Sherdog’s Top 10: Most Aggressive Fighters

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2. Vitor Belfort

Belfort enters his 19th year as a professional mixed martial artist with a strong track record as one of the sport’s most violent and aggressive fighters. His early finishes of fighters like Scott Ferrozzo, Tra Telligman and David Abbott set a new standard for what the sport could look like in the hands of a young, physically gifted competitor. “The Phenom” was exactly that, and he is the baseline according to which all new up-and-comers are judged.

There had been aggressive fighters before -- Abbott, to name one -- but Belfort represented something entirely different. He had speed and power on a level that mixed martial arts had never seen, and while by today’s standards he was far from a clean technician as a striker, in 1997, he was a breath of fresh air. The combination of utter ferocity, unreal explosiveness and a bone-deep commitment to finishing fights made Belfort stand out from the very beginning.

Belfort’s finish of Wanderlei Silva at UFC 17.5 encapsulates his early career. Seventeen punches took Belfort from one side of the cage to the other and separated the young “Axe Murderer” from consciousness in the blink of an eye in what remains one of the most iconic finishes in the sport’s history. Up-and-down years followed, but every so often Belfort would break out with a spasm of violence that reminded his fans of why he had held so much promise.

Marvin Eastman’s face bears a permanent scar from the nastiest cut in MMA history as a memory of that finishing potential. Rich Franklin and Matt Lindland collapsed in mere seconds. Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson ate high kicks in consecutive fights during Belfort’s most recent run. Even today, Belfort’s aggressiveness and killer instinct remain some of the very best and a testament to decades of experience at the highest levels.

Number 1 » Winging hooks in the pocket, knee after knee from the double-collar tie and flurries of soccer kicks were the hallmarks of his style. They powered him to a 16-fight unbeaten streak to open his Pride career and only four losses in 24 total fights inside the Japanese promotion.