Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva is considered by many martial arts pundits to be the greatest professional Mixed Martial Artist of all time. He is a Brazilian professional Mixed Martial Artist who is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Silva is a former UFC Middle Weight Champion with the longest title reign in UFC history, starting in 2006 and ending in 2013. During this time he set a UFC record of 16 consecutive victories.

Anderson Silva Instructional DVDs:

The Comprehensive Strikers Guide by Anderson Silva

Sharpen your striking and learn how to connect with power and style with this 4-volume MMA striking course from UFC legend Anderson Silva:

Anderson shows you how he created some of his biggest knockouts ever, including his front kicks, clinch work, unorthodox elbows and more
Slip and return fire as Anderson shows you how he counters and stays safe in MMA exchanges
Anderson Silva is the best striker in MMA history, with a legendary championship career in the UFC and MMA that spans decades
Control the clinch with lockdown techniques where you can control, defend, break, and attack with this cage-tested strategy for success

Championships and Accomplishments

Mixed Martial Arts

Cage Rage Championships:
Cage Rage Middleweight Championship (One time, Final)
- Three successful title defenses
Shooto Middleweight Championship (One time)

Ultimate Fighting Championship:

UFC Middleweight Champion
Ten title defenses
Unified the UFC Middleweight and Pride World Welterweight Championships
Fight of the Night (Four times)
Knockout of the Night (Seven times)
Submission of the Night (Two times)
Longest title reign in UFC history (2457 days)
Longest win streak in UFC history (16)
Most finishes in UFC middleweight division history (11)
Most finishes in UFC title fights (9)
Most knockdowns in UFC history (17)
Most knockdowns in UFC title fights (10)
Most "Knockout of the Night" awards in UFC history (7)
Most knockouts in UFC title fights (7)
Most wins in UFC middleweight division history (13)

Other Notables:

2011 Knockout of the Year vs. Vitor Belfort on February 5
2011 KO Kick of the Year Bazzie Award vs. Vitor Belfort on February 5
2010 Fight of the Year vs Chael Sonnen on August 7
2009 Beatdown of the Year vs Forrest Griffin on August 8
2011 All-Violence 1st Team
2017 Robbery of the Year vs. Derek Brunson
Mixed Martial Arts Hall of Fame: 2008 Most Dangerous Man
Sports Illustrated: 2008 Fighter of the Year
World MMA Awards: 2008 Fighter of the Year; Fight of the Year vs. Chael Sonnen on August 7; World MMA Awards: 2011 Knockout of the Year vs. Vitor Belfort on February 5
Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Most Outstanding Fighter (2012) & MMA Most Valuable Fighter (2012)

Anderson Silva Biography

Anderson Silva was borning in Sao Paolo, Brazil on April 14, 1975. Silva was first exposed to martial arts as a child training jiu jitsu with neighborhood kids. As a teen, Silva began training in taekwondo, capoeira and muay thai. Well versed in Muay Thai, boxing and taekwondo, Silva is primarily a stand up fighter. Owner of numerous UFC offensive striking records, Silva is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the history of MMA and many consider him the best. A main attribute of Silva was also his striking defense. In the UFC, he had a penchant for dodging opponent's strike attempts after taunting them and having his guard down.

Anderson Silva made his professional debut in 1997 as a welter weight in his native Brazil. He went on a nine fight winning streak early in his career, winning six of those fights by submission or TKO. Silva beat Shooto champion Hayato Sakurai by unanimous decision after three rounds, becoming the new Shooto Middleweight Champion as well as the first man to be Sakurai.

Silva began fighting in Pride in the year 2002. Here he fought Alex Stiebling for his first fight, stopping him with a high kick. Silva would later go on to win against former UFC welter weight champion Carlos Newton at Pride 25. He would then face off against and ultimately lose against Daiju Takase at pride 26. The loss to Daiju nearly caused Silva to quit Mixed Martial Arts, but he was convinced to keep fighting by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Following this, Silva moved to join Nogueira in Brazilian Top Team and began fighting in other promotions around the world. On June 27, 2004, Silva fought Jeremy Horn and earned a decision victory.

Following his debut in Pride, Silva then joined the Cage Rage Promotion in England. It was here that Silva defeated striker Lee Murray by decision. Then Silva returned to Pride FC on December 31st to face Ryo Chonan. Chonan ended the fight in the third round with a rare flying scissor heel hook, forcing Silva to submit, ultimately causing Silva to be cut from Pride. This would lead Silva to continue fighting in the Cage Rage promotion, eventually defending his title against Curtis Stout. It was highly anticipate that Silva would fight Matt Lindland at Cage Rage 16m but ended up defending his championship against Tony Fryklund, winning the fight with a reverse elbow in the first round.

Speculation ran rampant about where Silva would end up next. In late April of 2006, the IFC announced they had signed him to a contract. Silva made his debut at Ultimate Fight Night 5 on June 28, 2006. His opponent was none other than Chris Leben. At the time, Chris was undefeated in the UFC with 5 consecutive victories. Leben was the favorite going into the fight, at Silva was still relatively unknown in the United States. However, Silva made an emphatic debut knocking out Leben with amazing striking, followed with a knee strike at 49 seconds in the first round.

Following his victory over Leben, the UFC polled their viewers to select Silva’s next opponent, with the majority of voters selecting UFC Middle Weight Champion Rich Franklin. Silva fought Franklin at UFC 64 and won by TKO from strikes in the first round, badly breaking Franklin’s nose. Silva was crowned the new UFC Middle Weight Champion, becoming only the second man to defeat Franklin.

At UFC 67, Silva was scheduled to defend his title in a fight against Travis Lutter. However, the fight was changed to a non title bout after Lutter failed to make weight. Silva won by submission with a combination of a triangle choke and elbow strikes on the ground during the second round. This came as a surprise to many as Lutter was an accomplished jiu jitsu black belt with a solid ground game.

From here Silva would successfully defend his title against Nate Marquardt at UFC 73 on July 7, 2007 with a TKO in the first round. Three months later, on October 20, 2007, at UFC 77, Silva fought a title defense rematch against Rich Franklin with a TKO in the 2nd round. On March 1, 2008, at UFC 82 Silva fought Pride Middleweight champion Dan Henderson, in a title unification bout (UFC and Pride titles on the line). Silva defended his title by defeating Henderson with a rear naked choke in the 2nd round.

Following his bout with Dan Henderson, Silva made a debut in the UFC at Light Heavy Weight against James Irvin at UFC Fight Night 14. Silva won via KO due to strikes in 1:01 of the first round after catching Irvin's attempted leg kick. Irvin would later test positive for methadone and oxymorphone.

Silva would then go on to defend his middle weight title against Patrick Cote at UFC 90 in Rosemont, Illinois at UFC 90 on October 25th, 2008. In the third round of the fight, Cote landed awkwardly on his right leg while throwing a kick, falling to the mat in pain, prompting Referee Herb Dean to end the fight, ruling the bout a TKO victory for Silva. However, Cote was Silva’s first opponent to make it past the 2nd round.

On April 18, 2009, at UFC 97 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Silva defeated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Thales Leites by unanimous decision. This would be Silva’s 9th consecutive win in the octagon. It was the first time anyone had survived 5 rounds against Silva, ending with a judges’ decision. The crowd was not pleased with Silva’s lack luster performance and repeatedly booed him.

Silva would fight again at 205 pounds against former UFC Light Heavy Weight Champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 on August 8th, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Griffin was knocked down three times in the first round. The bout earned Silva Beat down of the Year honors from Sherdog. Both fighters were awarded $60,000 as Fight of the Night bonuses and Silva received $60,000 in bonus money for Knockout of the Night.

Demian Maia would be the next to face Silva following a surgery and a series of cancelled fights. Again, Silva was widely criticized for his performance, appearing to mock his opponent, and then in the last round being warned by referee Dan Miragliotta for his conduct. After 5 rounds, Silva was declared the winner via unanimous decision. In the immediate post fight interview, Silva apologized and said that he was not himself and that he would need to go back and reevaluate the humility that got him to where he is.

In August, 2010, Anderson Silva faced Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 for the UFC Middle Weight title. Sonnen stunned Silva with a punch before taking him down and dominating from the top position, landing multiple blows in the first round. In the fifth round, Silva slipped after being tagged by Sonnen's left hook and the challenger took advantage by once again establishing a top position and delivering strikes to Silva. With only two minutes left in the final round, Silva locked up a triangle arm bar on Sonnen forcing him to submit. Silva was hit more in the fight than in his entire UFC career up until that point. Had Silva not landed the submission, Sonnen would have won the judges’ decision.

Silva faced Vitor Belfort on February 5, 2011, at UFC 126. Silva landed a front kick to Belfort's jaw and followed up with punches to the grounded challenger. Referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight at 3:25 into the first round, with Silva handing Belfort his first KO loss in 28 career fights. Silva then faced Yushin Okami on August 27, 2011, at UFC 134, defeating the Japanese middle weight by TKO during the 2nd round.

Chael Sonnen would rematch Anderson Silva at UFC 148 on July 7th, 2012. After being dominated again throughout the first round, Silva stopped Sonnen in the second with a TKO. He would later become the first to stop Stephan Bonnar with strikes in the first round of a light heavy weight bout at UFC 153.

Silva’s winning streak, the longest title reign in UFC history, would finally end at UFC 162 on July 6th, 2013. Silva lost by KO in the second round against Chris Weidman after show boating. A rematch was held at UFC 168 on December 28. In the second round Weidman checked one of Silva's leg kicks again, breaking Silva's left fibula and tibia and ending the fight via TKO.

It was confirmed on July 29, 2014 that Silva would return to the UFC with eight fights remaining out of a 15 fight contract. In his first fight post-injury, Silva faced Nick Diaz in the main event of UFC 183 on January 31, 2015. Silva would win this fight by unanimous decision, only to test positive for two anabolic steroids, Drostanolone and Androstane, three days later. Silva's defense argued that a tainted sexual enhancement drug that a friend had given to Silva after a trip to Thailand caused the positive test. The Nevada State Athletic Commission rejected the defense and suspended him for one year retroactive to the date of the fight. Silva’s victory was over turned to a no contest.

Following his suspension, Silva faced Michael Bisping on February 27th, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 84. Silva would lose the fight via unanimous decision, however there was controversy surrounding the fight at the end of round three. Silva had dropped Bisping with a flying knee during a moment Bisping was signaling to referee Herb Dean that he lost his mouthpiece. Silva believed he had won the bout, however referee Herb Dean said the fight was not over, and it continued for another two rounds to the decision.

Silva next fought UFC Light Heavy Weight Champion Daniel Cormier in a non title bout at UFC 200 as a short notice replacement. Silva lost the fight via unanimous decision. Silva faced Derek Brunson on February 11, 2017, at UFC 208. He was awarded a unanimous decision victory. As of now, Anderson Silva is scheduled to return at UFC 234 to face Israel Adesanya.