Forget doctor’s orders. Vitor Belfort was determined to make his final walk to the Octagon.
Sources confirmed with MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz that “The Phenom” suffered an injury to his left knee in the first week of camp preparing for UFC 224, which took place last Saturday at the Jeunesse Arena in his home city of Rio de Janeiro.
Belfort, 41, would go on to lose by second-round knockout to fellow Brazilian star Lyoto Machida. Afterwards, the former UFC light heavyweight champion laid his gloves down in the Octagon and declared his retirement, as was expected, signaling the end of an MMA career that began in 1996.