Vitor Belfort, Acelino ‘Popo’ Freitas Considering Triad Combat Boxing Match in U.S.

In this era of boxing vs. MMA, new matchups never thought imaginable are coming to fruition.

At the end of January, boxer Acelino “Popo” Freitas faced off against YouTuber Whindersson Nunes in the boxing ring. They fought to a draw after 16 minutes of action, and the results proved to be smash hit for the ratings, drawing millions upon millions of viewers on Brazilian television. After the fight, the 46-year-old “Popo” called out former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Jose Aldo, and many other fighters including Patricio Freire and Bibiano Fernandes unsuccessfully asked for the opportunity when Aldo declined due to his UFC contract.

Freitas then extended his challenge to names like Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort, despite the massive size discrepancy between Freitas who typically competed below 135 pounds and those much larger men. Once Belfort heard about the challenge upon speaking to Sherdog, however, he grew quite interested in the matchup and contacted Triller Fight Club to begin negotiations.

Freitas was elated at Belfort’s interest, recently telling “Estado de Sao Paulo, a newspaper in Brazil, “[The] heavier Belfort comes, [the worse it will be for him]. The fight is on.”

Sherdog then spoke to “The Phenom” about the possible boxing match, and he confirmed it was indeed in the works.

“I talked to Triad promoters and they got interested,” Belfort said. “The idea is make it in [the] USA; let’s see who is the best striker.”

The main boxing trainer of Freitas for the last 21 years, Ulysses Pereira, did not like the idea at the beginning. Pereira had also trained Belfort in his trilogy against Randy Couture that ended in 2004. “Popo” was able to convince him, even though Freitas will be substantially smaller in every metric.

“My main concern has always been the fighters’ health,” Pereira explained. “Of course there is a big size difference [Belfort stands five inches taller], but both have about the same age [of] 44 vs. 46. According to Popo, he will weigh 75kg [165 pounds], like against Whindersson, and Belfort [will weigh] 85kg [187 pounds].”

According to the trainer, if the fight is confirmed, “Popo” will need to rely on his experience as a longtime boxer against a larger foe in order to get his hand raised.

“I know both very well,” the coach noted, “of course Belfort’s knockout power must be respected, as well as the boxing skills of a four-time boxing champion. It will be a hell of a fight, but I believe Popo’s experience will make the difference.”

It may not make sense to international MMA fans as to why Belfort is interested in a fight against a 46-year-old retired super featherweight boxer. Other than being the biggest name of Brazilian boxing, “Popo” has always been extremely popular in his home country of Brazil, well before the explosion of MMA in Brazil around when Belfort faced Anderson Silva in 2010. Freitas competed as a boxer professionally from 1995 to 2017, fighting 43 times and only losing twice, while notching 34 knockouts. “Popo” claimed world titles in both the super featherweight and lightweight divisions in both the WBO and WBA ranks.

Through his career, Freitas began with a 35-0 record, in which he scored finishes in his first 29 fights. At a time that MMA was declared “human cockfighting” in the late 1990s, Popo had appeared live on Globo TV for the majority of bouts, and many came with championships on the line. The 46-year-old still holds the Brazilian audience record of any fight to air on national TV, reaching 91 million viewers when defending his belts against Daniel Attah in Phoenix in 2002. A battle between the most popular Brazilian boxer and the second-most popular MMA fighter in the country has the potential to do massive numbers in their home country of Brazil.