Lyoto Machida retires Vitor Belfort with front kick KO at UFC 224

Lyoto-Machida,-left,-throws-a-kick-at-Vitor-Belfort,-right,-in-UFC-middleweight-action-at-UFC-224-in-Rio-de-Janeiro,-Brazil.

Lyoto Machida, left, throws a kick at Vitor Belfort, right, in UFC middleweight action at UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Leo Correa/AP)

Lyoto Machida knocked out Vitor Belfort with front kick at UFC 224 Saturday night, ending the career of the mixed martial arts legend.

Machida landed the kick with his left foot one minute into the second round of their middleweight contest. It was the exact same strike that felled Belfort in 2011 when he was KO’d by former middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Following the bout, the 41-year-old Belfort placed his gloves in the centre of the Octagon and announced he plans on moving onto the next stage of his life.

Belfort debuted in the UFC in 1997 as a 19-year-old. The Brazilian is a former UFC light-heavyweight champion with notable victories over fellow former titleholders Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold.

Belfort finishes his MMA career with a record of 26-14 and one no-contest.

Meanwhile, Machida (24-8) is now on his first two-fight winning streak since 2014. He picked up a split decision win over Eryk Anders in February.

The karate specialist called out former 185-pound champ Bisping during his post-fight interview.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.