Saturday night, Belfort took out Anthony Johnson in the co-main event of UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes from his native country of Brazil in front of thousands of cheering fans.

However, the fight was more about weights than strikes, as “Rumble” came in well over the 185 pound limit for the bout. For his efforts, “The Phenom” sent Johnson packing, picking up an extra 20% of Johnson’s paycheck. Still, money aside, the lack of respect involved left Belfort a little upset.

UFC cameras caught up with the 34-year old following the victory to guage his reaction on the win and see what he had to say about Johnson as a hole.

“I kept the pressure, I made him give up; that was the plan,” Belfort said. “The whole country was behind me. I have fans all over the world and they are the most important thing after God and my family.”

Check out the entire interview below:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Pressure in sports is a funny thing. Some athletes rise to the occasion, even if they’re not superstars, while some athletes shy away or crack from the pressure, even if they’re the best player in the sport.

The best pressure players are the ones who want the ball when you need the basket or a strike out or a touchdown. Even if they don’t come through 100% of the time, it doesn’t matter to them because you know in the next game, they’re going to want the ball again. They’re going to forget about the shot they missed, demand the ball again, and get a better shot.

In MMA, Anderson Silva is the greatest pressure fighter. If he has a bad performance or two, it doesn’t matter because you know, when the lights are the brightest, he’s going to deliver. Fighting a former light heavyweight champion after back-to-back lackluster performances? He turns in the most masterful performance of his career. Down to his final two minutes as a champion? He locks on a triangle choke. Fighting a fellow Brazilian superstar who UFC said was the faster striker? He delivers the best knockout of the year. Fighting in Brazil against the last man to hold a victory over him? He finishes him in the second round.

When the pressure is on and he needs to turn in a performance to silence any type of criticism, he delivers.

Then there’s Vitor Belfort.

Throughout his career he’s constantly cracked under pressure.

Built up as an unstoppable phenom, he was slowed down by a controlling wrestler. A chance to beat a legend in his home country, he laid on his back and wanted little to do with the fight. Needing to prove his UFC title victory wasn’t a fluke, he was once again slowed down by a controlling wrestler. Getting a shot to dethrone the pound-for-pound king, he was front kicked in the face. And that doesn’t even count the times he was defeated by a former champion after dominating the first round, fell into a guillotine with 30 seconds left in the round, or lost a fight and was then popped for steroids.

When the waters get deep or the lights get brighter, Belfort either drowns or gets burned.

The lights will be bright once again on Saturday night in Brazil. Fighting in his home country for the first time since 1998, “The Phenom” faces off against Anthony Johnson, who makes his middleweight debut.

Make no mistake about it, Belfort is the biggest MMA star in Brazil. Ever since he appeared on a Brazilian TV show sucking on toes and marrying a model, he’s been the face of Brazilian MMA and despite the number of great and legendary Brazilian MMA fighters out there, Belfort still trumps them all in popularity.

Not only is he fighting in his home country, he’s already been tabbed as the first ever coach of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil opposite Wanderlei Silva. It wouldn’t look too good on him, or the show, if he’s coming off a loss as they’re trying to build up a rematch between the two men.

Even though he’s never done well in clutch fights, at least he’s been in them. He’s fought for UFC titles, he’s fought in PRIDE, he’s been in main events, he’s battled legends and champions like Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Silva, Alistair Overeem, Kazushi Sakuraba, ect…. Johnson has never had that experience. His biggest fight was a co-main event bout against Josh Koscheck on a PPV that less than 400,000 people purchased. Because he’s been in this situation before, we expect him to, at least know how to handle, even if history tells us that he hasn’t handled it well.

Add in the fact that Belfort desperately wants another shot at the middleweight strap, and by all means, this might be the most pressure Belfort has ever faced in his career.

Believe it or not, Vitor is no longer a young man. He’s 34 now and has been fighting since 1996. If he loses at UFC 142, he may never sniff another title shot.

By all accounts, Belfort is in a good place in his life. He’s found a home at Xtreme Couture where he’s working with some of the best trainers and sparring partners, there’s nothing going on in his personal life to distract him from the fight, he got to Brazil last week to get soak everything in and get acclimated to the environment, and he’s creating his own atmosphere.

There are no excuses for him on Saturday night. It’s up to him to perform, to silence critics who believe he’s a mental flake, to stand up to the moment and unload a barrage of punches, knocking it, and Johnson, out in the process.

No pressure, Vitor.

Now, thanks to Brazil’s inclusion in the Ultimate Fighter family, Silva will have a chance to meet Belfort again, as the two will square off later in 2012 after coaching on the realty show.

“The Axe Murderer” earned a victory over Cung Le in his last fight, while Belfort will meet Anthony Johnson this Saturday night at UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes.

“A lot,” said Silva, when asked in a recent interview with MMAJunkie about how much facing Belfort meant to him. “This is one fight I really, really want to do before I retire. I’m so happy for a fight with this guy in Brazil.”

Silva sports a career record of 34-11-1, but is just 4-6 during his stint in the UFC. “The Phenom” is 20-9 overall and 9-5 inside the Octagon. The two met back 14 years ago at UFC 17.5: Ultimate Brazil.

TUF Brasil will begin taping in February and will be shown on FUEL TV. Belfort and Silva will fight on a pay-per-view, likely set for this summer in Sao Paolo.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

However, according to the UFC, it appears their fight in addition to the two TUF finals will take place on PPV as part of a massive June card possibly headed to Sao Paolo. The show would also host Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II assuming things fall into line and Sonnen defeats Mark Munoz later this month at UFC on FOX 2.

Word of the company’s plan surfaced earlier today at a pre-fight press conference pertaining to UFC 142 where MMAJunkie confirmed the full scoop.

“It’s going to be a world event that will rival F1 (racing) in this country,” explained UFC director of international development Marshall Zelaznik of the proposed show.

TUF Brasil is set to air in a few months with Fuel TV carrying a subtitled version for American audiences. It is the UFC’s first international version of the hit reality show.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Vitor Belfort’s latest Road to UFC 142 video documents a prime example of what a high-level fighter should be putting into his body rather than fast food or even healthy, yet bland, items. Belfort is one of many UFC athletes who calls upon Mike Dolce for assistance and, as shown in the clip, even an Average Joe can eat like a champion.

“It’s not just about nutrition. Nutrition is one thing, but guys that train as hard as hard as he does, that make their living off their bodies in fighting…the last thing we want is for them to be suffering, to hate their diet,” Dolce explains while making a meal for Belfort.

Belfort fights Anthony Johnson this Saturday night at UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes, an event headlined by 145-pound champ Jose Aldo putting his gold up for grabs against undefeated wrestler Chad Mendes.

Check out the video below:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/VITORBELFORT

However, Johnson doesn’t need others’ assurance in terms of his ability to come out with his hand raised. After all, he’s got plenty of it coming from himself and his training partners at the Blackzilian camp in Florida.

“I’m gonna break Vitor. I’m gonna break him,” said the 27-year old Johnson in a video from Authentic Sports Management profiling his preparation for Saturday night’s UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes festivities.

“I’m not saying this fight is gonna be easy, but you know what? I bet it won’t be harder than what I go through at training,” Johnson explained while referring to teammates like Melvin Guillard and Rashad Evans.

Johnson also revealed his intent to keep constant pressure on Belfort throughout while throwing strikes.

“Vitor hasn’t seen that in his camp, I guarantee it. He doesn’t have these coaches that I have. He doesn’t have the caliber of training partners that I have. He doesn’t have the talent that I have.”

Belfort-Johnson will take place as part of the UFC 142 main card, an event headlined by Jose Aldo defending his featherweight title against unbeaten Californian Chad Mendes.

Check out the complete video from Johnson below:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Fortunately their exchanges and work in general was documented, something the fans can now check out as part of Belfort’s Road to UFC 142 series.

“GSP, we just try to help each other and we’re great friends,” explains Belfort of St. Pierre’s presence. “He’s a great champion and my guys like him. Good behavior, good guy, so we’re gonna help each other. That’s the key to get better. Training with the champions. It’s an honor to train with him.”

Belfort-Johnson’s bout will unfold next weekend in Rio de Janeiro as part of a UFC 142 card headlined by featherweight title-holder Jose Aldo putting his belt up for grabs against undefeated grappler Chad Mendes.

Check out the GSP-Belfort video below:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/VITORBELFORT

“I’m coming to fight in Brazil,” said Belfort in his latest video entry for The Road to UFC 142. “When I was 19 years old, I had a dream of my sport being popular in the whole world. And this moment is here now.”

After the Johnson bout, Belfort will coach opposite Wanderlei Silva on TUF with the two meeting in a rematch following the season. Belfort knocked out Silva in their first and only meeting.

Check out the video below to see Belfort preparing to welcome Johnson to the middleweight ranks:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

UFC 142 takes place January 14 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s HSBC Arena. The main event will feature Jose Aldo defending his UFC featherweight title against Chad Mendes.

Belfort has decided to allow everyone the chance to see him train for Johnson, inviting a camera into his camp in the weeks leading up to the fight. After the bout, Belfort will begin coaching on TUF alongside Wanderlei Silva, who he will meet later in 2012.

“We are four weeks from the fight,” Belfort said. “The camp is going great. All my coaches are here. We got a great camp, great guys coming out; it’s fun.”

Check out the video below:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Silva is coming off a convincing victory over Cung Le in his last Octagon debut, while Belfort will face Anthony Johnson in the co-main event of UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes from Brazil.

Reports of friction between “The Axe Murderer” and “The Phenom” appear to be over, according to a recent interview conducted by Sherdog’s website with Silva.

“No, times are different. I met him and apologized. Once in Las Vegas, I was disrespectful,” Silva said. “I went back to old times and talked some nonsense. Then I apologized and admitted I had done wrong. You have to be man enough to take responsibility. It’s alright now, and we’ll solve it the way we have to: by trading punches. I have the best job in the world. I can go in there, settle my differences the best way possible and still make some money.”

TUF: Brasil will run much like previous seasons of the reality show with competitors squaring off against one another to crown a champion. It is still being worked out for the season to be shown in the U.S., possibly on FUEL TV.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Belfort, who will meet Anthony Johnson in the co-main event of UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes, is planning on giving fight fans an in-depth look at his training camps in the weeks leading up to the January 14 fight in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“The Phenom” has not fought in Brazil since 1998, when he defeated Wanderlei Silva with a first round knockout in his light heavyweight debut. Belfort and Silva will coach opposite each other in 2012 during the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. The two will square off following their coaching stint.

As for Johnson, Belfort says he has nothing to hide, adding, “You guys are going to have full access to my training camp. And I promise you guys, we’re going to put on a terrific show.”

The main event of UFC 142 will see Jose Aldo defend his UFC featherweight title against >Chad Mendes. Belfort-Johnson will serve as the pay-per-view co-main event for the evening.

Check out Belfort’s video below:

Also revealed was the UFC’s plan to have Belfort and Silva, who met at UFC 17.5 several years ago, square off this summer at the conclusion of the reality show. Belfort earned a 44-second knockout victory of Silva in their first meeting and the two have been looking to get back inside the Octagon against each other ever since.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I knew one day we would face each other again, and the time is here,” said Silva of his upcoming scrap. “This is one of the biggest rematches of all MMA and I’m very happy to give this to all of my fans.”

TUF: Brasil will follow the same path as the American seasons of The Ultimate Fighter with fighters living/training together. The UFC is also looking at making the show available in the U.S., possibly on FUEL TV, while it will air on broadcasting giant Globo TV in Brazil. The season is set to premiere on March 25.

Before facing “The Axe Murderer”, Belfort (20-9) will first meet Anthony Johnson in January at UFC 142 before taking on his coaching duties. Comparably, Silva (34-11-1) last competed in November, defeating Cung Le, and has nothing else scheduled before TUF starts up.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

According to the UFC, Johnson will fight on January 14 in Rio de Janeiro at UFC 142 with legendary Brazilian Vitor Belfort waiting in the Octagon to welcome “Rumble” to the iconic South American city.

Belfort will arguably be the largest opponent Johnson has faced in his career, both in terms of name value and actual size, but is actually shorter than the 27-year old and could be in trouble if caught with one of the West Coaster’s powerful strikes. Johnson holds an overall record of 10-3 and will be looking for a third straight win at UFC 142 after picking up victories over Dan Hardy and Charlie Brenneman in his previous two in-ring appearances.

Likewise, “The Phenom” also had his hand raised in his last outing – an August drumming of Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133 – and is as much a threat to knock Johnson out cold as is the case in return (if not more of one). Among the fourteen TKOs in his career Belfort has stopped the likes of Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin with strikes.

UFC 142 is headlined by featherweight champion Jose Aldo defending his title against 11-0 contender Chad Mendes. No other bouts have been announced but if UFC 134, also held in Rio, was any indication the card will be peppered with Brazilians in action against American fighters.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

With his medical issue only expected to push his readiness back a month, Belfort recently expressed his desire to fight at UFC 141 on December 30 against the winner of Chael Sonnen’s scrap with Brian Stann in early October at UFC 136.

“I hope Chael wins. I really want to fight him,” Belfort said in a conversation with MMAJunkie. “I think the winner of that fight, me and Chael, we’d be (in line) to fight for the title. His fighting always (goes) to a decision. He’s a boring fighter, but I’ll make sure that fight will end up quick, and I’ll give him a fight he’s never had in his life.”

“He’s the type of fighter who can sell with his mouth,” Belfort elaborated. “He cannot sell with his performance. He’s a great wrestler, and he’s a great fighter, but he’s not exciting. … He doesn’t bring the heat.”

However, while he may be pulling for Sonnen in order to settle their personal differences, “The Phenom” also isn’t opposed to mixing it up with Stann.

“If Stann beats Sonnen, he’s in line. I think Stann is a great fighter, a great person, a great athlete, a great man. He’s sells fights with his fists, with his technique and his performance. Stann is a great fighter.”

Belfort also spoke in the interview about his intention to continue competing for another 4-5 years and how being 100% health-wise is crucial to him at this stage in his career.

The 34-year old Brazilian holds an overall record of 20-9 with two-thirds of his wins coming as the result of a strike-based stoppage. He has won six of his last seven fights, the only exception being a defeat to middleweight champ Anderson Silva, and is coming off a devastating knockout of Yoshihiro Akiyama last month at UFC 133.

UFC 141 is set to be headlined by former heavyweight title-holders doing battle in the form of Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem and will also feature perennial 170-pound contender Jon Fitch facing decorated amateur wrestler Johny Hendricks.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Unfortunately, according to Belfort as well as his bosses at Zuffa, “The Phenom” has been forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury that will keep him sidelined until December. However, rather than sacrifice the any potential entertainment value by filling Belfort’s absence with a grappler, the UFC brass has come through with an equally exciting replacement in the form of Brazilian bomber Wanderlei Silva.

Though he is considered to be one of the nicest individuals in MMA outside of the ring, “The Axe Murderer” has a legendary reputation for both ferocity and dishing out damage to his opponents inside of it. His career features past knockouts of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (twice) and Keith Jardine, as well as wins over Michael Bisping, Ricardo Arona, and Dan Henderson.

Le should have his hands full given Silva’s style though is no slouch when it comes to striking thanks to his career as a world-class San Shou kickboxer. The former Strikeforce 185-pound champion is 7-1 as a Mixed Martial Artist with seven wins via TKO including victories against Tony Fryklund, Scott Smith, and Frank Shamrock.

UFC 139 takes place in Le’s hometown of San Jose and features additional fights including Martin Kampmann vs. Rick Story, Brian Bowles vs. Urijah Faber, and recently announced all-star affair between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Henderson.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the bout was first reported on Belfort’s official website.

The inconsistent “Phenom” returned to his winning ways at UFC 133, knocking out Yoshihiro Akiyama in just under two minutes and taking home “Knockout of the Night” honors. Prior to that victory, Belfort was famously KO’d by Anderson Silva with a front kick to the face. Heralded as having some of the fatest hands in the sports, 14 of Vitor’s 20 career victories have come by way of (T)KO.

Belfort could have his hands full with Le though, who is no slouch on his feet either. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion went undefeated in 17 career kickboxing bouts and has won seven of his eight MMA bouts, all by way of (T)KO. In June 2010, Cung avenged the only loss of his career, finishing Scott Smith with a spinning back kick followed by a flurry of strikes.

UFC 139 is scheduled for November 19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Also on the card is a bantamweight bout with title implications as Urijah Faber will meet Brian Bowles.

*PHOTO CREDIT – ESTHER LIN/STRIKEFORCE*

The story was first reported by ESPN UK.

Belfort was last seen in the Octagon at UFC 126, failing to capture the UFC Middleweight Title from current champion Anderson Silva. Prior to the loss though, Belfort had won five straight fights including KO victories over Matt Lindland and Rich Franklin. Prior to UFC 126 this past February, Belfort had not fought since September 09 due to a myriad of injuries.

Originally scheduled to face Nate Marquardt at UFC 128, Akiyama was forced to pull out of the fight due to the tragedies in Japan during March. With those events behind him, Akiyama returns to the cage trying to snap a two fight losing streak. Following a successful UFC debut against Alan Belcher at UFC 100, Akiyama has dropped back-to-back fights against Chris Leben and Michael Bisping. All three fights earned Fight of the Night honors.

UFC 133 is scheduled for August 6 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Also on the card is a middleweight battle between hard hitting fighters Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara.

Vitor Belfort took to his Twitter account Sunday night and expressed his interest in acting as Bisping’s next opponent saying he was on his way to Las Vegas and looking forward to facing “The Count” in May.

“I’d really like to fight Bisping,” the Brazilian striker wrote on his page of the potential showdown.

While no specific event was mentioned and nothing has been made official the only May 2011 PPV is UFC 130 over Memorial Day weekend. However, the main card already appears to be full including a headlining title-bout between Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard as well as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill and Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson. Perhaps a more likely possibility, UFC 131 is set for June 4 and seemingly has a bit more flexibility with only a few significant pairings in place thus far.

If “The Phenom” and Bisping do indeed battle this summer they will enter the Octagon with an equal number of knockouts to their credit at thirteen. Belfort’s overall record is 19-9 with notable wins over Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva while the Brit’s is 20-3 including victories over Yoshishiro Akiyama and Chris Leben.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

As expected, Anderson Silva will put his middleweight belt up for grabs against former 205-pound champ Vitor Belfort in the evening’s headlining match-up on February 5 at UFC 126.

“This is a fight I’ve been looking forward to for a while,” Silva said of his upcoming defense against Belfort. “Vitor is a very talented striker and a tough competitor. I am training very hard and I know that the fight could go anywhere, but I expect a standup war. I also want to say that I’m very excited to be fighting in Las Vegas again. I have a lot of fans in Vegas and it’s been a while since I’ve fought there. The fans are always very loud in Las Vegas and I feed off that energy.”

“UFC fans expect big things from us every year for our Super Bowl weekend show, and this year could be our biggest ever,” an equally excited Dana White said. “Silva vs. Belfort is a fight fan’s dream match. It’s a fight people have wanted for years. Don’t blink because both of these guys have dynamite in their hands and can end the night quickly and in very exciting fashion.”

Also slated for action against each other are two of the UFC’s most-popular fighters, as well as former champions in their own right, Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin. Griffin has not fought since his split decision win over Tito Ortiz in November 2009 and will no doubt be anxious to engage with “Ace” once the cage door closes.

In addition to Griffin vs. Franklin, the UFC confirmed another pair of light heavyweights would be facing off at the event – Jon Jones and Ryan Bader. Bader is currently undefeated in thirteen professional appearances, while Jones’ only loss was the result of landing an ultimately meaningless illegal elbow in the process of pounding Matt Hamill out last December and being disqualified. Both are coming off impressive victories, albeit of a different variety. Bader out-pointed Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 119 in September, while Jones has back-to-back first round TKOs over Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko since the disappointing “DQ” defeat to Hamill.

A previous UFC light heavyweight title-holder, as well as winner of UFC 12’s heavyweight tournament, “The Phenom” had the MMA world at his fingertips in the not-too-distant past but also dealt with the kidnapping/murder of his sister and a positive drug test for PED usage.

Belfort, who seems to have truly evolved into a man defined by life experience, spoke to Tatame about how he is approaching the upcoming bout with Silva, if he’s concerned about not having fought since September 2009, and a number of other topics.

“I’ve been training with Ray Sefo…Rodrigo Artilheriro, a world champion of Muay Thai,” Belfort responded when asked about his preparation for the February 2011 fight. “I’ve been training (at XTreme Couture) and at Tapout’s gym. Everything’s going just fine. Vegas don’t have beaches so I only train here.”

In fact, the Brazilian added he enjoyed living in America so much he plans to stay here for the remainder of his career, saying “I decided to move here because I want to end my career on the United States, where I started it.”

As far as if he feels year-plus of inactivity will affect his showing against Silva, Belfort maintained a positive outlook, stating, “Every rule has its exceptions. I’ve had the opportunity, so I don’t care about the “ifs”. I don’t have this word in my vocabulary.”

Winning a second strap in the UFC, however, has crossed his thoughts on more than one occasion but isn’t his primary source of inspiration in terms of wanting to compete.

“(The belt is) just one of the factors that motivate me,” he explained. “What motivates me the most is being able to perform the work I’ve been doing (well). My expectations are these – they are all about what I can do on that fight. Anderson is very versatile so you can’t have one settled game plan. The important thing is to be prepared for anything because he’s a great fighter.”

“You can get there thinking things will go one way, but it can suddenly change. I know he’s the best in the world, but I can get intimidated by it,” he continued.

The 19-8 Brazilian, who has won his last five bouts, also made sure to address hard-hitting PRIDE icon Wanderlei Silva’s recent statements regarding how great a threat the UFC’s 185-pound champion poses to him as an opponent.

“I don’t think anything. He’s a spectator and he can think whatever he wants to,” he said of “The Axe Murderer”. “If you have a mouth you can say whatever you want, and Wanderlei has a big mouth. But it’s about cheering – everyone can cheer for their favorite – and the important is to be respectful and know how to choose the right words. In February I’ll have my chance for the belt and let’s see how it’ll be.”