Anderson Silva's UFC Career
Find out about MMA giant Anderson Silva, his career, life after UFC, and more
Only a few people are as synonymous with MMA as Anderson Silva. “The Spider” was considered literally invincible for 7 years, and he was the final boss in the UFC’s middleweight division.
Anderson Silva’s UFC championship reign is considered the longest in the company’s history. He also holds the largest win-streak record in the UFC, and was the poster boy of MMA in his prime.
Silva was one of the top attractions in the UFC. His style and flamboyance could not be matched, as his showboating, combined with his effective striking, produced pure magic.
Silva is currently making headlines in boxing. So, let’s look at the career of the middleweight GOAT.
Anderson Silva’s Early Life
Anderson da Silva was born on April 1st 1975 in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Silva’s uncle and aunt took care of him as his parents were too poor to provide for him. At a young age, he was introduced to martial arts in the form of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Silva started training young and by the time he was a teenager, he was practising striking-based disciplines like Muay Thai and Taekwondo.
He did not have an amateur career, though.
Anderson Silva’s Career
Anderson Silva’s Pro Career and Boxing
Silva made his pro debut in a local Brazilian promotion. He fought twice in the same night and won both his matches, the latter being against future UFC fighter Fabrício Camões. He then took a hiatus from MMA to compete in boxing. Silva lost to Osmar Luiz Teixeira in his first boxing match. He’d return to the cage for his first-ever loss, by decision to future Pride FC fighter Luiz Azeredo.
He then defeated Julio Cesar de Jesus in his second-ever boxing match. Silva then alternated between competing in Brazil and Japan. He won 6 fights in a row, one of which was against the undefeated Hayato Sakurai for the Shooto title. He then debuted for Pride FC, where he was pitted against Carlos Newton, after winning two fights. Newton was a former UFC champion, but Silva knocked him out in the first round.
Silva was finished for the first time by an upset from Daiju Takase. He then won three fights in a row, all outside Pride FC. One of his victories included a decision over Jeremy Horn. His return to Pride was marked by a submission defeat to Ryo Chonan. He got cut by Pride and two wins in Cage Rage later, he lost by DQ to Yushin Okami. He then knocked out Tim Fryklund, in his last victory outside the UFC.
Anderson Silva’s Superstardom
Silva quickly made a name for himself in the UFC. He broke Chris Leben’s 5-fight win-streak in the first round. Fans caught on to him because of his amazing striking, and voted to give him a title shot.
Silva faced and KO’d Rich Franklin in 3 minutes. He became the new middleweight champion in only his second fight. He also gave Franklin his second-ever loss. He followed this up by submitting TUF winner Travis Lutter.
That same year, he stopped Nate Marquardt in the first round and beat Franklin again, in the second. Silva then faced Dan Henderson to unify the UFC and Pride middleweight titles. Despite Hendo’s ability as an Olympic-level wrestler, Silva choked him out. Silva then faced James Irwin at light-heavyweight. It took him just a minute to knockout Irwin. Silva then retained his belt against Patrick Côté in a lacklustre match.
Silva was loved for his humility. But he started getting hate for mocking his opponents during fights instead of engaging.
His title defence against Thales Leites was also frowned upon, despite winning. Silva then defeated former UFC light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin in spectacular fashion. After that, Silva beat Damien Maia via unanimous decision. He once again received hate for his taunting methods.
A match-up with Chael Sonnen showed Silva to be vulnerable for the first time. Sonnen destroyed him throughout the fight and Silva barely won using a triangle arm-bar.
Silva knocked out Vitor Belfort and then avenged his loss against Yushin Okami. The victories happened in the 1st and 2nd rounds respectively. The rematch with Sonnen saw Silva get beat up to finally knock him out. Silva, then KO’d Stephen Bonnar.
Anderson Silva’s Top 5 finishes
Anderson Silva’s Losses
Silva wanted to retire but he came back upon the UFC’s insistence. His impressive run would come to an end at the hands of contender Chris Weidman. Silva kept on unnecessarily showboating and he finally got knocked out in the second round.
A rematch ensued the same year. This time, Silva broke his shin bone due to a bad leg kick and was carried out. He would never fight the same again.
He returned after a successful surgery. His victory over Nick Diaz was overturned because he tested positive for PEDs. Silva lost five unanimous decision fights to stars; Michael Bisping, Daniel Cormier, Israel Adesanya, Jared Canonier, and Uriah Hall. The only victory he had since his loss to Weidman was a decision win against Derek Brunson. After his loss to Hall, Silva officially retired from MMA in 2020.
He announced a comeback, but in a boxing ring. He was scheduled to face former WBC middleweight champion Julio César Chávez Jr. Despite going up against a pro boxer, Silva ended up winning the split decision. Despite being nearly 50 years old, he is now billed to face Tito Ortiz. Ortiz is a UFC Hall of Famer and a former light-heavyweight champion. Silva has done one of the best jobs of repping MMA in boxing.
Anderson Silva Outside MMA
Anderson Silva is quite active on social media and participates in interviews. He loves collecting comic books and related memorabilia. He has featured in several television shows and films. Silva’s mainstream popularity led to many cool sponsorship deals.
Silva has endorsed the products of Nike and Burger King among other big names. Not much is known about his other businesses. Silva is worth at least $8 million.
