via Imago
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – MAY 12: Lyoto Machida of Brazil submit Vitor Belfort of Brazil in their middleweight bout during the UFC 224 event at Jeunesse Arena on May 12, 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC)
via Imago
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – MAY 12: Lyoto Machida of Brazil submit Vitor Belfort of Brazil in their middleweight bout during the UFC 224 event at Jeunesse Arena on May 12, 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC)
The last press conference ahead of the Triller Fight Club Legends 2 card was pretty uneventful. All the fighters showed tremendous respect for each other, especially Vitor Belfort and Evander Holyfield.
In their last press conference before the fight, both Holyfield and Belfort showed nothing but respect for each other. The media asked Belfort what it meant to him to fight against Holyfield on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
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Belfort replied, saying, “Well, it’s a joy, that’s the word I can describe, it’s a joy. I remember when I was fighting my first UFC tournament, in the same month, I saw our legend Holyfield fight Tyson for the second time, beat him up, and my dream was to see MMA become as big as boxing.”
The main event features boxing royalty, Evander Holyfield, take on the MMA powerhouse Vitor Belfort. The fight takes place at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Triller originally set the main card between ‘The Golden Boy’ Oscar De La Hoya and Vitor Belfort.
44-year-old @VitorBelfort looks to be in incredible shape for his boxing match with Oscar De La Hoya. 🥊💪#TrillerFightClub | Full video: https://t.co/nBXKzPyBxY pic.twitter.com/ymUjgsReAb
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) August 27, 2021
Unfortunately, as De La Hoya contracted COVID-19, he was ineligible to fight on the scheduled date. Hence, on short notice, Evander ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield jumped in to take the fight. Holyfield last fought almost a decade ago, in 2011. However, as he was preparing for a comeback fight and was in training, he was perfectly placed to pounce on the opportunity.
Triller had to shift the entire card to Florida since the California State Athletic Commission could not grant Holyfield a license to fight, stating his diminished skills and old age.
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Fans are concerned for Evander Holyfield as he takes on Vitor Belfort
Fans of ‘The Real Deal’ took to Twitter to express their concern about watching Evander Holyfield fight against Belfort. Belfort is 14 years younger than Holyfield and never stopped training even after he retired.
Also read: ‘You Don’t Make the Weight, Don’t Come Fight’- Anderson Silva Sends a Clear Message to Tito Ortiz
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Holyfield, on the other hand, has been training for months, but has not fought inside the ring in over a decade. Even during the open media workout, fans noticed Evander Holyfield looked slow and stiff on the pads.
Has age finally caught up to Holyfield? Or will he shock everyone and beat Vitor Belfort this weekend? Who do you think will win on September 11?
