UFC legend Vitor Belfort announced his retirement from the sport of MMA following his knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at May 2018’s UFC 224 from Rio.
The defeat was Belfort’s third knockout loss in his last five fights. That number would have been four out of five, as well, had Kelvin Gastelum not popped for THC following his stoppage of “The Phenom.” But as time-honored veterans often do in the fight game, Belfort soon announced his decision to come out of retirement.
In March, Belfort then announced he would do so for Asia’s ONE Championship. While details of his first fight are unknown, Belfort is making plans for a high-profile cornerman. He recently invited UFC Octagon commentator Joe Rogan to corner him in his ONE Debut on his Instagram:
“@joerogan, I would like to formally invite you to be my cornerman in my first ONE Championship fight. I admire your dedication to the sport, and I would love to have that knowledge, and that voice, in my corner.”
A savvy request from Belfort, who will undoubtedly get fight fans talking about this unorthodox request at the very least. There’s little doubt Rogan is one of the most popular personalities in mixed martial arts.
As for Rogan, he has recently been quite a supporter of ONE’s efforts in curbing the Asian MMA market on his podcast. However, he still works for the UFC, so seeing him make the journey to Asia to corner Belfort probably won’t be happening any time soon.
We’ll keep you updated if and when Rogan responds to ‘The Phenom.’
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