Name | Anderson Silva | |
Nickname | The Spider | |
Association | Team Nogueira | |
Weight Class | Middleweight | |
Height | 6′ 2″ (188 cm) | |
Style | Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | |
Birth Date | April 14, 1975 | |
Fighting Out Of | Curitiba, Parana, Brazil | |
Nationality | Brazilian |
”’Anderson “The Spider” Silva”’ is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, known for his Muay Thai, he is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Since October 14, 2006 he has been the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Champion. During that span he has defended the title on nine occasions, a UFC record. He has also competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, Shooto, and Rumble on the Rock and was the last Cage Rage Middleweight Champion.
== Professional Record ==
Record | 33 – 4 – 0 (Win â€Â“ Loss â€Â“ Draw) |
Wins | 20 (T)KOs 6 Submissions 7 Decisions |
Losses | 0 (T)KOs 2 Submissions 1 Decisions 1 Other |
Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | Stephan Bonnar | TKO (Knee to the Body and Punches) | UFC 153 Silva vs Bonnar | 10/13/2012 | 1 | 4:40 | Light Heavyweight |
Win | Chael Sonnen | TKO (Knee to the Body and Punches) | UFC 148 Silva vs Sonnen 2 | 7/7/2012 | 2 | 1:55 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship; Won Knockout of the Night |
Win | Yushin Okami | TKO (Punches) | UFC 134 Silva vs Okami | 8/27/2011 | 2 | 2:04 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship |
Win | Vitor Belfort | KO (Front Kick and Punches) | UFC 126 Silva vs Belfort | 2/5/2011 | 1 | 3:25 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship; Won Knockout of the Night |
Win | Chael Sonnen | Submission (Triangle Armbar) | UFC 117 Silva vs Sonnen | 8/07/2010 | 5 | 3:10 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship; Won Submission and Fight of the Night |
Win | Demian Maia | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 112 Invincible | 4/10/2010 | 5 | 5:00 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship |
Win | Forrest Griffin | KO (Punch) | UFC 101 Declaration | 8/08/2009 | 1 | 3:23 | Light Heavyweight; Won Fight and Knockout of the Night |
Win | Thales Leites | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 97 Redemption | 4/18/2009 | 5 | 5:00 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship |
Win | Patrick Cote | TKO (Knee Injury) | UFC 90 Silva vs Cote | 10/25/2008 | 3 | 0:39 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship |
Win | James Irvin | KO (Punches) | UFC Fight Night 14 Silva vs Irvin | 7/19/2008 | 1 | 1:01 | Light Heavyweight |
Win | Dan Henderson | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC 82 Pride of a Champion | 3/1/2008 | 2 | 4:52 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship; Merged UFC Middleweight and PRIDE Welterweight Championships; Won Fight and Submission of the Night |
Win | Rich Franklin | TKO (Knees) | UFC 77 Hostile Territory | 10/20/2007 | 2 | 1:07 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship; Won Knockout of the Night Honors |
Win | Nate Marquardt | TKO (Punches) | UFC 73 Stacked | 7/7/2007 | 1 | 4:50 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship |
Win | Travis Lutter | Submission (Elbows) | UFC 67 All or Nothing | 2/3/2007 | 2 | 2:11 | Non-title |
Win | Rich Franklin | KO (Knee) | UFC 64 Unstoppable | 10/14/2006 | 1 | 2:59 | Won UFC Middleweight Championship |
Win | Chris Leben | KO (Knee) | UFC Fight Night 5 Leben vs Silva | 6/28/2006 | 1 | 0:49 | |
Win | Tony Fryklund | KO (Elbow) | Cage Rage 16: Critical Condition | 4/22/2006 | 1 | 2:02 | Defended Cage Rage World Middleweight Championship |
Loss | Yushin Okami | DQ (Illegal Kick) | ROTR 8: Rumble on the Rock 8 | 1/20/2006 | 1 | 2:33 | ROTR 2006 Welterweight (175 lbs.) Tournament Opening Round |
Win | Curtis Stout | KO (Punches) | Cage Rage 14: Punishment | 12/3/2005 | 1 | 4:59 | Defended Cage Rage World Middleweight Championship |
Win | Jorge Rivera | TKO (Knees and Punches) | Cage Rage 11: Face Off | 4/30/2005 | 2 | 3:52 | Defended Cage Rage World Middleweight Championship |
Loss | Ryo Chonan | Submission (Flying Scissor Heel Hook) | PRIDE Shockwave 2004 | 12/31/2004 | 3 | 3:08 | |
Win | Lee Murray | Decision (Unanimous) | Cage Rage 8: Knights of the Octagon | 9/11/2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Won Cage Rage World Middleweight Championship |
Win | Jeremy Horn | Decision (Unanimous) | Gladiator FC: Day 2 | 6/27/2004 | 3 | 5:00 | |
Win | Waldir dos Anjos | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | CF 1: Conquista Fight 1 | 12/20/2003 | 1 | 5:00 | |
Loss | Daiju Takase | Submission (Triangle Choke) | PRIDE 26 Bad to the Bone | 6/8/2003 | 1 | 8:33 | |
Win | Carlos Newton | KO (Flying Knee and Punches) | PRIDE 25 Body Blow | 3/16/2003 | 1 | 6:27 | |
Win | Alexander Otsuka | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE 22 Beasts From the East | 9/29/2002 | 3 | 5:00 | |
Win | Alex Stiebling | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | PRIDE 21 Demolition | 6/23/2002 | 1 | 1:23 | |
Win | Roan Carneiro | Submission (Punches) | Meca 6: Meca World Vale Tudo 6 | 1/31/2002 | 1 | 5:33 | |
Win | Hayato Sakurai | Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto: To the Top 7 | 8/26/2001 | 3 | 5:00 | Won Shooto Middleweight Championship |
Win | Israel Albuquerque | Submission (Punches) | Meca 5: Meca World Vale Tudo 5 | 6/9/2001 | 1 | 6:17 | |
Win | Tetsuji Kato | Decision (Unanimous) | Shooto: To the Top 2 | 3/2/2001 | 3 | 5:00 | |
Win | Claudionor Fontinelle | TKO (Punches and Knees) | Meca 4: Meca Worle Vale Tudo 4 | 12/16/2000 | 1 | 4:35 | |
Win | Jose Barreto | TKO (Head Kick and Punches) | Meca 2: Meca World Vale Tudo 2 | 8/12/2000 | 1 | 1:06 | |
Loss | Luiz Azeredo | Decision (Unanimous) | Meca 1: Meca World Vale Tudo 1 | 5/27/2000 | 2 | 10:00 | |
Win | Fabricio Camoes | TKO (Retirement) | BFC: Brazilian Freestyle Circuit 1 | 6/25/1997 | 1 | 25:14 | |
Win | Raimundo Pinheiro | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | BFC: Brazilian Freestyle Circuit 1 | 6/25/1997 | 1 | 1:53 | |
== 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 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. He first started martial arts at age 14 doing Taekwondo, and eventually earned a black belt by the age of 18.
=== 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 beat Sakurai in a 3 round unanimous decision, and became the new Shooto Middleweight (167 lb) Champion on August 26, 2001 in Japan and the 1st man to beat Sakurai who was undefeated in his first 25 fights.
=== 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 â€Â“ with only four wins to seven losses â€Â“ Takase was a strong underdog. 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 to earn the Cage Rage World Middleweight Championship.
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 remains bitter about the incident. “I feel it was a cheap, cowardly way of winning. Silva went further and said that “People that were there saw that he was in the condition to come back and keep fighting, and he didn’t.”
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.
=== 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 UFC Middleweight Championship. It was not long before the UFC started promoting Silva, releasing an interview segment almost immediately after announcing his arrival.
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. 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 badly 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, becoming the second man to defeat Franklin, after Black House-teammate Lyoto Machida and before Dan Henderson did so.
=== Defending The Belt and Testing the Waters at 205 lbs. ===
On February 3, 2007, Silva defeated The Ultimate Fighter 4 winner Travis Lutter by submission in the second round via 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 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 Rich 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.
Silva defended his UFC Middleweight Championship 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 won his UFC Light Heavyweight debut against James Irvin on July 19, 2008 at UFC: Silva vs Irvin via KO due to strikes in 1:01 of the first round.
On October 25, 2008, Silva fought Patrick Cote at UFC 90 in Rosemont, Illinois. In the third round, Côté landed awkwardly on his right leg while throwing a kick and fell to the mat grasping his right knee and in obvious pain. Referee Herb Dean declared the fight over when Côté could not continue, ruling the bout a TKO victory for Silva. Côté, however, became the first of Silva’s UFC opponents to make it into the third round. Silva remains undefeated in the UFC.
After his fight with Côté, Silva was criticized for seemingly avoiding contact during the bout. Dana White criticized Silva, saying: “I didn’t understand Silva’s tactics… It wasn’t the Anderson Silva I’ve been watching the last two years.”. Silva said in the post-fight news conference: “I came here to do my job, I wasn’t playing around.” and later explained that his game plan for the fight was to “fight five rounds, inducing him to commit mistakes and capitalize on that during the first three rounds and look for the knockout during the fourth and fifth rounds.” while commenting that he felt “It was working, and the biggest proof of that is that I almost didn’t waste any blows. I connected with a couple of good punches and knees, but unfortunately he got hurt and the fight was over. This is not my fault.”
At UFC 101 Declaration on August 8, 2009, Silva again fought at 205 pounds against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin. Griffin was knocked down three times in the first round. After the third knockdown, Forrest signaled that he was finished and Silva was declared the winner by KO..
===Return to Middleweight===
On December 23, 2008, it was announced that Anderson Silva’s next title defense will be against Thales Leites at UFC 97 Redemption in Montreal, Canada. Many have considered Leites as an unfit opponent for Silva, and that the UFC gave him a title shot because Silva has run through the Middleweight division and that there are no more suitable title challengers. Interestingly, Silva weighed in for the fight at 182 lbs. The fight was the first to go the distance, though Silva still came out the victor, defending his title via unanimous decision after five rounds of fighting. It was a lackluster performance on both fighters parts, with neither fighter engaging for an extended period of time. The crowd bood on numerous occasions.
Anderson Silva’s next fight at the Light Heavyweight division was against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin. The fight would be Griffin’s return to the octagon after losing his title. The bout took place at UFC 101 Declaration. Griffin was knocked down three times in the first round. After the fight, Griffin immediately left the cage and was taken to a hospital due to a dislocated jaw and inability to hear out of one ear. 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. At the post-fight press conference, Dana White declared that Anderson Silva is without question the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Forest Griffin later apoligized to Anderson.
Silva was expected to defend the UFC Middleweight Championship against Vitor Belfort on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108. However, Ed Soares announced that the bout would not take place then as Silva would not be fully recovered from surgery.
Silva was expected to face Belfort on February 6, 2010 at UFC 109. The fight, however, was dependent on Silva’s healing, which he described as “not going as planned.” This was later to prove to be the downfall of the fight which led to its cancellation in November. It was rescheduled for UFC 112 Invincible in Abu Dhabi, but Belfort was forced off the card due to a shoulder injury he received during training.
The UFC had a #1 contender fight at UFC 109 Relentless between Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen, which Sonnen won by Decision (Unanimous). With Belfort out, and both these top contenders on medical suspension, the UFC went on to chose Demian Maia, who on the same card defeated Dan Miller, as Silva’s opponent for UFC 112 Invincible.
: “I think it’s a very interesting matchup,” Silva told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) for The Dallas Morning News through his manager, Ed Soares. “I think it’s MMA’s best striker against MMA’s best grappler. I think it kind of brings back the old-school UFC of standup fighter vs grappler.”
Silva easily controlled the fight for the first few rounds, dropped Maia with a straight right hand early in the first. As the rounds progressed, Silva seemed less interested in engaging his opponent and more interested in toying with him, where he smiled, danced, and taunt the already bloodied Maia. By the fourth round, chants of “Maia” filled the air as the challenger was the only one trying to fight. That was followed shortly after by a call of “G-S-P” in honor of the Welterweight Champion, Georges.St. Pierre, sitting cageside, who many believed the best chance of dethroning Silva. The fifth round saw a bloodied Maia, eye swollen shut, swinging for the fences, even as he was on his knees. Silva again refused to engage, and referee Dan Miragliotta actually warned Silva he would deduct a point if he didn’t move forward.
While Silva retained his belt with a Decision (Unanimous) win, he was forced to apologize following the result.
: “Demian actually surprised me with some of his punches,” Silva said. “I apologize to everybody; I don’t know what got into me.”
UFC President Dana White even left the bout during the Championship rounds.
: “Anderson Silva might be the first champion in history fighting on a prelim,” White said. “How do you sell Anderson Silva after tonight? How do you do it? People don’t want to see that [expletive]. I don’t want to see it.”
Silva’s next title defense took place at UFC 117 Silva vs Sonnen against number one contender Chael Sonnen. Surprisingly to many who watched the fight, Sonnen dominated Silva for four straight rounds, using his impressive Wrestling to keep the floor on the mat, ground-and-pounding his opponent. Silva, though, had one last trick up his sleeve. In the last and final frame, Silva caught Sonnen in a Triangle Armbar that Sonnen was able to fight off for a little while before being forced to tap. Not only did Silva successfully defend his title, but he won the Submission and Fight of the Night Honors.
Sonnen was supposed to get an immediate re-match against Silva, but when Sonnen’s post-fight drug test came up positive for banned performance enhancing drugs, the fight seemed unlikely, as he would be punished with a one-year suspension and $2,500 fine issued by the California State Athletic Commission.
Silva faced Vitor Belfort on February 5, 2011 at UFC 126 Silva vs Belfort. After a “feeling out” period of about two and a half minutes in the first round, Silva and Belfort started to trade strikes. Silva landed a brutal front kick to Belfort’s jaw and followed up with punches to the grounded challenger. The referee stopped the fight at 3:25 minutes into the first round, extendeding his record streak of title defenses to eight.
Silva then faced Yushin Okami on August 27, 2011 at UFC 134 Silva vs Okami. He defeated the Japanese middleweight by TKO at 2:04 of round 2, displaying fantastic head movement and pinpoint striking avenging his DQ loss to Okami back in 2006.
== Film Career ==
Anderson, along with several other MMA fighters, starred in Never Surrender, that was released in 2009.
== Personal Life ==
Anderson Silva worked at McDonalds early in his life and enjoys dancing. He also likes to play soccer, as he has a soccer field in his backyard at his house in Curitiba, Brazil. He plays paintball, and actually freezes the paintballs so it hurts more when you get hit.
Silva also owns dogs.
== Championships and Accomplishments ==
* Former Shooto Middleweight Champion
* Last Cage Rage World Middleweight Champion
* Current UFC Middleweight Championship
** Unified UFC Middleweight and Pride FC Welterweight Championships
* Most consecutive title defenses (Six)
* Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do
* Black Belt in Judo
* Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
==Fighter Pages==
Official: http://www.spidersilva.com/
Tapology: http://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/anderson-silva-the-spider
Sherdog: http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Anderson-Silva-1356
Facebook:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SpiderAnderson
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