Anderson Silva will certainly have a smile of victory on his face as he looks back on his past and compares it to what he has achieved over the years and where he stands now. Once upon a time there was a child living in abject poverty whose parents couldn’t afford the fighting lessons. However, with his determination to succeed in the combat sport, he became the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion. Not only did he emerge as champion, he still holds the longest title reign (2,457 days) in the UFC with 16 straight wins to his name.
For this and many other things he has done in his career fights, Dana White (UFC President) and Joe Rogan (UFC Commentator) have both judged him – the greatest fighter in the world. UFC of all time. In the paragraphs below, we will see how true this is.
Biography of Anderson Silva (Wiki)
In Sao Paolo, Brazil, on April 14, 1975, the fighter was born and christened Anderson da Silva, from Vera Lucia da Silva (mother) and Juarez Silva (father), then poor in piss. Seeing the situation of his close family, the young boy spent a large part of his childhood with his uncle and aunt in Curitiba, where at least he was eating well.
Anderson Silva’s involvement in fightingsports started quite early when he started training in jiu-jitsu with his peers. When he was around 12 years old and already very much a teenager, he was already taking taekwondo, capoeira and muay thai lessons which he took until he was around 16 years old. At that time, things were much better for his family. as they were now able to pay for his flying lessons since the young fighter wanted to make a career out of it.
Fight record, injuries and major highlights
In 1997, at the age of 22, Silva made his professional debut in Brazil as a welterweight fighter making two straight wins. This victory was reduced by Luiz Azeredo in the year 2000, losing to him with a unanimous decision in the fight. He bounced back from his loss and picked up 9 wins before battling in Japan against Shooto champion Hayato Sakurai. He beat him in the third round to become the first player to do so..
The Brazilian-born fighter started fighting in the Pride Fighting Championship in 2002 and picked up 3 wins. However, he suffered a loss against Daiju Takase who was a casualty of the sport at the time. Anderson resumed his career in 2004 in the Cage Rage promotion in England with a win over Lee Murray at Cage Rage 8. The win earned him the Cage Rage Middleweight Championship title which he successfully defended against Jorge Rivera and Curtis Stout. Silva continued to fight in Cage Rage as well as other promotions around the world until 2006 when he entered the Ultimate Fight Championship.
He made his UFC debut at Ultimate Fight Night 5 on June 28, 2006, against Chris Leben who was at that time undefeated in the UFC with 5 straight wins. The Brazilian fighter needed just 49 seconds to knock Chris out in the first round as the crowds erupted. His next opponent became UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, whom he outplayed with a first-round technical knockout. With the win, Anderson was crowned the new UFC Middleweight Champion.
On July 7, 2007, at UFC 73, Silva successfully defended his title against Nate Marquardt who he sent packing with a first-round TKO (4:50), Rich Franklin then made a comeback for the title, but he knocked him down with a second-round TKO at UFC 77 on October 20, 2007. He then faced then-Pride middleweight champion Dan Henderson in UFC 82 in a fight for the unification of the title. Contrary to expectations, Anderson Silva emerged victorious from the match.
He defended his Middleweight title against Patrick Côté in UFC 90 on October 25, 2008, Demian Maia on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108, Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 on August 7, 2010, Vitor Belfort on February 5, 2011 at UFC 126 (deserved Knockout of the Night), Yushin Okami at UFC 134 on August 27, 2011. Chael Sonnen challenged it for the title again but lost the second time but Silva eventually lost it to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 on July 6, 2013 , via knockout.
The two men (Silva and Weidman) faced off in a UFC 168 rematch on December 28, 2013, but Anderson Silva still lost the fight. Not only did he lose the match, but he also suffered one of the deadliest injuries of his career with a fractured fibula, tibia and tibia. After the game, he underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilize his tibia using an intramedullary rod which was successful.
Since losing the title, Anderson Silva has recorded fewer wins than before with calls from fans for him to retire from the sport. Nonetheless, it should be noted that Silva won the UFC middleweight title for a record 2,457 days with the UFC, with 16 consecutive wins starting in 2006 and ending in 2013.
Net value
Indeed, when you work hard, the fruits of your laborAnderson Silva reaps the rewards of his labor over the years as a mixed martial artist in the UFC. The fighter’s net worth is estimated at $18.9 million, which has earned him a ranking among the top 20 richest fighters in the world.