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UFC legend Vitor Belfort will be fighting Mike Holston aka The Real Tarzann in a Triller boxing match this month.
Earlier this month, ESPN MMA’s Ariel Helwani reported that Triller boss Ryan Kavanaugh told him that a deal had been signed for a fight between the two men.
Vitor Belfort vs. The Real Tarzann will take place at Triller’s Fight Club event later this month. The matchup will be one of the most high-profile clashes on the fight card.
The event will be headlined by Teofimo Lopez defending his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles against George Kambosos Jr. It will take place at the LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida on June 19th, 2021.
The matchup between Vitor Belfort and The Real Tarzann will be a professional boxing bout. Belfort and Tarzann will wear 12-ounce gloves. The fight is scheduled for eight two-minute rounds.
The Real Tarzann is a former zookeeper who later turned into an animal conservationist and whisperer. He is an internet celebrity/ social media influencer who has a lot of followers online.
Tarzann’s social media posts notably show his interactions with wild and exotic animals. These are often dangerous, leading some to praise and others to criticize his actions.
Furthermore, he’s known for his impressive strength and undergoes training in boxing and MMA.
Vitor Belfort hasn’t competed in a professional fight since 2018
Vitor Belfort parted ways with UFC back in 2018 and retired from the sport of MMA altogether. However, in late 2018, Belfort announced that he’s set to make a comeback.
‘The Phenom’ signed with ONE Championship in 2019. Belfort was expected to make his debut in the organization the following year.
Nevertheless, Vitor Belfort and ONE Championship couldn’t reach an agreement over which opponent he’ll face.
Eventually, Vitor Belfort parted ways with the organization and is now set to make the jump into professional boxing. During the Triller press conference for his fight against Tarzann, Vitor Belfort stated:
“They could not close the fight. My agent, Lloyd, was trying to close many fights. For some reason, their agenda, my agenda; we could not consolidate it. And my contract came to an end. And Chatri (ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong) is a nice guy, a good friend of mine. He said, ‘Vitor, we cannot find you a fight’. You know, this pandemic hit. It was pretty crazy. And I think it just didn’t align, what they’re doing with what I wanted to do. And soon, on that day, we’re clear, I spoke to him, and kind of the same day, it appeared, this opportunity. And actually, the opportunity was amazing.”
“It’s just in 2000, I think, yeah, year 2000, I was supposed to migrate to boxing. This lawyer had million dollar contracts, he wanted (me) to leave MMA to go box. Boxing being my bread and butter. I brought boxing to UFC. So, if they had let me do MMA and boxing together, I would do it. But I had to choose one, and back at the time, my dream was to make MMA big, and I did that. So, now it’s kind of migrating to this next phase.”
“I’m really excited with what Triller’s doing. I think they’re shifting how combat sports is migrating. I believe soon we’re going to have a (hybridization) between boxers and MMA guys, to see who has the best hands.” (*Video courtesy: Fight Hub TV; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
