Belfort, who has hinted at retirement in the past, may be fighting on as a report from Ariel Helwani of ESPN is stating that the fighter is close to signing a deal with One Championship. Helwani also states that Belfort did meet with Bellator MMA officials last month, but a deal couldn’t be reached with them. If Belfort does indeed sign with One Championship, expect to hear an announcement made by the promotion before the week ends.
One Championship has been on quite the signing spree in the past year, inking deals with former UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson, former UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez, former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate, Sage Northcutt, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Yushin Okami and more.
It has been over a decade since Belfort fought outside of the UFC, but the Brazilian MMA legend does have prior experience competing in other promotions, such as PRIDE, Affliction and Strikeforce.
There has been no comment at this time from either Belfort or One Championship on the potential signing.
A short time after the above story, it was reported by Ariel Helwani of ESPN that Belfort has indeed signed with One Championship:
Vitor Belfort has officially signed with ONE, according to sources.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 1, 2019
