Belfort
Belfort
Location within Franche-Comté region  Belfort
Administration
Country	France
Region	Franche-Comté
Department	Territoire de Belfort
Arrondissement	Belfort
Canton	Cantons of Belfort-Centre, Belfort-Est, Belfort-Nord, Belfort-Ouest, and Belfort-Sud
Intercommunality	Belfortaine
Mayor	Étienne Butzbach (2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation	354–650 m (1,161–2,130 ft) (avg. 358 m or 1,175 ft)
Land area1	17.10 km2 (6.60 sq mi)
Population2	50,199  (2009)
- Density	2,936 /km2 (7,600 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	90010/ 90000
Dialling code	0384
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Coordinates: 47°38′30″N 6°51′00″E / 47.6417°N 6.85°E / 47.6417; 6.85

Belfort (French pronunciation: [bɛl.fɔʁ-]) is a city in north-east France in the Franche-Comté région, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg. It is the biggest town and the administrative town of the Territoire de Belfort département in the Franche-Comté region. Belfort is located at 400 km (249 mi) from Paris, 141 km (88 mi) from Strasbourg, 290 km (180 mi) from Lyon and 150 km (93 mi) from Zürich. The residents of the city are called ‘’Belfortains’’. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap (Trouée de Belfort) or Burgundian Gate (Porte de Bourgogne). The city of Belfort has 50,199 inhabitants.^[1] Together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Belfort forms the largest agglomeration (metropolitan area) in Franche-Comté region with an urban population of 308,601 inhabitants.^[2]

History[link]

Belfort's strategic location, in a natural gap between the Vosges and the Jura, on a route linking the Rhine and the Rhône, has attracted human settlement and made it a target for armies.

The site of Belfort was inhabited in Gallo-Roman times and was subsequently recorded in the 13th century as a possession of the counts of Montbéliard, who granted it a charter in 1307.

Previously an Austrian possession, Belfort was transferred to France by the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), that ended the Thirty Years' War. The town's fortifications were extended and developed by the military architect Vauban for Louis XIV.

Until 1871, Belfort was part of the département of Haut-Rhin, in Alsace. The Siege of Belfort, between 3 November 1870 and 18 February 1871, was successfully resisted until the garrison was ordered to surrender 21 days after the armistice between France and Prussia. Because this part of Alsace was French speaking, while the rest of Alsace was German speaking, the area around Belfort was not annexed by the Prussians. It formed, as it still does, the Territoire de Belfort. The siege is commemorated by a huge statue, the Lion of Belfort, by Frédéric Bartholdi.

Alsatians who sought a new French home in Belfort made a significant contribution to its industry.

The town was bombarded by the German army during World War I and occupied by it during World War II. In November 1944 the retreating German army held the French First Army before the town until French Commandos made a successful night attack on the Salbert Fort. Belfort was liberated on 22 November 1944.

Economy[link]

Belfort is a trading centre for wine and grain and its industries include chemicals, engineering, plastics and textiles. Belfort is also the hometown of Alstom where the first TGVs (Trains Grande Vitesse) were produced. As well as of the GE Energy European headquarter and centre of excellence for the manufacturing of gas turbines.

Transport and communication[link]

Situation of Belfort in road and railroad of Franche-Comté.

Main highways[link]

Like many other European cities, cars trafic in Belfort increases continually and dominates transports.^[3] Belfort is situated at only 25 miles from commercial port of Mulhouse-Rhin which allows international transit. Motorway nammed A36 from Beaune to Mulhouse, turn around south and east part of the city. It’s the main axe linking Belfort to other French and foreign cities. A national road, N19, is another main road which allows to join south of Belfort with Paris, Nancy and Switzerland.

Rail links[link]

SNCF station of Belfort-Ville

A lot of trains arrive in Belfort. Since the 11th December 2011, national and international TGV serve Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station which is now a part of LGV Rhin-Rhône. They allow to join Paris, Dijon, Lyon, Strasbourg, Bâle and Mulhouse. Classic regional and national trains complete this offer to Montbéliard, Besançon, Mulhouse, Vesoul, Épinal and Nancy. After 2015, regional trains will desserve Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station on Belfort - Bienne link. This service will open Belfort and its area to Switzerland and towns like Delémont, Berne, Fribourg and Lausanne.^[4] Before 2020, the service Épinal-Belfort will be electrified and modernized. This will allow a link between LGV Est and LGV Rhin-Rhône in Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station, opening new destinations like Nancy, Metz and Luxembourg.^[5]

Other means of transport[link]

A local bus network operates within the city.

Sights[link]

Lion of Belfort

• Belfort is the home of the Lion of Belfort, a sculpture by Frédéric Bartholdi expressing people's resistance against the siege in the Franco-Prussian War (1870) – who shortly afterwards built the Statue of Liberty in New York.
• The Belfort Citadel - A unique example of Vauban pentagonal fortifications.
• The Belfort Cathedral, 18th century
• The old town
• The Belfort city museums are structured within three main poles:
  • History (from archeology to military) in the old barracks on the top of the citadel.
  • Art (mainly from 16th to 19th century) in the Tour 41.
  • Modern Art in the Donation Jardot.
• Since July 2007, a touristic sight of the citadel has been open to the public – with a sound-, video- and light-animated trail in the moats and the big underpass of the citadel. Its name: "La Citadelle de la Liberté" (Citadel of Liberty).^[6]

Culture[link]

FIMU[link]

Belfort is also well known for organizing a large-scale music festival in May each year. The Festival International de Musique Universitaire^[7] (FIMU) is home to nearly 2500 musicians, most of them students, from many different countries. The musicians give more than 250 concerts in the course of the 3-day festival in a wide variety of styles (classical, jazz, traditional, experimental, etc.). All of the concerts are free of charge and are performed at 14 different locations in the old city (the vieille ville) of Belfort. In 2004 more than 60,000 people attended the festival. In 2005 the festival was held on 14–16 May. This should not be confused with the Eurockeenes festival held there in July each year.

Events[link]

• The Eurockéennes which is one of France's largest rock music festivals.
• The Belfort Tattoo Convention which remains after 14 years of existence is the oldest convention of France.^[8]

Personalities[link]

Births[link]

Belfort was the birthplace of:

• François Joseph Heim (1787–1865), painter
• Jules Brunet (1838–1911), a member of the first French Military Mission to Japan in order to help modernize the armies of the shogunate
• Louis-Gabriel-Charles Vicaire (1848–1900), poet
• Tahar Rahim (1981– ), actor
• Raymond Forni (1941–2008), politician
• Jean-Pierre Chevènement (9 mars 1939), politician
• Gérard Grisey (born 1946–1998), composer
• Alexander Toponce (1839–1923), American pioneer
• Frederic Duplus, footballer
• John Glele, footballer

Deaths[link]

• Léon Delarbre, painter – known from his drawings for the Shoah camps

International relations[link]

Twin towns – Sister cities[link]

Belfort is twinned with^[9]:

• Delémont, Switzerland
• Leonberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
• Stafford, United Kingdom
• Tanghin-Dassouri, Burkina Faso

See also[link]

• Communes of the Territoire de Belfort department
• Fortified region of Belfort

References[link]

• INSEE

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Belfort

• City council website (French)
• La place forte de Belfort 1870 – 1914 (French)
• Tourist office website
• Belfort Tourism Information
• Visiting Belfort
• Webpage about the fortifications
• Léon Delarbre (French)

v t e Communes of the Territoire de Belfort department Andelnans Angeot Anjoutey Argiésans Autrechêne Auxelles-Bas Auxelles-Haut Banvillars Bavilliers Beaucourt Belfort Bermont Bessoncourt Bethonvilliers Boron Botans Bourg-sous-Châtelet Bourogne Brebotte Bretagne Buc Charmois Châtenois-les-Forges Chaux Chavanatte Chavannes-les-Grands Chèvremont Courcelles Courtelevant Cravanche Croix Cunelières Danjoutin Delle Denney Dorans Eguenigue Éloie Essert Étueffont Évette-Salbert Faverois Fêche-l'Église Felon Florimont Fontaine Fontenelle Foussemagne Frais Froidefontaine Giromagny Grandvillars Grosmagny Grosne Joncherey Lachapelle-sous-Chaux Lachapelle-sous-Rougemont Lacollonge Lagrange Lamadeleine-Val-des-Anges Larivière Lebetain Lepuix Lepuix-Neuf Leval Menoncourt Meroux Méziré Montbouton Montreux-Château Morvillars Moval Novillard Offemont Pérouse Petit-Croix Petitefontaine Petitmagny Phaffans Réchésy Recouvrance Reppe Riervescemont Romagny-sous-Rougemont Roppe Rougegoutte Rougemont-le-Château Saint-Dizier-l'Évêque Saint-Germain-le-Châtelet Sermamagny Sevenans Suarce Thiancourt Trévenans Urcerey Valdoie Vauthiermont Vellescot Vescemont Vétrigne Vézelois Villars-le-Sec

Vítor Belfort
Born	Vítor Belfort (1977-04-01) April 1, 1977 (age 35) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Other names	The Phenom
Nationality	Brazilian
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	186 lb (84 kg; 13 st 4 lb)
Division	Middleweight (2008–present) Light Heavyweight (1998-2007) Heavyweight (1996-1997)
Reach	74 in (188 cm)
Style	Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Shotokan Karate
Stance	Southpaw
Fighting out of	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Team	Team Vitor Belfort TapouT Training Center Xtreme Couture
Rank	Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black belt in Judo Purple belt in Shotokan[1]
Years active	1996–present (MMA)
Professional boxing record
Total	1
Wins	1
By knockout	1
Mixed martial arts record
Total	30
Wins	21
By knockout	14
By submission	3
By decision	4
Losses	9
By knockout	3
By submission	1
By decision	5
Other information
Spouse	Joana Prado
Boxing record from Boxrec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: February 5, 2011

Medal record
Competitor for  Brazil
Men's grappling
ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship
Bronze	2001 Abu Dhabi	Absolute

Vítor Vieira Belfort^[2] (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvitoʁ viˈejɾɐ bɛwˈfɔʁ]; born April 1, 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in the middleweight division. He is currently ranked as the #3 middleweight in the world by MMA Weekly.^[3]

Personal life[link]

Vítor was born on April 1, 1977 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to a French father and a Greek mother.^[4] Belfort is married to Joana Prado and together they have three children, a son named Davi (born February 5, 2005), a daughter named Victoria (born October 31, 2007),^[5] and a daughter named Kyara (born June 7, 2009).^[6]

Belfort also had a small part in a reality show on Brazilian television and appeared next to his wife when she was photographed for the Brazilian edition of Playboy.^[7]

On January 9, 2004, Vítor's sister, Priscila Belfort disappeared and the relatives received no information about her. In August 2007, a woman (identified as Elaine Paiva) confessed that she participated in her kidnapping and killing^[8] and that she was kidnapped to pay off a four thousand dollar debt Paiva had with drug dealers. Paiva was arrested along with three others alleged to be involved in the kidnapping. The group allegedly buried her body in the woods in Rio de Janeiro where police conducted searches but her remains have never been found. Her family however do not accept this version and believe that Priscila is still alive somewhere. Vítor still maintains a missing sign in the Brazilian version of his website.

Belfort speaks Portuguese, English, and Spanish.^[9]

He is a dedicated Christian and gives his life first to Jesus who he says gives him peace.^[10] Belfort believes the most important key to his success and longevity in the sport is that he is happy with what he does. “I just thank God every day. I’m happy. I’m healthy. Bottom line is it’s just the way you treat life and life will treat you back. Make sure you’re happy with whatever is going on in your life. I think the key of life is just be happy with what’s in front of you and the decision of my life is under God and God knows what’s best for me."^[11] Belfort also appeared in a testimonial video on I Am Second, in which he shares his story of his faith in Jesus Christ.

Mixed martial arts career[link]

At the age of 19, Belfort came to the United States to compete. In his first sanctioned mixed martial arts match, an event called Superbrawl in Hawaii, his opponent was Jon Hess, who the young Brazilian defeated in 12 seconds by knockout.

Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]

Soon after, he moved on to compete in the UFC, where he was given the nickname The Phenom. He beat two fighters in his debut event in the UFC, winning the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament. At age 19, Belfort became the youngest fighter to ever score a victory inside the octagon.^[12] Belfort's next match saw him score a technical knockout (TKO) against the UFC 6 runner-up Tank Abbott in a non-tournament fight, knocking Abbott down and finishing him with a ground and pound attack.

In 1997 Belfort fought against American Greco-Roman wrestler Randy Couture, the first of three fights they would have. Belfort was upset by TKO 8:16 into the match, his boxing skills negated by Couture's clinch fighting.

After this defeat, he would fight twice more in the UFC. The first of these fights was against a training partner of his, Joe Charles, who he defeated quickly via armbar without throwing a single punch. A year later, Belfort faced rising Brazilian star and future Pride Middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva. Catching Silva early with a left cross, Belfort chased him across the cage with a flurry of punches, TKOing Silva in just 44 seconds.

PRIDE Fighting Championships[link]

Vítor then moved on to fight in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships. His first opponent was Kazushi Sakuraba in 1999. Vítor controlled the first minutes of the fight before breaking his hand,^[13] the remainder of the fight was spent on his back being stomped and kicked by Sakuraba. Following the fight he stopped training with Carlson Gracie and started to train with Brazilian Top Team.

He fought five more times in Pride against Gilbert Yvel, Daijiro Matsui, Bobby Southworth, Yoshiki Takahashi, and Heath Herring. For these matches Belfort used his stand-up striking skills less and instead controlled the fights and won by ground-and-pound tactics, with the exception of his fights with Southworth and Takahashi, which he won via rear naked choke and knockout in the first round respectively.

ADCC Championships[link]

In 2001 Belfort participated in the ADCC championships, in their Absolute division. Prior to that competition he had already faced Hiroki Fukuda, winning by submission, and Mark Robinson, losing by points. In 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 points, winning the bronze medal.

Return to the UFC[link]

Returning to the UFC, Belfort was scheduled to fight Tito Ortiz in the main event of UFC's first Las Vegas show at UFC 33. However, he sustained an injury prior to the event, and the bout was cancelled. Belfort eventually returned and fought Chuck Liddell (losing via decision), then Marvin Eastman (winning via TKO and opening a severe cut on Eastman's eyebrow with a knee strike).

His next fight was on January 31, 2004, a rematch with Randy Couture for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Despite agonizing over his sister Priscila Belfort, who disappeared on January 9, Vitor won the fight in 49 seconds after a seam from his glove cut Couture's eye leaving Couture with a corneal abrasion, prompting a referee stoppage. A third match between the two took place on August 21, 2004. Couture won via doctor stoppage after the third round, recapturing the title.

His next fight in the UFC was against Tito Ortiz on February 5, 2005. Belfort broke Tito's nose with punches in the first round and nearly stopped Ortiz in the second. The battle raged on as Vitor tried to keep it standing as Ortiz looked to continue to take the fight to the ground. Unable to finish the fight, Belfort lost by a controversial split decision, which many believe Belfort won the first and second round.

Pro boxing[link]

On April 11, 2006 Vitor fought in his pro 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. More recently, in response to former IBA Heavyweight Champion James Toney's challenge to fight an MMA fighter in the boxing ring, Belfort has stated that he wants to represent the sport of MMA against Toney in a 6 round professional match.^[14]

Steroid controversy[link]

At Pride 32: The Real Deal on October 21, 2006, Belfort lost a unanimous decision to Pride Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson. After the fight, Belfort tested positive for an illegal substance, 4-hydroxytestosterone.^[15] In his defense, Belfort argued that he purchased an over the counter supplement which contained 4-Hydroxytestosterone. Belfort also explained that he may have received 4-Hydroxytestosterone as the result of rehabilitative injections given to him by Brazilian endocrinologist Dr. Rodrigo M. Greco after his surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee in the summer of 2006. The Nevada State Athletic Commission eventually received a statement from Dr. Greco stating that he did give Belfort post surgical injections containing testosterone.^[16] While conceding that Belfort may have not known about the testosterone, the NSAC explained that even if Belfort was given injections by a medical practictioner who did not inform him that they contained anabolic steroids, it would still be a violation of the banned substances policy. On December 21, 2006 he was suspended for nine months from the date of the hearing and fined $10,000.

Cage Rage[link]

Vítor Belfort defeated Ivan Serati by TKO at Cage Rage 21 in England on April 21, 2007. He defeated James Zikic on September 22, 2007 at Cage Rage 23 to claim the Cage Rage light heavyweight title in a unanimous decision. He entered the fight with a broken hand and during the fight threw minimal punches and utilized takedowns and ground and pound techniques. He apologized to the crowd for not putting on a good show but promised a better fight next time.^{[citation needed]}

Affliction[link]

Vítor spent a brief time training for his Affliction fight against Terry Martin with Chute Boxe in Brazil. However, he completed his preparation for the fight at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Randy Couture and Shawn Tompkins helped train him for the fight in which he got a second round KO by landing a flying knee and following up with an uppercut straight-left combination.

After the fight, Couture said Belfort was thinking about moving to Las Vegas and training at Xtreme Couture full time.

Belfort's next fight was slated to be against Matt Lindland at the second Affliction event, however, he was forced to pull out due to a hand-injury sustained during the Terry Martin fight. The second Affliction event was postponed anyway and rescheduled for January 2009, enabling Vítor to fight on that card.

After rumours of a possible bout with reigning Dream Middleweight Grand Prix winner Gegard Mousasi were circulating, it was announced that Vítor would finally fight Lindland at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Lindland was originally slated to fight Renato Sobral at a catchweight, but promoters of Affliction preferred the Belfort vs. Lindland fight at Middleweight. The fight ended in a KO within thirty-seven seconds as Belfort delivered a strong left to Lindland's jaw and followed up with four unanswered power shots as he hit the ground.

Second return to the UFC[link]

During a press conference, Dana White announced that the UFC had re-signed Belfort to a contract. His first match was against Rich Franklin at a catchweight of 195 lbs, headlining UFC 103, which he won by knockout three minutes and two seconds into the first round.

Belfort was expected to face Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108. However, Silva's manager, Ed Soares, announced that Silva would not be fully recovered from his injury by that time, so the fight was postponed.^[17] Belfort was again slated to fight Silva on February 6, 2010 at UFC 109 and April 10, 2010 at UFC 112, respectively, but both fights were canceled because of a surgery for Silva and an injury suffered by Belfort.^[18] Belfort was scheduled to fight Yushin Okami at UFC 122. However, Dana White tweeted Belfort would instead challenge Silva at UFC 126 for the belt.^[19]

Belfort lost via KO with 1:35 left in the first round after being knocked down by a left front kick to the face and taking two punches after falling to the mat. After having the belt put on him, Silva took it off and knelt at Belfort's feet, showing his respect, same as he had done after fighting Chael Sonnen.

Belfort made his return at UFC 133 against Yoshihiro Akiyama.^[20] Belfort initially thought the UFC would try to put him on the card at UFC 134 in Brazil, but the fight with Akiyama came together to help bolster the card in Philadelphia.^[21] Belfort contracted Hepatitis A in April, shortly after accepting the fight, but his representative, Pedro Lima, said that it would not jeopardize the bout with Akiyama.^[22] Belfort was successful in his return, winning the fight by knockout one minute and fifty-two seconds into the first round.

Belfort was briefly linked to a matchup with Cung Le, expected to take place on November 19, 2011 at UFC 139.^[23] However, Belfort was removed from the bout due to injury and replaced by Wanderlei Silva.^[24]

Belfort faced Anthony Johnson on January 14, 2012 at UFC 142.^[25] During the UFC 142 weigh ins, Johnson came in 11 pounds over the 186 lb weight allowance and was fined 20 percent of his earnings.^[26] Belfort requested that Johnson not weigh more than 205 lbs the day of the fight. The UFC had Johnson weigh in a second time. Johnson officially weighed in at 204 lbs on fight day, and the fight with Belfort proceeded as scheduled, with Belfort winning via rear naked choke in the first round, his first submission win in over a decade.^[27]

Belfort was selected to coach The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil against Wanderlei Silva. The rematch between Belfort and Silva was expected to take place on June 23, 2012 at UFC 147.^[28] However, on May 27, 2012, Belfort was forced to pull out of the bout, citing a broken hand in training, and replaced by Rich Franklin.^[29]

Championships and awards[link]

Mixed martial arts[link]

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
  • UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Winner
  • Knockout of the Night (Two times)
• Cage Rage
  • Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Submission grappling[link]

• ADCC
  • ADCC 2001 Absolute division – Bronze medal

Mixed martial arts record[link]

Submission grappling record[link]

Result	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Notes
Win	Ricardo Almeida	Technical Submission (Injury)	ADCC 2001 Absolute Division	2001			3rd Place Spot-Wins Bronze Medal
Loss	Ricardo Arona	Points	ADCC 2001 Absolute	2001			Semi-Finals
Win	Ricco Rodriguez	Points	ADCC 2001 Absolute	2001			Quarter-Finals
Win	Genki Sudo	Points	ADCC 2001 Absolute	2001			Opening Round
Loss	Mark Robinson	Points	ADCC 2011 +99KG	2001			Quarter-Finals
Win	Hiroki Fukuda	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	ADCC 2001 +99KG	2001			Opening Round