NSAC: Vitor Belfort Must Pay

by Kid Nate on Jun 13, 2008 7:40 AM EDT in MMA News

There's been much speculation -- led by Fightlinker -- that Vitor Belfort wouldn't be allowed to fight on the July 19th Affliction: Banned card unless he settles up with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Belfort got popped for drugging at PRIDE 32 and was hit with a $10,000 fine and a 9 month suspension.

Six months later he was fighting in Cage Rage in the U.K. Not cool, Vitor. Turns out he never paid his fine either.

But it appears that the NSAC is willing to work with Vitor. NBC Sports has the details:

The July 19 Affliction card will take place in Anaheim, Calif., and California State Athletic Commission official William Douglas told NBCSports.com that Belfort must be removed from the suspension list by the same governing body that placed him there, meaning he must settle his debt with Nevada before he can square off with his scheduled opponent, Terry Martin.

According to NSAC executive director Keith Kizer, Belfort will be able to participate in Affliction's Banned card as long as he pays his $10,000 fine.

"As far as Cage Rage goes, that had nothing to do with his discipline here," Kizer said. "Now, if he does come back and wants to fight here, we'll ask him about Cage Rage and why it took him so long to pay his fine, but it has nothing to do with the Affliction card.

"It should be no impediment if he pays the fine," Kizer said.

Interestingly, California is threatening to require fighters who've been popped for drugging before to test clean BEFORE they're cleared to fight. It doesn't look like this rule will apply in time for the Affliction card though:

California is poised to join Nevada in requiring fighters who previously tested positive for drugs to prove they are clean before being allowed to fight again.

The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) is working on this and other changes to regulations designed to stem the use of performance-enhancing and recreational drugs in combative sports. The proposed change to current rules in California would require a clean drug test for licensure or renewal of a license when an athlete has "previously tested positive for a prohibited substance in any commission state." This clean-test stipulation comes with no expiration date.

I'm glad this has been worked out and since they won't let him in the cage (or will Affliction be in a ring, anyone know?) until he pays his fine, I'm confident Vitor will settle up. As much of a screw up as Vitor has been, I'm glad he's going to be able to fight in the states again. He's faced personal tragedy, spats with promoters, and most of all a nagging inconsistency as a fighter but he'll always be a legend of MMA. As long as there's still the outside chance that he'll fulfill his potential, I'll always be happy to watch Vitor fight.

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Comments

Nate, we are the minority. Many people have jumped off the Vitor bandwagon, and I don’t blame them. Unfortunately, I cannot forget the old Vitor, the Vitor who knockout people with blazing hand speed and unbelievable power at the age of 19. I will always watch him in hopes of him waking from this nightmare that he crawled into and refuses to leave.
On another note, I am also curious as to if Affliction is fighting in a cage or ring. I would almost assume ring, just because I am sure they are going to cater to Fedor and I am sure he doesn’t want any part of a cage fight with big Tim. I would rather a ring myself, I want to give Sylvia no opportunity to make this into a boring clutch and grab, grinding decision win.

by strictlymma.com on Jun 13, 2008 8:30 AM EDT reply actions

it is confirmed as a ring, believe I read Fedor requested a ring and refused to fight in a cage

by pr0cs on Jun 13, 2008 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Great

More refs pulling people’s arms off the ropes, dragging fighters around the ring, screwing up positioning after a restart, falling through the ropes… Yeah, that’s gonna be awesome.

Now if they can only get the mob to buy a controlling interest, work to avoid drug testing and pay fighters bonuses to get knocked out, they’ll have repeated all the worst mistakes of PRIDE.

Luckily, they’ll also have the best part of Pride: Fedor.

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones

by jemaleddin on Jun 13, 2008 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions

I thought the best part of Pride was the audience sitting on their hands.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on Jun 13, 2008 6:34 PM EDT up reply actions

No

I liked how they would cut to shots of amused fan reactions while somebody was having their face kicked in, as though we’d be more inrterested in what Generic Japanese Pop Icon #24 thinks about the action than the action itself.

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones

by jemaleddin on Jun 14, 2008 8:39 AM EDT up reply actions

There is zero chance that Vitor will fullfill his potential.

In reality, he was never that good. He had fast hands and was very athletic, but his highlight reels were 11 years ago, roided up, and against guys like Ferrozzo and Tank.

Mentally, Vitor as always been weak.

by Hardcharger on Jun 13, 2008 9:35 AM EDT reply actions

wow

I didn’t know you were related to Vitor and you knew him that well.

Any man that has gone through what he went through personally is not “mentally weak”.
Will he fulfill his potential? Most likely not, but I continue to watch and see for myself.

by strictlymma.com on Jun 13, 2008 9:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Using your faulty logic, you also don’t know that he’s mentally strong because you don’t know him personally.

Seriously, if you’re really a Vitor fan, then you know all too well the countless instances of him showing how fragile he is mentally. It’s not surprising, given how he was pushed into the spotlight so young, and once he tasted defeat, he was never the same mentally. In terms of being an MMA fighter, which I assume is the discussion on an MMA website, Vitor is absolutely mentally weak.

by Hardcharger on Jun 13, 2008 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions

And Wanderlei

Vitor still owns the single most impressive beat down of Wanderlei Silva of anyone.
And his fight against Chuck Liddell was a back and forth war that could’ve gone Vitor’s way right up to the final knockdown in the 3rd round.
Same for his fight against TIto, he came very very close to beating Tito when Tito was near the top of his game.
It’s really only his last fight against Couture and his loss to Sakuraba where he really disappointed.
Ok and his loss to Henderson.

by Kid Nate on Jun 13, 2008 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Vitor caved in against Tito in Rd 3, giving up TDs and giving away whatever chance he had.

LOL, you really think those are the only disappointing performances? His last fight against Zikic must’ve really enthralled you. Did the guillotine loss to Overeem impress you? What about the boring decision loss in the rematch?

Vitor isn’t anywhere near elite anymore, and we’ll see what he looks like assuming he can pass the steroid test, but if his recent fights are any indication, he’ll look mediocre.

by Hardcharger on Jun 13, 2008 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions

ok ok

You’re right, Vitor hasn’t impressed in a long time. Still, I’m glad he’s getting one more chance.

by Kid Nate on Jun 13, 2008 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions

not to mention...

...if he doesn’t impress again…it isn’t on the main broadcast.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison

by Brent Brookhouse on Jun 13, 2008 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions