The case against Vitor Belfort for Fighter of the Year
For obvious reasons, Vitor Belfort is on the short list of Best Fighter of the Year 2013. And for obvious reasons,…
For obvious reasons, Vitor Belfort is on the short list of Best Fighter of the Year 2013. And for obvious reasons, in the eyes of many he is disaualified from the honor.
SI’s Jeff Wagenheim details his back and forth feelings on the matter.
When the topic of Fighter of the Year had come up during the TV show, I had blurted out a name that on the most obvious level made perfect sense. The guy fought three times in 2013, won three times in 2013, viciously knocked out three opponents in 2013, each one with a highlight-reel kick to the head. So I had cast my vote for Vitor Belfort.
What the hell was I thinking?
What I was thinking was that the resume items listed above were impressive enough. And they were indeed remarkable. But they’re only part of the 2013 Vitor Belfort story, and they are undeniably tied in to the other part: He’s one of the growing number of aging fighters who’ve prolonged their careers by use of testosterone replacement therapy. And the brawny Brazilian stands out from the crowd. At 38 years old, he’s more of a caged killer now than he was in the prime years of his 20s. Three straight head-kick KO’s over Top 10 guys? He wasn’t doing that 10 years ago.
A decade ago, Belfort was known for beating people up, but he wasn’t taking our breath away in quite the same way. “The Phenom” was a young man fighting like a young man … until he no longer was. After winning the UFC light heavyweight championship in 2004, everything suddenly went south. Belfort entered a stretch during which he lost five of seven bouts and appeared to be fading out of the picture. That perception became starkly vivid when, following the 2006 decision loss to Dan Henderson that culminated his slide, Vitor tested positive for the anabolic steroid 4-Hydroxytestosterone.
Since 2007, though, Belfort is 10-2, with losses coming against only the estimable Anderson Silva and Jon Jones. He’s fought like a different fighter and even looked like one. His sinewy physique and ageless vigor have raised eyebrows. Would Belfort have had the energy to put in the gym hours needed to chisel out such a figure if not for the TRT boost? Would his dynamic blitzkrieg fighting style still have been possible as he entered his late 30s?
My argument on the TV show, to which I’d given considerable thought, was that with TRT exemptions being routinely granted to fighters by athletic commissions, there’s nothing inherently wrong with Belfort’s use. “It’s within the rules,” I had said. “He’s not cheating.”
That’s true. But even as I was stating the case for Belfort, I was situating him within a more nuanced context. The panelist who spoke before me had endorsed flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, and when it was my turn I had used that as a jumping-off point. “I’m going to say that Demetrious Johnson is my organic, all-natural Fighter of the Year, sponsored by Whole Foods Market …” I began, whimsically, before veering toward Belfort.
Upon further review, I believe I should have stayed with Johnson. Nothing against Vitor, whose three victories this year were awe-inspiring, but he’s running on high-octane fuel in a race against vehicles with tanks full of regular unleaded. At some point, athletic commissions and MMA’s most influential promotion, the UFC, will resolve themselves to doing away with artificial enhancement and allow fighters to simply age out of the sport, as nature intended. Till that happens, TRT-fueled fighters will continue to do what they do. Among the things they will continue to do: pose a dilemma for those of us who each year try to sort out the criteria for determining who’s the best of the best.
Vitor Belfort is not my Fighter of the Year. I take it back, viewers ofThe MMA Beat. I congratulate Belfort on those breathtaking KO’s of Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold, and Dan Henderson. But just as the UFC is prone to skip over challengers to hand title shots to fighters it believes will best serve the bottom line, I’m skipping over Vitor Belfort. I don’t care if TRT is within the rules. I’m factoring it in.
So … no. Simply … no.