milestone.
- Pereira carries a record of 13-4 and leads active UFC fighters with a 62 percent striking accuracy and 5.16 significant strikes landed per minute, making him a far more refined striker than most who have attempted such climbs.
- At six-foot-four with a 79-inch reach, the Brazilian operates from a physically imposing platform that Belfort, despite his own gifts, never possessed.
Belfort's story serves as a reminder of how thin the margin is between legacy and footnote — and how the T-shirts sometimes get printed too early.
