Triller Fight Club presented its latest show on Saturday night, an event soundly criticized and brought into question the responsibility of athletic commissions.
In the main event, former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort stopped 58-year old Evander Holyfield in the opening round of their heavyweight contest in Hollywood, Florida.
After Holyfield slipped and fell on the ropes, Belfort attacked the former world champion with a barrage of strikes that led to the stoppage at 1:49 of the first round with Holyfield still on his feet absorbing strikes.
The event was a circus after original headliner Oscar De La Hoya pulled out of the fight with Belfort due to his hospitalization for COVID-19. Holyfield was named the replacement and forced Triller to move the event from Los Angeles to Florida due to licensing issues for Holyfield with the California State Athletic Commission.
It was 44-year old Belfort’s second professional fight after a previous fight in 2006. He has not fought in MMA since 2018 and was openly calling for fights with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Jake Paul after his victory.
The other fight of note for MMA fans saw former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva dismantle Tito Ortiz in the opening round of their bout. Ortiz missed weight by five pounds for the 195-pound catchweight affair and forfeited 20 percent of his purse.
Silva was cornered as Ortiz was throwing but not landing with any meaningful strikes. Silva began to respond and connected with a right hand and followed with more as Ortiz dropped and the fight was over in 1:21 of the first round.
The 46-year old Silva is now 3-1 as a pro boxer with his second victory of 2021 after earning a split decision win against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June.
Ortiz, 46, has never had a pro boxing fight in his career and had his last MMA fight in December 2019 defeating Alberto El Patron (José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan) on a Combate Americas event.
The event received a wave of promotion over the past few days when it was announced that former U.S. President Donald Trump and his son Donald Jr. would be part of the alternate commentary broadcast with Todd Grisham and Jorge Masvidal.
