The Belfort family suffered unimaginable loss in 2004, when Priscila, sister of former UFC champion Vitor Belfort, went missing.

While arrests linked to the case have been made over the years, Priscila never was found. Tuesday, on her 43rd birthday, Vitor took to Instagram to issue an open letter to update his sister on his life and talked about their family.

“I promise that, somehow, I will celebrate this day as if you were by my side,” Belfort said. “Pri, my kids always ask about you. They want to know every detail of your life. And, of course, I couldn’t forget your great friend (Joana, Vitor’s wife), who ended up becoming your confidant.We love you very, very much.

“And, Pri, I just talked to mom and she promised that, on this great day, she will celebrate your birthday without staying home. She said she’s going for a walk with a friend. And you know how dad is, right (laughs)? He’s still the same.” (Via Instagram)

Exactly 43 years ago a princess was born. Her name was already pronounced sweet. PRISCILA VIEIRA BELFORT was born. Pri, wherever you are I really want this message to come to you. I hope in God’s Eternity of all creation. You can have access to LOVE messages. In fact, our father had already said that love is greater than everything.
And it is with this love that I come to congratulate you on your birthday. I promise that somehow I will celebrate this day as if you were by my side. Pri, my kids always ask you! They want to know every detail of your life. @davibelfort@vitoriabelfortoficial and @kyarabelfort it is logical that you could not forget your great friend @joanapradob who turned out to be your confidant … rsrs
Well … we love you very, very much. And Pri just spoke to Mom and she promised that on this big day she will celebrate her birthday without staying at home. She told me she’s going out and walking with a friend … Daddy you know what it’s like? LOL
It’s still the same …
That day especially we all wanted to be able to hug you and kiss you. I forgot to say; Dad returned to live in BH with our family. He is being very well taken care of there. All cousins ​​and aunts love you very much and say that they miss you a lot. All our cousins ​​have already become parents with beautiful children! You can not imagine every beautiful nephew we have !!
Well I write this letter directly from Montreal in Canada, on January 14th I will do my last fight on @ufc.
Pri, they have been fighting for 21 years and I confess that I can not wait to follow up on my second journey. In which all who participate will be winners.
I and @joanapradob created @belfortfitnesslifestyle a new model of gyms and next year we started opening for franchises. We are very happy with the result. We have a huge list of interested people and our students have become a great family. I’m sure you would love our students, each with a wonderful story.
Pri, right now I had to wipe away many tears from my face when I wrote this letter but I know that every tear is translated by God. Because only He understands that language.
I Love you, my sister.

Priscila disappeared Jan. 9, 2004, after her mom dropped her off at work in Rio de Janeiro. That was only weeks before Belfort was scheduled to meet Randy Couture in a rematch for the light heavyweight title. While he was given the option to withdraw, Belfort moved forward with the UFC 46 bout on Jan. 31.

Belfort won the headliner in Las Vegas via TKO and dedicated the win to his sister, whom he honored with a shirt that said “Come back, Priscila.” Despite a theory that Priscila was kidnapped and killed, her body has never been found. Over the years, Belfort has opened up about his difficulties to grapple with his sister’s absence.

In the post, Belfort (26-13 MMA, 15-10 UFC) also mentioned his upcoming bout with Uriah Hall (13-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC). The middleweight bout is set for UFC Fight Night 124, which takes place Jan. 14 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis and airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

The meeting is the last on Belfort’s current UFC contract. While Belfort made mention of his “second journey” in the post, referencing the gym business he’s expanding with his wife, it’s hard to tell whether fulfilling his contract will mean retirement from MMA.

Both fighters enter the bout off rebound wins. Belfort recently snapped a winless streak dating back to 2015 by beating Nate Marquardt at UFC 212, while Hall’s knockout of Krzysztof Jotko in September meant recovery from three losses in a row.

For more on UFC Fight Night 124, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie‘s official blog and is edited by Mike Bohn.

Filed under: Blue Corner, Featured Videos, News, UFC