Anderson Silva, one of the most talented and beguiling champions to ever fight in the octgaon, once ruled the middleweight division over the course of nearly seven years from 2006 to 2013, which included 10 consecutive title defenses.
Silva (34-9 MMA, 17-5 UFC) returns to face Jared Cannonier on Saturday at UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro. In advance of his 45th MMA fight, we take a chronological look at 11 moments that defined the UFC legend’s career.
1. Flying in Japan
March 16, 2003
For many hardcore fans, this was the first clip of Anderson Silva’s highlight reels. Former UFC welterweight champ Carlos Newton had just bounced back from his infamous choke-slam loss to Matt Hughes and was following a line of early octagon stars to Japan’s MMA big league. It didn’t take long for Newton to put Silva on the canvas, and several minutes later, they hadn’t moved.
The fight’s outcome seemed written, but Silva showed just how small a window he needed to capitalize on his opponent’s weaknesses. When Newton pitched forward for a takedown, ready to put the fight back in his comfort zone after a standup, Silva launched the flying knee that shocked Newton – and the rest of us.
2. Battle with Lee Murray
Sept. 11, 2004
Before he was known as the mastermind behind the largest cash heist in U.K. history, the wiry Brit Lee Murray had just won his first UFC fight and looked to double up with gold in Cage Warriors, an early English powerhouse of talent. Jon Wertheim’s incredible story on the Securitas Depot heist describes the bad blood flowing before the fight; Murray made it personal, tearing off a Brazil patch on Silva’s shorts. The two went the distance in a back-and-forth fight, and Silva won a decision to claim his second title. He would soon be back in PRIDE, where things didn’t go quite as planned against Ryo Chonan. But before he left the cage, Silva winked and slipped Murray the torn patch.
3. Welcome to America
June 28, 2006
Josh Koscheck’s expression said it all. Sure, he was an arrogant jerk with a vested interest in seeing Chris Leben take a fall at UFC Fight Night 5. But he and the rest of the folks at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino could never have imagined what would happen when Silva traded punches with the colorful slugger. It was lightning. Leben hit a brick wall of fists and kicks as he charged forward, landing none of his shots and taking every one of Silva’s. A few shots later, Leben’s iron chin could take no more as he tumbled to the canvas. The Brazilian was no longer a secret. He was an immediate threat to the UFC middleweight title.
4. Rubber-stamp coronation
Oct. 14, 2006
Rich Franklin did not look like a man happy to go to work. He knew what he was about to face. Leben had offered the preview. And when it actually happened at UFC 64 in Las Vegas, the result was even more lopsided than many might have thought. Silva’s plumb was a fly trap Franklin simply couldn’t escape, helpless to the knees that slammed into his body and head. By the time he crumbled, one had rearranged his nose. Silva made it look easy. Considering the depth in the middleweight division at the time, it was hard to see anyone usurping his throne.
5. The matrix
Aug. 8, 2009
Eventually, Silva got bored slicing through the competition at middleweight. He’d taken out all the major threats in Nate Marquardt, Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin (again). So he moved to light heavyweight for a fight against Forrest Griffin. Unlike James Irvin, who got bludgeoned in 61 seconds in Silva’s first foray up to 205 pounds, former champion Griffin had a full training camp to face the dominant Silva at UFC 101.
Griffin could take a punch, he was bigger, and he was relentlessly aggressive. None of that mattered, of course. Silva positively embarrassed him. The third time Griffin hit the canvas, he had been felled by a jab as Silva moved backward. He didn’t even wait for the official result. He ran out of the arena.
6. What could’ve been the original ‘Money Fight’
Long before Floyd Mayweather looked at Conor McGregor’s social analytics and decided another nine-figure payday was possible, there was the impossible dream of Silva and Roy Jones Jr. Even though the boxing champ was well past his prime by 2009, the idea of seeing the two masters in the squared circle was a compelling one. But alas, it arrived too early. Back then, the UFC was still a pay-per-view juggernaut, and UFC president Dana White didn’t want to let one of his biggest stars go. There were no billion-dollar loans to pay off, no earn-outs to collect, and thus, none of the incentives that made White cross the aisle in 2017.
7. Trying our patience
April 10, 2010
If there was a downside to Silva’s reign, it was the complacency his dominance bred. Fights against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites didn’t offer any meaningful opposition to the champ. And when the UFC wouldn’t let him pursue other challenges, such as in the squared circle, the talented artist turned into the difficult artist. Nowhere was that more pronounced than at UFC 112 against Demian Maia, a pay-per-view that would go down in history as having one of the worst main events ever.
Silva danced, dodged and vogued for five rounds in a display so bizarre that UFC president Dana White huffed that he’d issue a pink slip if it happened again. For the first time, Silva had worn out his welcome and become the bad guy.
8. Comeback for the ages
Aug. 7, 2010
For the first time in his UFC career, Silva had a bonafide rival in Chael Sonnen. And after all the smack Sonnen talked in the buildup, he wasn’t going to let a rib injury stop him from delivering his comeuppance. The decision nearly cost Silva his title. Sonnen did to Silva what Newton had done seven years earlier, but Sonnen also outstruck the striking demigod.
Four rounds and change into a lopsided fight, a new champion was about to be crowned. The triangle choke Silva threw up in desperation late in the fifth round at UFC 117 was telegraphed, basic and defensible. But Sonnen was so tired, it didn’t matter. The tap that ensued was one of the greatest comebacks in UFC title history.
9. The Weidman chronicles
The longer Silva fought, the more brazen he became with showboating. And it was hard to blame him given the challenges he’d overcome. Even on his worst night, he’d managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat. So what was a fight with an inexperienced wrestler named Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in Las Vegas? What was the harm in going full ham on a glancing punch as his opponent stepped in? When he woke up, the world had its answer, as the longest title reign in UFC history was over.
Things only got worse when he tried to right the ship. A checked kick led to the most visually grotesque injury ever seen inside the UFC octagon, as Silva lost the rematch at UFC 168 by doctor’s stoppage. From that point on, Silva was forever mortal.
10. An unfortunate trip to Thailand
Feb. 17, 2015
With a 13-month stay in physical therapy purgatory complete, Silva set out to prove his spirit had not been broken by Weidman. And after five rounds with Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in Las Vegas, there were no doubts about the courage and will he possessed to bounce back. Only one month later did the world find out that comeback was apparently fueled by a cocktail of banned substances.
In a sad end to an otherwise triumphant performance, we were asked to believe a steroid in Silva’s system was a sketchy sexual supplement – crammed in a blue vial – that Silva had procured from a friend in Thailand. In a stuttering defense, the Brazilian and his reps couldn’t keep their stories straight. A one-year suspension not only robbed Silva of his comeback win, but forever tarnished his legacy.
11. Passing of the torch
Feb. 10, 2019
After more than a decade of high highs and low lows, Silva showed up to Australia to take on his mirror image. Israel Adesanya wasn’t an exact carbon copy, but he was as close as the MMA world would get. At 43, Silva’s only job was to beat back the young lion. And while he didn’t end up with the victory in Melbourne at UFC 234, he wasn’t a stepping stone. He was a superior and an equal to a fighter with the gift of time, and he put up the best fight he could possibly give.
Silva wasn’t the victim of the railroading so many thought he would receive. Instead, he passed the torch as an elder statesman, and extended his shelf life just a bit longer.
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