Vitor's Belfort's opponent in his long-awaited debut for ONE Championship is slated to be heavyweight powerhouse, Alain Ngalani.
Vitor Belfort Announces ONE Debut Against Alain Ngalani
Vitor Belfort vs Alain Ngalani is set to go down on a future ONE Championship event. The Phenom spoke about this in a recent interview with Asian MMA. In regards to his assessment of Alain Ngalani’s skillset and the matchup overall, Belfort stated “I like it. He’s a very tough competitor and very skilled. Very strong and a big man. That’s what I’m looking for. For a good challenge.”
It has been close to two years since Belfort last competed in MMA. The former UFC light-heavyweight champion looks to rebound from his loss to Lyoto Machida via second-round knockout at UFC 224. Ngalani has a notable enough hiatus from action as well. The hulking pugilist last competed over a year ago in a losing effort via first-round KO to former ONE heavyweight title contender, Mauro Cerilli.
Belfort’s opponent has great dexterity and athleticism with quite the compelling highlight reel to his credit. Belfort, however, is very much not focused on any factors beyond what’s in his immediate control. Vitor Belfort quipped, “It’s like hard to see yourself in a situation the way I described. I’m focusing on what my skills, what my strength is. Not where my weakness is. That being said I’m focused on Belfort, not on him. And that’s a win for life.”
Belfort vs Ngalani
There are many question marks with this bout between Vitor Belfort and Alain Ngalani. The divisions the two would compete in is a bit of a curiosity. Ngalani has spent the entirety of his MMA career as a heavyweight and Belfort has been at 205 lbs and 185 lbs for the last several years. Will the contest be billed as an Openweight attraction or will Belfort return to the weight class where he had some of his earliest success (becoming the UFC 12 heavyweight tournament champion)?
Also, the date has still yet to be determined. While ONE has a June date to the horizon, the future is far from certain. The organization recently canceled all of its cards scheduled for May. Time will tell what happens next.
