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#2. Vitor Belfort is a former UFC light heavyweight champion
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Vitor Belfort should receive consideration because he is a former UFC light heavyweight champion. Although his reign was short-lived, it wasn't a one-off fight and he had success competing at 205 lbs.
'The Phenom' was 2-1 at light heavyweight prior to his title fight with Randy Couture. He defeated Wanderlei Silva by TKO in 44-seconds at UFC Brazil in 1998. In 2002, he returned to 205lbs but lost to eventual champion Chuck Liddell by unanimous decision. He rebounded from that loss with an impressive first-round TKO win over Marvin Eastman at UFC 43.
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The win over Eastman earned 'The Phenom' a title shot against 'The Natural' at UFC 46. It was a rematch of their bout at UFC 15, which saw Couture earn the unanimous decision win. This time, 'The Phenom' got the win after the fight stopped due to a bad cut on 'The Natural's eye.
#1. Vitor Belfort was successful in three weight divisions
Belfort's success in three different weight divisions should put him in strong consideration for the UFC Hall of Fame. He began his career as a heavyweight and won the heavyweight tournament at UFC 12.
'The Phenom' then carried over his success to PRIDE. After losing to Kazushi Sakuraba in his PRIDE debut, he went on to win four-straight fights. The wins included a submission over Bobby Southworth and unanimous decision wins over Gilbert Yvel and Heath Herring. He then returned for his second stint in the UFC and won the light heavyweight championship. This was significant because it was a major accomplishment in a second weight division.
'The Phenom's had a career resurgence in his third stint in the UFC. Aside from his light heavyweight title fight with Jon Jones, he fought the majority of bouts in the middleweight division. This was the third division he was successful in as he earned two title shots. Despite beating a former champions, he was unable to win the middleweight championship.
