Picture a burly Brazilian with a shaved head and a terrifying
tattoo at the base of his skull, all of it serving to reinforce a
menacing presence. Add the frosty stare to the mix, and you have
Wanderlei
Silva, a lauded veteran of 51 fights during a 22-year
professional mixed martial arts career. Silva registered a record
of 35-14-1 with one no contest, securing victories over
Ultimate Fighting Championship hall of famers
Kazushi
Sakuraba,
Michael
Bisping and
Dan
Henderson, to name but a few of his victims. Once inside the
cage or ring, his fiery eyes would track his opponents like prey,
as he clasped his hands together and rolled his interlocked wrists
under his chin. It became his patented pre-fight ritual.
Now more than a year removed from his official retirement, a look
at five of the many moments that defined the man they called “The
Axe Murderer”:
1. Reign of Fire
During his time in Japan’s
Pride Fighting Championships, Silva morphed into arguably the
most violent MMA practitioner the world had seen up to that moment.
His run in the organization was marked by unprecedented
achievement, as he established records for the most wins,
knockouts, title defenses and longest winning streak in the
promotion’s history. In November 2001, he beat fellow the great
Sakuraba for a second time to lay hands on the inaugural Pride
middleweight championship. Silva defended his throne against the
likes of
Kiyoshi
Tamura,
Hiromitsu
Kanehara,
Quinton
Jackson and
Ricardo
Arona, cementing his legacy in the process.
2. Violence Begats Violence
Silva’s rivalry with the aforementioned Jackson is the stuff of MMA
legend. They engaged in four thrilling clashes, starting with the
first encounter at
Pride
Final Conflict 2003. It took Silva a little over six minutes to
vanquish the American via technical knockout. The fight featured
one of Jackson’s vintage slams and a taxing stretch of grappling
exchanges before Silva assumed control with the thai clinch and
unleashed a torrent of merciless knees that eventually resulted in
a finish. The second clash at
Pride
28 played out in much the same manner, with Jackson scoring
from mount and Silva trying to sneak in a few submission attempts.
At the 3:26 mark of the second round, Silva landed yet another
vicious knee from the thai clinch that propelled “Rampage” through
the ring ropes, his limp body coming to rest halfway in and halfway
out of the ring. Jackson managed to exact revenge for the two
losses with victories of his own, scoring a knockout with a
thunderous left hook at
UFC
92 and evening the series with a technical knockout at
Bellator 206—the last appearance of Silva’s storied career.
3. A Long-Overdue Return
Silva could not quite fully showcase his skills in his first UFC
run between October 1998 and April 2000, going 1-2 with losses to
Vitor
Belfort and
Tito Ortiz. He
returned to take on
Chuck
Liddell at
UFC 79,
banking on the success of his eventful Pride tenure. The legends
engaged in an instant classic that saw Liddell emerge victorious
via unanimous decision. While he largely failed to replicate his
success in Japan inside the Las Vegas-based promotion, Silva still
managed to entertain fans with thrilling encounters against
Bisping,
Rich
Franklin and
Brian
Stann.
4. Enduring Legacy
Silva has left an indelible mark in the very fabric of MMA, and his
accolades speak to his lasting impact. The Brazilian was awarded
“Fight of the Night” honors five times in the UFC. He holds four
middleweight title defenses in Pride and the longest title reign at
1,939 days. Besides that, his 20-fight undefeated run in the
Japanese organization speaks volumes about his dominance, and an
overall 77% knockout rate serves as a testament to the combat
berserker he embodied. Silva’s reign can also be credited for
popularizing the thai clinch in MMA, as he pulled his opponent’s
head into a series of brutal knees with malicious intent.
5. Giving Back
Silva founded the
Wand Fight Team in 2009—a mixed martial arts training
organization in Las Vegas with a former franchise in Pensacola,
Florida. He will be inducted into the Pioneer Wing of the UFC Hall
of Fame later this year. Upon his enshrinement, Silva will become
the 19th member of the wing, which features athletes who turned pro
prior to Nov. 17, 2000.