6. (Tie) Vitor Belfort
Incredibly, this is the first Sherdog list I can recall that Belfort has made, though he has certainly received votes on many of them. While only 19 years old for his UFC debut, there was already considerable buzz around him. Initially billed as “Victor Gracie,” he was announced as a BJJ black belt under the legendary Carlson Gracie, with Belfort being seen as the latest in a long line of terrific Brazilian grapplers. And he wasn't making his MMA debut at UFC 12 either, having dismantled 6-foot-7, 290-pound UFC veteran Jon Hess in just 12 seconds with punches at Superbrawl 2. (Incidentally, I encourage everyone to read this amazing 2005 Sherdog interview with Hess in which, despite not having fought since that loss to Belfort in 1996, he vowed to destroy all the modern-day UFC fighters.) Despite those expectations, it's safe to say that Belfort smashed them in winning the one-night tournament at UFC 12. In the opening round, he faced Lion's Den boxer Tra Telligman, a man who would later go on to have a degree of success in MMA, including defeating Igor Vovchanchyn in Pride in 2001 and even facing then-recent (and future) UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in the UFC in 2005. However, Telligman was no match for Belfort in 1997, with the Brazilian ripping him apart with an endless barrage of punches as the hapless American could do little more than desperately cover up. John McCarthy saved him from Belfort after just 67 seconds. Then, in the finals Belfort faced Scott Ferrozzo, a 320-pound behemoth who had clearly beaten previous inductee “Tank” Abbott by decision one event earlier, at UFC 11. Many thought Ferrozzo would be too big for Belfort, but they were quickly disabused of this notion when Belfort almost immediately knocked Ferrozzo down and then smashed him with punches on the ground—including ones to the back of the head, which were perfectly legal then. The whole affair lasted 43 seconds before it was stopped, though Ferrozzo, an incredibly dirty fighter, used the ref stoppage to finally mount his first offense against Belfort before order was restored. In a combined 110 seconds, less than two minutes, Belfort had established himself as a huge star in the world of MMA and its best striker.
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