Former UFC champion Vitor Belfort announced his retirement from competition in May 2018, after he was knocked out by Lyoto Machida at UFC 224. A little over a month later, he was already hinting at a return, possibly in a rematch against a legend of the sport.
One of the names that floated around was that of Wanderlei Silva’s, whom Belfort defeated at the UFC’s first-ever event in Brazil in 1998. In a recent Instagram post, “The Phenom” says he would like another crack at “The Axe Murderer.”
THE TIME IS TICKING #42 @wandfc — i heard that you are asking to fight me again?I hope this is true. I have a Christmas gift for you. — i am willing to give you the most anticipated #rematch that will ever happen in the #mma combat sports history.Do you accept my GIFT ?If you do, I already suggest the date and the location. What about the end of February, Singapore @onechampionship #ONE is one of the most growing sports organization in the world Merry Christmas @wandfc
@yodchatri @onechampjp @onechampionship let’s give to this amazing fans, this fight on the best platform of combat sports.
The 42-year-old Belfort officially came out of retirement last March and signed with Singapore-based promotion ONE Championship. Silva, meanwhile, is no longer under contract with Bellator and is reportedly planning to compete under Bare Knuckle FC.