Vitor Belfort discusses fighters being a “real man” instead of a “bully” & disliking trash talk.

Vitor Belfort posted confirmation on his IG account that he is set to face Lyoto Machida in a battle of the veterans.

Vitor also spoke out about how a fighter should be a “real man” and not a “bully” & his dislike of trash talk.

View this post on Instagram

I’m over 20 years being relevant in this sport. I broke a lot barriers and paved the way for a generation after me. I am one of the pioneers of the sport and I’m proud it it. I could not walk into the octagon for the last time without sending a relevant message to the: athletes, fans and to the sport itself. That is the reason why I chose to fight a friend of mine. An athlete that I have a lot respect. A good person a family man. I’m against the so famous “trash talk”. MMA is a sport! A sport that myself and a lot of family men work really hard to support our families. Lyoto and I have known each other for many years, I know his family and we have trained together. I wanted this fight to take place in Brazil because that is where everything started and now it’s time for us to send another message to the world. And the message is: RESPECT! May 12th @lyotomachidafw and I will step into the octagon as professionals and we still be friends. Always respecting each other and the way we will do that is giving our best in the octagon. I want people to understand that you don’t have to be a bully to be a fighter, you have to be a real man. And that is exactly what the world is in need, real man willing to pay the price to make a difference.

A post shared by Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (@vitorbelfort) on Feb 17, 2018 at 12:12pm PST

F-NYC take:

Nice to see this approach by a veteran fighter. You wonder if this is a swan song for either Vitor or Lyoto. The fight taking place in Brazil will be interesting, since both will be fan favorites. Kudos to UFC for making this very interesting match-up. Of course Vitor has been much maligned regarding steroids, TRT and his ever changing physique. But, it is good to see these two veteran warriors have a nice showcase at the probable end of their careers.

FRANKIE NYC
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