On This Day — November 7: Belfort Closes the Trilogy in Two Minutes
Trilogies are supposed to settle things slowly. On November 7, 2015, in São Paulo, Vitor Belfort settled his with Dan Henderson with essentially the first strike he threw — and five years later to the day, the co-main eventer from that same card authored one of the great late-career wins in UFC history. November 7 is a date about old fighters refusing the script.
Trilogies are supposed to settle things slowly. On November 7, 2015, in São Paulo, Vitor Belfort settled his with Dan Henderson with essentially the first strike he threw — and five years later to the day, the co-main eventer from that same card authored one of the great late-career wins in UFC history. November 7 is a date about old fighters refusing the script.
2015 — Belfort closes the trilogy in two minutes
Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson had been circling each other for nine years. Henderson won the first meeting on the cards at PRIDE 32 in 2006. Belfort detonated the rematch in 2013 with a first-round head kick. The third fight, headlining UFC Fight Night 77 at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in front of 10,628 fans, was meant to be the tiebreak between a 38-year-old Belfort — fresh off a title loss to Chris Weidman — and a 45-year-old Henderson who had just knocked out Tim Boetsch in 28 seconds.
It lasted 2:07, and it was a rerun. Belfort barely threw a strike before the head kick arrived, wobbling Henderson; the follow-up punches on the canvas finished it. Same weapon, same round, same result as 2013 — a trilogy decided 2–1 by two nearly identical minutes of violence, with nine years of history in between. Belfort took Performance of the Night, and the rivalry closed not with an argument but with a signature: if you let Vitor Belfort measure a head kick, the measurement is the last thing that happens.
2015–2020 — November 7 belongs to Glover
The co-main event that night belonged to Glover Teixeira, who mauled Patrick Cummins with a barrage of punches until the TKO came at 1:12 of the second round — and took a Performance of the Night bonus of his own. It was a good win on a good card, and it looked, at 36, like the late chapter of a contender's career.
Five years later, on November 7, 2020, Teixeira headlined at the UFC APEX against Thiago Santos — the No. 1 contender, returning from 16 months of knee rehabilitation after taking Jon Jones to a split decision. The 41-year-old Teixeira was supposed to be the name Santos rebuilt on. Santos nearly obliged the script twice: he rocked Teixeira in the first round, and early in the third he dropped him and poured on ground-and-pound that had the finish in view. In between, Teixeira dominated the second on the mat and locked a rear-naked choke that only the horn interrupted. In the third, hurt again, he survived the storm, forced a scramble, took Santos's back and finished the choke at 1:49.
It was his fifth straight win, four by finish, at an age when light heavyweights are supposed to be testimonials. His post-fight interview became the era's slogan for every veteran in the sport: "Dana White, come on man, you gonna give this shot to Adesanya and make me wait? 5 fights in a row, beating these young guys is not easy. Give me that title shot!" A year later he got it — and at UFC 267, at 42, Glover Teixeira became champion. The road to that belt runs straight through November 7.
Also on this day
- 2015, São Paulo: Thomas Almeida knocked out Anthony Birchak in the first round to improve to 20–0, one of the night's four Performance of the Night bonuses on a card with no Fight of the Night.
- 2015, São Paulo: Thiago Tavares submitted Clay Guida with a guillotine choke in just 39 seconds — another Performance of the Night.
- 2015, São Paulo: Alex Oliveira knocked out Piotr Hallmann in the third round on a thirteen-fight card stacked with finishes from top to bottom.
Two old lions, two November nights, one moral: on November 7, never count the veteran out before the head kick — or the choke — lands.
