the championship Belfort faced Genki Sudo, winning by points, Ricco Rodriguez, winning by points, Ricardo Arona in the semi-final, losing by points and finally in the 3rd place fight defeating Ricardo Almeida by advantage after Almeida was unable to continue due to an injury to his knee, winning the bronze medal. Boxing career Neves vs. Belfort On 11 April 2006, Belfort made his professional boxing debut against Josemario Neves. Belfort won by TKO within the first minute after knocking his opponent down three times. This has been his sole venture into the sport of professional boxing so far. Belfort has expressed a desire to return to professional boxing, stating in 2008 that he was interested in talking with Golden Boy Promotions regarding a deal. In 2010, in response to former IBA Heavyweight Champion James Toney's challenge to fight an MMA fighter in the boxing ring, Belfort expressed interest in representing the sport of MMA against Toney in a 6-round professional match. James Toney, however, went on to be defeated in the UFC Octagon by Randy Couture at UFC 118. Holyfield vs. Belfort In early June 2021, Triller announced that Belfort would face YouTuber Michael "The Real Tarzann" Holston in a professional boxing bout on June 19, 2021. However, the bout was cancelled due to unknown reasons. On June 17, 2021, it was reported that Belfort had agreed to an exhibition boxing match with former six-division boxing world champion Oscar De La Hoya in September 2021, which will be promoted by Triller. In July, news surfaced that the bout was changed to a professional boxing bout and was set to take place on September 11, 2021. On September 3, De La Hoya announced that he would not be fighting Belfort due to contracting COVID-19. In a message to his fans, he stated that he was fully vaccinated and receiving hospital treatment. In turn, it was announced that former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield will be stepping in to face Belfort and that the event was being moved from California to Florida. Belfort won the exhibition match via technical knockout. Rahman Jr. vs. Belfort On August 27, 2022, DAZN announced that Belfort would be boxing professional heavyweight Hasim Rahman Jr. in the main event of MF & DAZN: X Series 002 on October 15, 2022, in Sheffield, England. The bout was postponed to MF & DAZN: X Series 003 on November 19, 2022,