Sherdog’s Top 10: Brazilian Mixed Martial Artists

8. Vitor Belfort

“The Phenom” remains one of the most intriguing talents MMA has ever seen. He paired vicious punching power with blinding hand speed and a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, becoming one of the first superstars of the UFC’s early days.

At age 19, Belfort dominated the field at UFC 12 to win the one-day tournament. All eyes were suddenly on the Brazilian. However, his rise was slowed by his loss to Randy Couture at UFC 15. Belfort bounced back with a pair of victories, including a career-defining 44-second blowout of Wanderlei Silva. From there, he bounced all over the map and fought in Pride Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, Affliction and Strikeforce. Belfort captured UFC gold in 2004 and also scored major wins over Rich Franklin, Anthony Johnson, Michael Bisping, Dan Henderson (twice) and Luke Rockhold.

Issues outside the cage have clouded Belfort’s legacy, as he struggled with motivation, tested positive for elevated testosterone and became one of the lightning rods for the testosterone replacement therapy controversy.

Number 7 » Mauricio Rua