Belfort: God put me here to help make UFC bigger than Uber

MMA pioneer Vitor Belfort, 40, was supposed to have his final fight Saturday night at UFC 212. Then he said he wanted to fight on, but for another organization, as his contract was up. Then it was revealed that there was one more fight on his contract. Now during an interview with MMAjunkie, he said that training for his fight at Montreal’s TriStar MMA went so well that he wants to fight on. And after that, he would like a job with the UFC.

I was sick of training and all this, but something stirred in me when I went to Canada, said Belfort, as transcribed by John Morgan and Fernanda Prates.

Befort joked with TriStar founder Firas Zahabi that he wanted five more fights.

We were playing, but I really mean it, he said. I’m willing to keep fighting. I don’t feel that (UFC 212) is going to be my end, but of course anything can happen now.

I think you guys are going to be able to see me more times in the Octagon, said Belfort. I love the UFC. I love the way they always treat me very nice. I think even though when I’m walking away from the Octagon, I want to be with this company because I really believe that we can make this go to the next level, and I really believe that’s where we are going.

But one thing I believe now, we need someone – I believe the new owners need someone – to communicate [between] the fighters and the organization. We don’t need a union. We don’t need one more player. We need someone that can represent the fighter, that can understand what are their needs.

Befort would like to see a means for fighters to be paid year round when they are unable to compete. And he remains commited to the idea of a legends league, despite UFC president Dana White’s lack of interest. Indeed, White is in some regards opposed to the idea – Belfort had mentioned Chuck Liddell as a possible opponent, and White years ago created a desk job for The Iceman, in the interests of his safety. Still, Belfort think White’s mind might yet change.

If a couple of years ago, you were talking about the women’s division, Dana was totally against it, and now he’s in favor, said Belfort. So we have a leader [wh]) can admit, ‘I know I thought wrong, and now I accept it.’ Why not? I believe things are going to change in the future. It’s just a matter of time. If I can shorten this time instead of taking 10 years, we can make it two years, we’re going to be more profitable.

The UFC recently sold for about four billion dollars, the largest sale price in sports history. However, Belfort has his eyes on beating Uber, which has a 70 billion dollar valuation.

I think that’s my role, said Belfort. That’s my passion. I’m not chasing money. I’m chasing my passion. I think that’s what God put me [here] to be.

It’s not about the money. The creator of Uber didn’t make Uber for money. He had a passion. An entrepreneur has to have a passion. That’s the first rule of an entrepreneur. So I think my role is not just working for the organization. I have a passion. I helped build this sport. I want to continue to be part of it.

If they give me the opportunity, we’re going to turn passion into profit.

Vitor Belfort fights Nate Marquardt at UFC 212 on Saturday.