Sherdog.com’s 2013 Fighter of the Year

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3. Vitor Belfort

No fighter left more carnage in his wake in 2013 than Belfort.

The resurgent “Phenom” scored three head kick knockouts over the past 12 months, felling Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson. Despite lingering questions regarding his use of legal but controversial testosterone replacement therapy, Belfort has surfaced as the No. 1 contender for Chris Weidman’s middleweight crown.

Belfort bounced back from a failed title bid at 205 pounds to dispatch Bisping with a beautiful head kick and follow-up hammerfists in the second round of their UFC on FX 7 headliner on Jan. 19 at the Ibirapuera Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner yielded to the blows 87 seconds into round two, as he was finished for just the second-time in his 28-fight professional career.

Bisping was the more active of the two middleweights and did some solid work with his jab and leg kicks. However, near the end of the first round, Belfort drilled him with a left high kick and swarmed with punches. Bisping survived, but it was a harbinger of what was to come. A little more than a minute into round two, Belfort struck again with a stealthy head kick. This time, Bisping was not as fortunate. The strike floored the Brit, and “The Phenom” pounced with hammerfists, bringing a decisive close to their encounter.

Rockhold was the 36-year-old Brazilian’s next victim. Belfort leveled the former Strikeforce champion with a spectacular spinning heel kick and polished off the Californian with a swarm of punches on the ground in the UFC on FX 8 main event on May 18 at the Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil. “The Phenom” finished it 2:32 into round one.

Rockhold pecked away with punches and kicks but never had a chance to establish himself in the bout. Belfort measured his steps, let loose with the kick and delivered it with equal parts power and precision. Rockhold went down, and though he was still conscious, the American Kickboxing Academy standout could not withstand the follow-up barrage. The defeat snapped Rockhold’s streak of nine consecutive wins.

Not even the notoriously iron-chinned Henderson was safe from Belfort’s wrath. Belfort knocked out the former two-division Pride Fighting Championships titleholder with a first-round head kick in the UFC Fight Night 32 “Belfort vs. Henderson” headliner on Nov. 9 at the Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. Henderson, who had never before been stopped by strikes, met his end 77 seconds into round one.

A minute-long feeling-out period gave way to a furious flurry between the two MMA legends. A left uppercut from Belfort lifted the two-time Olympian off his feet and put him at the Brazilian’s mercy. The stunned Henderson weathered the initial onslaught but left himself exposed as he returned to his feet. Belfort then cracked him with the head kick, trailed him to the mat and brought it to a close.

Afterward, Belfort, who has recorded 10 wins in his past 12 appearances, turned his attention to the UFC’s middleweight title.

“I told them I’ll be ready, but [good] things come when you work hard,” he said. “I just gotta be willing to take the risk and go forward.”

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