Anderson Silva

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This article is about the mixed martial artist. For the footballer, see Anderson Silva de França.
Anderson Silva
Statistics
Nickname The Spider
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Weight 185 lb (84 kg)
Nationality Brazilian
Born April 14, 1975 (1975-04-14) (age 33)
Fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil
Town of birth Curitiba, Brazil
Team/Association Black House
Fighting style Muay Thai,
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Mixed martial arts record
Wins 21
  By knockout 12
  By submission 6
Losses 4

Anderson "The Spider" Silva (born April 14, 1975), is a Brazilian Muay Thai champion, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and mixed martial artist. Since October 14, 2006 he has been the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion.[2] He has also competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, Shooto, and Rumble on the Rock. He holds notable wins over Rich Franklin (twice), Hayato Sakurai, Nathan Marquardt, Carlos Newton, Chris Leben, Travis Lutter, Jeremy Horn and Dan Henderson.

Once a member of Chute Boxe Academy, he left to form the Muay Thai Dream Team. As of late November 2006, he formed a new team called Black House with Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, Assuerio Silva, and the Nogueira brothers.[3]

MMAWeekly, Sherdog, and Nokaut currently rank Anderson Silva as the number one middleweight in the world, [4][5][6] while both Sherdog and Yahoo! Sports rank Silva as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.[7][8]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Although known primarily for his skills in Muay Thai, Silva is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which he earned in 2006 from Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.[9]

[edit] Early mixed martial arts

Silva initially fought in the Mecca organization in Brazil. Silva lost his first fight to Luiz Azeredo by decision. After that fight, he went on a nine-fight winning streak, winning six of those fights by either submission or TKO. After winning his first match in Japan he was put up against Shooto champion Hayato Sakurai. Silva was the first person to ever beat Sakurai, and became the new Shooto middleweight (167 lb) champion in 2001.

[edit] PRIDE Fighting Championships and Cage Rage

In 2002, Silva began fighting in PRIDE. In his first fight with the promotion, he stopped Alex Steibling with a cut resulting from a high kick. In his next match, he won via decision against the "Diet Butcher" Alexander Otsuka. At PRIDE 25, Silva faced former UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton. Newton tried to shoot in on Silva, but was hit with a flying knee. Newton collapsed and Silva finished the fight with strikes, winning by technical knockout.

At PRIDE 26, Silva faced Daiju Takase. Considering his record at the time – with only four wins to seven losses – most predicted that Takase would not win. Surprisingly, Takase submitted Silva with a triangle choke late in the first round.

After his loss to Takase, Silva fought in other promotions around the world. On June 27, 2004, Silva fought Jeremy Horn and earned a decision victory. Three months later, Silva made his debut in the Cage Rage promotion in England. At Cage Rage 8 Silva fought and defeated noted striker Lee Murray by decision.

That year, Silva returned to PRIDE on December 31 to face Ryo Chonan. Silva was in control with a take down and body triangle in the first round. Chonan was able to counter Silva's knees from the clinch, with knees, and takedowns. Despite being the underdog, Chonan ended the fight in the third round with a flying scissor heel hook, forcing Silva to submit.

After the loss to Chonan, Silva continued fighting in the Cage Rage promotion, as well as other promotions around the world. Silva defended his Cage Rage title against Curtis Stout before fighting in Hawaii's Rumble on the Rock promotion, where he fought Yushin Okami in the first round of the 175 lb tournament. Although he was labeled as the favorite to win the tournament, Silva lost his fight when he kicked Okami in the face from the guard position. Okami's knees were on the ground at the time, making the attack an illegal strike to the head of a downed opponent. Silva was disqualified, and returned to Cage Rage once again.

Although he was slated to fight Matt Lindland at Cage Rage 16, Lindland's decision to fight Mike Van Arsdale at Raze Fight Night put an end to the highly-anticipated match up. Instead, Silva defended his championship against Tony Fryklund, winning the fight with a reverse elbow, knocking out Fryklund early in the first round.

[edit] Ultimate Fighting Championship

Although speculation ran rampant about where Silva would sign next, the UFC announced in late April 2006 that they had signed him to a multi-fight contract, one of these fights believed to be for the middleweight title. It was not long before the UFC started promoting Silva, releasing an interview segment almost immediately after announcing his arrival.[10]

Silva made his anticipated debut at Ultimate Fight Night 5 on June 28, 2006. His opponent was Chris Leben, a contestant from The Ultimate Fighter 1 reality show who had since gone undefeated in the UFC with five consecutive victories. A relatively unknown fighter in the United States, Silva made an emphatic debut when he knocked out Leben with a flurry of strikes, followed by a final knee strike at 49 seconds into the first round. In response to the victory, the UFC quickly tallied a poll on their main page, asking viewers to select Silva's next opponent; the majority of voters selected UFC middleweight champion, Rich Franklin.

Although it is unknown whether the UFC voters had any bearing on the situation, Silva was given his chance at the title at UFC 64 on October 14, 2006.[11] Silva defeated Franklin by TKO (strikes) at 2:59 in the first round. Silva hit Franklin with knees to the body in the Muay Thai-clinch, then broke Franklin's nose with a knee to the face. Unable to strike back, Franklin dodged the last of Silva's strikes before falling to the ground, where referee "Big" John McCarthy ended the fight. Silva was then crowned the new UFC middleweight champion. Anderson Silva joined Black House-teammate Lyoto Machida as the only men to have beaten Franklin.

On February 3, 2007, Silva defeated The Ultimate Fighter 4 winner Travis Lutter by submission in the second round with a triangle choke at UFC 67. What was to be Silva's first title defense since defeating Franklin in October 2006 was quickly changed to a non-title bout following Lutter's unsuccessful attempt to make the 185 pound weight limit for the title contest. Silva won the fight with what was considered his opponent's strongest skill: Brazilian jiu-jitsu.[12]

Silva successfully defended his title against Nate Marquardt on July 7, 2007 in Sacramento, California on the UFC 73 card, winning by TKO at 4:50 in the first round.

On October 20, 2007 at UFC 77, Silva defeated Franklin in a rematch by TKO in the 2nd round. The fight was in Franklin's home town of Cincinnati, Ohio and took place at the U.S. Bank Arena[13]

Silva defended his Middleweight title against Pride FC Middleweight champion Dan Henderson at UFC 82 on March 1, 2008 in a title unification bout, winning by submission via rear naked choke in the second round.

Silva is undefeated in the UFC, having won all of his fights in two rounds or less.

[edit] Roy Jones Jr.

Following his win over Dan Henderson, Silva expressed great interest in fighting Roy Jones, Jr. in a boxing match. In an interview with MMA Weekly, Anderson Silva's manager stated that "Anderson would love to fight Roy Jones in a boxing match under boxing rules to prove that MMA fighters are technical, too.":[14] UFC president Dana White later expressed that he would use his veto power to stop such a match from taking place. [15]

[edit] Championships

  • Current UFC Middleweight Champion
  • Current Cage Rage Middleweight Champion
  • Shooto Middleweight Championship in 2001


Previous champion
Rich Franklin		 5th UFC Middleweight Champion

October 14, 2006 - Present

 Next champion
Current

[edit] Mixed martial arts record

Result Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
xWin Flag of the United States HendersonDan Henderson Submission (Rear naked choke) UFC 82: Pride of a Champion 02008-03-01 1 March 2008 2 4:52 Flag of the United States Columbus, Ohio, United States Defended UFC Middleweight Championship
xWin Flag of the United States FranklinRich Franklin TKO (Strikes) UFC 77: Hostile Territory 02007-10-20 20 October 2007 2 1:07 Flag of the United States Cincinnati, Ohio, United States Defended UFC Middleweight Championship
xWin Flag of the United States MarquardtNate Marquardt TKO (Strikes) UFC 73: Stacked 02007-07-07 7 July 2007 1 4:50 Flag of the United States Sacramento, California, United States Defended UFC Middleweight Championship
xWin Flag of the United States LutterTravis Lutter Submission (Triangle Choke)[16] UFC 67: All or Nothing 02007-02-03 3 February 2007 2 2:11 Flag of the United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Non-title fight (Lutter did not make weight)
xWin Flag of the United States FranklinRich Franklin TKO (Strikes) UFC 64: Unstoppable 02006-10-14 14 October 2006 1 2:59 Flag of the United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Won UFC Middleweight Championship
xWin Flag of the United States LebenChris Leben KO (Knee) UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5 02006-06-28 28 June 2006 1 0:49 Flag of the United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
xWin Flag of the United States FryklundTony Fryklund KO (Elbow) Cage Rage 16: Critical Condition 02006-04-22 22 April 2006 1 2:02 Flag of the United Kingdom London, England, United Kingdom
xLoss Flag of Japan OkamiYushin Okami Disqualification (Illegal Kick) Rumble on the Rock 8 02006-01-20 20 January 2006 1 2:33 Flag of the United States Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
xWin Flag of the United States StoutCurtis Stout KO Cage Rage 14: Punishment 02005-12-03 3 December 2005 1 4:59 Flag of the United Kingdom London, United Kingdom
xWin Flag of the United States RiveraJorge Rivera TKO Cage Rage 11: Face Off 02005-04-30 30 April 2005 2 3:53 Flag of the United Kingdom London, United Kingdom
xLoss Flag of Japan ChonanRyo Chonan Submission (Flying Scissor Heel Hook) PRIDE Shockwave 2004 02004-12-31 31 December 2004 3 3:08 Flag of Japan Saitama, Japan
xWin Flag of the United Kingdom MurrayLee Murray Decision (Unanimous) Cage Rage 8: Knights of the Octagon 02004-09-11 11 September 2004 3 5:00 Flag of the United Kingdom London, United Kingdom Won Cage Rage Middleweight Championship
xWin Flag of the United States HornJeremy Horn Decision (Unanimous) Gladiator FC: Day 2 02004-06-27 27 June 2004 3 5:00 Flag of South Korea South Korea
xWin Flag of Brazil dos AnjosWaldir dos Anjos TKO (Corner Stoppage) Conquista Fight 1 02003-12-20 20 December 2003 1 5:00 Flag of Brazil Brazil
xLoss Flag of Japan TakaseDaiju Takase Submission (Triangle Choke) PRIDE 26: Bad to the Bone 02003-06-08 8 June 2003 1 8:33 Flag of Japan Japan
xWin Flag of Canada NewtonCarlos Newton TKO (Strikes) PRIDE 25: Body Blow 02003-03-16 16 March 2003 1 6:27 Flag of Japan Japan
xWin Flag of Japan OtsukaAlexander Otsuka Decision (Unanimous) PRIDE 22: Beasts From The East 2 02002-09-29 29 September 2002 3 5:00 Flag of Japan Japan
xWin Flag of the United States StiebingAlex Stiebling TKO (Doctor Stoppage) PRIDE 21: Demolition 02002-06-23 23 June 2002 1 1:23 Flag of Japan Japan
xWin Flag of Brazil CarneiroRoan Carneiro Submission (Punches) Mecca: World Vale Tudo 6 02002-01-31 31 January 2002 1 ? Flag of Brazil Curitiba, Brazil
xWin Flag of Japan SakuraiHayato Sakurai Decision (Unanimous) Shooto: To The Top 7 02001-08-26 26 August 2001 3 5:00 Flag of Japan Japan Won Shooto Middleweight Championship
xWin Flag of Brazil AlbuquerqueIsrael Albuquerque Submission (Strikes) Mecca: World Vale Tudo 5 02001-06-09 9 June 2001 1 6:17 Flag of Brazil Curitiba, Brazil
xWin Flag of Japan KatoTetsuji Kato Decision (Unanimous) Shooto: To The Top 2 02001-03-02 2 March 2001 3 5:00 Flag of Japan Japan
xWin Flag of Brazil FontinelleClaudionor Fontinelle TKO (Strikes) Mecca: World Vale Tudo 4 02000-12-16 16 December 2000 1 4:35 Flag of Brazil Curitiba, Brazil
xWin Flag of Brazil BarretoJose Barreto TKO (Strikes) Mecca: World Vale Tudo 2 02000-08-12 12 August 2000 1 1:06 Flag of Brazil Curitiba, Brazil
xLoss Flag of Brazil AzeredoLuiz Azeredo Decision (Split) Mecca: World Vale Tudo 1 02000-05-27 27 May 2000 2 10:00 Flag of Brazil Curitiba, Brazil

[edit] References

  1. ^ Anderson Silva's UFC profile[1]
  2. ^ Sloan, Mike (October 15, 2006). "Ace" is Up: Silva Takes UFC Belt in Full House. Sherdog.
  3. ^ New Brazilian Super-Team. MMA Universe (November 24, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
  4. ^ MMA's Top Ten. MMAWeekly (August 8, 2007).
  5. ^ Sherdog's Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings. Sherdog.
  6. ^ Nokaut's TOP 10 Fighter Rankings. Nokaut (August 18, 2007).
  7. ^ "The Spider" Tops Fedor in Sherdog P4P Rankings. Sherdog.
  8. ^ Why some fighters get no rankings love. Yahoo! Sports.
  9. ^ Alonso, Marcelo (August 11, 2006). Anderson Silva Gets His Black Belt (Reprint). Tatame. Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
  10. ^ Gerbasi, Thomas (May 3, 2006). Anderson Silva: A New Contender Arrives in the UFC. UFC. Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
  11. ^ Martin, Damon (August 28, 2006). UFC 64 To Feature Franklin-Silva & Sherk-Florian. MMA Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
  12. ^ Sloan, Mike (February 4, 2007). UFC 67: Silva, "Rampage" and "Cro Cop" Triumphant. Sherdog. Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
  13. ^ Bolduc, Justin (August 12, 2007). UFC 77 Comes Together.
  14. ^ Pishna, Ken (March 11, 2008). Anderson Silva Does Want to Box Roy Jones, Jr.. MMA Weekly. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  15. ^ Dana White won't permit Silva-Jones Jr. fight - MMA - Yahoo! Sports
  16. ^ Official Results

[edit] External links