Akiyama came out and took center cage. He landed the first leg kick but Belfort fired with a high kick to the head. Akiyama fired a front kick just like the one Anderson Silva used to beat Belfort at UFC 126. Belfort pounced and finished Akiyama with a blitzkreig of punches against the cage.
Vitor Belfort defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama by KO at 1:52 of the first round.
Belfort who won his first UFC fights in a four man tournament at UFC 12 in 1997, blasted Akiyama with the same flair he destroyed his opponents back in the day. Belfort thanked Jesus for everything.
After the fight Belfort said, "I want the winner of Anderson Silva. If he hadn't landed that kick, that's what would have happened to him."
Mickey Rourke and Bernard Hopkins watched the fight from cage side at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Belfort gave a shout out to Brazilian fans and expressed his anticipation of the UFC's return to Brazil at UFC 134.