Anderson Silva

At 49 years old, Anderson Silva has this physical status:

Anderson da Silva born April 14, 1975 is a Brazilian-American professional mixed martial artist currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days.

This started in 2006 and ended in 2013 and included a UFC record 16 consecutive victories in that span.

UFC president Dana White, UFC commentator Joe Rogan, and numerous mixed martial arts (MMA) analysts have named Silva the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.

As of November 18, 2019, he is #15 in the UFC middle rankings.

Personal life

Silva has three sons and two daughters with his wife, Dayane.

Before he began his career as a professional fighter, Silva worked at McDonald's, and also as a file clerk. He considers Spider-Man, Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali and his mother as biggest of his personal heroes, and has a stated love of comic books and comic book heroes.

Silva has said on numerous occasions that he believes long-time friend and former UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC Welterweight Champion B.J. Penn to be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the history of the sport.

Silva expressed interest in competing in the sport of taekwondo and boxing. He floated around the idea of competing at the Olympics in taekwondo and fighting Roy Jones Jr. in a boxing match.

Silva became a naturalized U.S. citizen in July 2019.

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Mixed martial arts career

Silva started fighting in Brazil in the welterweight division. Silva made his professional debut in 1997 with two victories. Silva suffered his first defeat in 2000 to Luiz Azeredo by a decision. Following that fight, he continued his winning streak, winning six of those fights by submission or TKO. After winning his first match in Japan, he was put up against Shooto champion Hayato Sakurai on August 26, 2001. Silva defeated Sakurai by unanimous decision after three rounds and became the first man to defeat Sakurai, who had been undefeated in his first 20 matches.

Silva was scheduled to face then-current UFC Welterweight Champion and future UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes at UFC 36. Silva, on the other hand, decided to sign a deal and began competing for the PRIDE Fighting Championships. Alex Stiebling was cut by a high kick in his first fight with the promotion. He won via decision over Alexander Otsuka of "Diet Butcher" Alexander Otsuka in his next match. Silva took on former UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton at Pride 25, Brazil. Newton attempted to fire in Silva, but was met with a flying knee. Newton collapsed and Silva finished the match with strikes, winning by mechanical knockout.

Silva met Daiju Takase at Pride 26, as she was at ease with her Daiju Takase. Takase, the underdog, had a record of four victories and seven losses. Silva dominated on the ground for almost the entire fight before being eliminated by Takase late in the first round when caught in a triangle choke late in the first round. Silva became demotivated and considered quitting MMA after losing to Takase, but Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira convinced him to keep fighting. Silva left Chute Boxe, joined No. 2 in the Brazilian Top Team, and then began to compete in other nations. Silva defeated Jeremy Horn on June 27th, 2004, earning a decision win.

Silva made his Cage Rage promotion in England three months later. Silva defeated veteran striker Lee Murray by forfeiture at Cage Rage 8 Silva fought and defeated him by decision. Silva returned to Pride FC on December 31 to face Ryo Chonan this year. Silva had a take down and body triangle in the first round, and he was in control. Chonan was able to combat Silva's knees from the clinch, knees, and takedowns. Chonan was expected to win up until the end, according to some. Bas Rutten, a comedian who appeared alongside Mauro Ranallo, said that if Anderson does not get a knockout or good finish, he would lose the match. Despite being the underdog, Chonan won the fight in the third round with a rare flying scissor heel hook, causing Silva to forfeit. Silva continued fighting in the Cage Rage campaign, as well as other international competitions. Silva defended his Cage Rage title against Curtis Stout.

Despite being scheduled to face Matt Lindland at Cage Rage 16, Lindland's decision to face Mike Van Arsdale at Raze Fight Night put the much awaited match up to a stop. Silva, on the contrary, defended his crown against Tony Fryklund, winning the competition with a reverse elbow, knocking out Fryklund early in the first round.

Silva participated in the Rumble on the Rock festival in Hawaii, where he defeated Yushin Okami in the first round of the 175 lb tournament. Silva was voted out of the tournament when he kicked Okami in the face from the guard position, despite being a favorite to win the tournament. At the time, Okami's knees were on the ground, making the assault an unlawful assault on the head of a wounded opponent. Silva later said that the legislation had not been fully explained to him before the match. "The laws weren't clear to me properly in the case I was fighting in," Silva said. When your back is on the ground, you could kick a downed opponent to the groin or head." So the laws weren't exactly explained to me." While Okami was given the opportunity to recuperate and fight again, Okami elected the disqualification victory. Silva responded by saying that "people who were there knew" he was in the condition to come back and keep fighting, but he didn't."

Despite rumors that Silva will sign next, the UFC announced in late April 2006 that they had signed him to a multi-fight deal. Silva was not long before the UFC began promoting him, and the group announced an interview just after announcing his arrival.

On June 28, 2006, Silva made his Ultimate Fight Night 5 debut. Chris Leben, the Ultimate Fighter 1 contestant, had gone undefeated in the UFC for five straight victories. In a pre-fight interview, Leben, who is confident of his victory, had predicted that he would defeat Silva. Silva, a little-known fighter in the United States, made a memorable debut on his debut when he snuffed out life with a flurry of pinpoint strikes followed by a final knee strike at 49 seconds into the first round. Silva's remarkable 85% accuracy was attained.

The UFC announced a poll on their main page in reaction to Silva's victory, asking viewers to vote for Silva's next opponent. Rich Franklin, the majority of voters, was chosen UFC Middleweight Champion by the majority of voters. Silva defeated Franklin at UFC 64 on October 14, 2006, defeating him by TKO (strikes) at 2:59 in the first round. Silva struck Franklin with knees to the body from the Muay Thai-clinch and then badly broke Franklin's nose with a knee to the chest. Franklin dodged the last of Silva's strikes before collapsing to the ground, where referee "Big" John McCarthy ended the match. After Black House colleague Lyoto Machida, Silva was named the new UFC Middleweight Champion, becoming the second man to defeat Franklin.

Silva was supposed to face Travis Lutter, the Ultimate Fighter 4 champion at UFC 67, on February 3rd in what would be his first title defense since defeating Rich Franklin in October 2006. However, Lutter skipped the 185 pounds (84 kg) weight limit, and the match was declared a non-title match. Many believed that Lutter's best hope to win was to face the enemy on the ground, with Lutter being a strong jiu-jitsu black belt. Silva won by submission in the second round using a combination of a triangle choke and elbow strikes.

Silva defended his title against Nate Marquardt in the first round at 4:50. Silva fought a title defense rematch against Rich Franklin, who was based in Franklin's hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, at the U.S. Bank Arena on October 20, 2007. Silva defended his belt by beating Franklin TKO in the 2nd round of the 2nd round. Silva defeated Pride Middleweight champion Dan Henderson in a championship unification bout on March 1, 2008 (UFC and Pride titles on the line). Henderson was rumored to have the edge on the ground, having appeared in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling. Silva defended his position by defeating Henderson in the 2nd round by rear naked choke. Silva made his Light Heavyweight (205 lb (93 kg)) debut at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19, 2008, defeating James Irvin (205 lb (93 kg)) in a match against James Irvin. Silva won by KO in 1:01 of the first round after catching Irvin's attempted leg kick with his left arm and throwing a straight right that knocked Irvin to the ground, Silva then tossed a volley of punches to the head. Methadone and oxymorphone were later found positive by Irvin.

Silva defended his Middleweight title against Patrick Côté at UFC 90 in Rosemont, Illinois, on October 25, 2008. Côté landed awkwardly on his right leg while throwing a kick and falling to the ground, clutching his right leg in pain. Referee Herb Dean called the contest over when Côté could not continue, ruling it a TKO victory for Silva. However, Côté was the first of Silva's UFC opponents to make it to the 2nd round of the tournament. Silva was chastised for reportedly avoiding contact during the match after his fight with Côté. "I didn't know Silva's tactics," Dana White said of Silva. It wasn't the Anderson Silva I've been following for the past two years that I was concerned about. Silva said in the post-fight news conference: :

Silva defeated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt Thales Leites by a landslide at UFC 97 in Montreal, Canada, on April 18, 2009, his ninth straight victory in the octagon. Leites is credited with being the first man in UFC history to face Silva through 5 rounds to a judge's decision. The audience booed his lackluster appearance, bored expression, and ill-willed attempts to lure his foel into combat, and so did the 4th and 5th rounds, lowering his guard and slapping his opponent without reprisation. Dana White has stated that he was "embarrassed" by Silva's appearance during the match, but that he also believes him to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the country, according to him.

Silva defeated former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin at 205 pounds in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 8, 2009. In the first round, Griffin was knocked down three times. Sherdog named Silva Beatdown of the Year for the fight. With the second bout between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir, the pair shared those awards. Both fighters received $60,000 in Fight of the Night bonuses, while Silva received $60,000 in bonus funds for Knockout of the Night.

After defeating Griffin, a Yahoo!

Silva was supposed to defend the UFC Middleweight Championship against Vitor Belfort at UFC 108 on January 2, 2010. However, Ed Soares announced that the match would not take place if Silva will not be fully recovered from surgery. Silva was then scheduled to face Belfort at UFC 109 on February 6, 2010. Silva's recovery, on the other hand, was largely dependent on his recovery, which he described as "not going as expected." Silva's slow recovery caused the fight to be called off. Silva had been slated to face Belfort on April 10, 2010, at UFC 112. Due to a Belfort injury, the fight was canceled again later that day. Demian Maia was chosen to fill the position and face Silva for the belt.

Silva appeared to mock his opponent in the first two rounds of combat Maia while striking quickly and accurately. Silva's tempo in the third round, on the other hand, seemed to be slowing down. Although he largely circled and taunted his adversary, he seemed to Maia to be the aggressor. Silva's inability in the fifth round prompted referee Dan Miragliotta to warn Silva of his conduct. The crowd began to support Maia, the only one fighting or not bothered. Silva was declared the winner in 5 rounds after a unanimous decision.

Silva's reputation had been chastised. It was the most embarrassed he had been since being UFC president, according to Dana White. After going through the fourth round, White walked away from the match and gave the championship belt to Silva's boss, Ed Soares. White was so angry that he refused to place the belt around Silva's waist, claiming it was the first time he had done so after a championship match. Silva had also taunted Maia, saying, "Come on, smash me in the chest, playboy." Silva said in the immediate post-fight interview that he wasn't himself and that he'd have to go back and reevaluate the humility that brought him where he is. Silva made several remark about how Demian insulted him during the fight. However, many people did not believe the pre-fight banter was out of place.

Silva defeated Chael Sonnen in the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 117 on August 7, 2010. Sonnen stunned Silva with a punch before knocking him down and dominating from a top position in the first round, resulting in multiple blows. The following three rounds were played out in a similar manner, with Sonnen dominating from inside Silva's guard. Silva slipped after being tagged by Sonnen's left hook, but the challenger took advantage by establishing a top position and throwing strikes to Silva. Silva had a triangle armbar on Sonnen with about two minutes remaining in the round, causing Sonnen to surrender at 3:110 of Round 5.

Sonnen had struck Silva more times in the fight than Silva had been struck so far in his entire UFC career. Silva had been struck 208 times in his first 11 UFC matches, according to CompuStrike. Sonnen had scored a total of 289 hits on August 7th. Sonnen would have won a judges' decision after the match, as it was announced. Sonnen was the winner of all four rounds of the competition, with judges Nelson Hamilton and Dan Stell scoring the challenger another 10–8 total in Round 3. Silva later claimed to have started fighting with a cracked rib and that a doctor advised him not to fight. Since Silva's return, Dana White said that Sonnen will face Silva in a rematch.

Chael Sonnen tested positive for synthetic testosterone, finding a high testosterone to epitestosterone ratio during the contest, which is indicative of testosterone replacement therapy. After the issue with his testosterone ratio was revealed, the promised rematch was scrapped, but Dana White scheduled the rematch after Sonnen came back and defeated two straight fights.

Silva faced Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 on February 5, 2011 — the first time Silva had met him. Belfort had been supposed to face Yushin Okami at UFC 122 on November 13, 2010, but Nate Marquardt had to replace him. Silva and Belfort began to trade strikes after a "feeling out" period of about two and a half minutes in the first round. Silva scored a front kick to Belfort's jaw and then followed with punches to the grounded opponent. Referee Mario Yamasaki called the match off at 3:25 in the first round. Silva defeated Belfort for his first KO loss in 28 fights and boosted his record streak of title defenses to eight. Silva then met Yushin Okami at UFC 134 on August 27, 2011. At 2:04 of round 2, he defeated the Japanese middleweight by TKO, demonstrating precise head control and striking. His name since then went to 31–4, avenging his DQ loss to Okami in 2006.

On June 23, 2012, a match against Chael Sonnen was due to take place, but the bout was postponed to July 7, 2012, at UFC 148, although Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva's anticipated co-feature will dominate the competition. The change was due to a scheduling conflict with the UN Conference Rio+20, which took place within the same time frame as UFC 147. Silva stopped Sonnen in the second round with a TKO at UFC 148, after being heavily dominance throughout the first round.

In the 1st round of a light heavyweight match on October 13, 2012, he was the first to stop Stephan Bonnar by strikes.

Silva faced Chris Weidman on July 6, 2013 at UFC 162, despite having decided to retire after the Bonnar fight. Despite being the strong favorite, he lost by KO in the second round after show boating, snapping his streak of the longest championship streak in UFC history.

On December 28, a rematch was held at UFC 168. Weidman dominated the first round, although Silva may have fractured his shin bone against Weidman during the first leg examination. Weidman checked one of Silva's leg kicks once more in the second round, breaking Silva's left fibula and tibia and ending the match via TKO. Silva underwent orthopedic surgery to fix his tibia with an intravenous rod; his fibula had been reset and was not expected to require further surgery. The surgery was described as "successful," according to a UFC statement, and those with similar injuries typically recover from three to six months.

Despite calls for Silva to pull out of MMA, Silva's return to the company was announced on July 29, 2014. Silva and the UFC signed a new, 15-fight deal with their previous deal, which had eight fights remaining, ahead of UFC 179.

Silva will coach opposite Mauro Rua in The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4, which began filming in early 2015. Despite being on the show, the two fighters will not face each other at the end of the season. After learning of Silva's failed drug test, his presence was briefly in doubt during the filming. Dana White announced that Silva would remain on the show as a mentor. Silva was suspended as one of the coaches and was replaced by Antônio Rodrigo Noregoo.

Silva faced Nick Diaz in the main event of UFC 183 on January 31, 2015, in his first fight post-injury. He won the fight by a unanimous decision. Silva tested positive for Drostanolone and Androstane, two anabolic steroids, in pre-fight drug testing on January 9, 2015. Francisco Aguilar, the chairman of Nevada's state Athletic Commission, said that the conflict has not been ended and will not be resolved until a motion is passed by a majority of the commission. Any fines, suspensions, or changes to the result of the litigation have to be made as a motion and then voted on by the commission to implement the order. Silva tested positive for an additional unknown drug in a separate test that was connected to UFC 183 on February 11, 2015. Silva failed his post-fight urine test and found that he had tested positive for the drug Drostanolone, the same banned drug he tested positive for during an out-of-commission test performed on January 9, 2015. Silva also tested positive for the anti-anxiety drug Oxazepam and Temazepam, which is used to treat sleep deprivation.

After several cancellations, the disciplinary hearing was held on August 13 to hear the subject. Silva's defense argued that after a trip to Thailand, a friend's contaminated sexual enhancement drug was the source of the two failed drostanolone and also appealed to deficiencies in the NSAC testing procedures, referring to two separate drug samples, one in January and one after the war, which Silva lost. The night before the fight, he confessed to using both benzodiazepines as therapy to reduce anxiety and insomnia. The Silva team was unable to report the presence of androsterone in the 9 January test. The commission dismissed the argument and suspended him for one year retroactive to the date of the war because the new rules were not in force at the time of the failed experiments. He was also fined his full win share, as well as 30 percent of his show earnings, totaling $380,000. His win was reversing to a no contest.

Silva defeated Michael Bisping in his first match since his PED ban was lifted, beating him on February 27, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 84. He lost the battle by a unanimous vote. However, the contest was not without controversy, as Silva dropped Bisping with a flying knee, and Bisping was screaming at referee Herb Dean that he had lost his mouthpiece. Silva thought he had won the contest and continued to celebrate as referee Herb Dean said the match was not over, and it went on for two more rounds to the decision. Both participants were given prizes for their Fight of the Night appearances.

Silva had hoped to face Uriah Hall at UFC 198 on May 14th. Silva, on the other hand, pulled out of the competition on May 10 after requiring an operation to remove his gallbladder. As a result, Hall did not participate in the tournament.

Silva was a short notice replacement for UFC Light Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in a non-title match on July 9, 2016, at UFC 200. Silva lost the fight by a majority vote.

On February 11, 2017, Silva faced Brunson at UFC 208. He received a unanimous decision victory. Brunson won the contest by 19 of 23 media outlets, with 19 of 23 media outlets predicting it.

Silva was supposed to face Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 212 on June 3, 2017. Gastelum was suspended from the game, but after testing positive for marijuana, he was banned from the match. Silva and promotion officials announced on May that he would not participate in the tournament despite having two months to find an opponent.

Gastelum's match was postponed and was supposed to take place on November 25, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 122. Silva would have been suspended from the tournament after failing a USADA drug test on November 10, 2017, according to the BBC. Silva had been cleared of the failed test after finding contaminated supplements and receiving a one-year suspension from USADA dating back to November 2017, and will relaunch fighting in November 2018.

Silva returned and met Israel Adesanya on February 10, 2019, at UFC 234. He was disqualified by a unanimous decision. The Fight of the Night award was given to him for his participation in the fight.

Silva took on Jared Cannonier at UFC 237 on May 11th. In the first round, he lost via TKO after a kick from Cannonier to Silva's right leg injured him, rendering him unable to move.

Silva defeated Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night on October 31, 2020: Hall vs. Silva. In round four, he lost the match due to a technical knockout. Silva hinted that his time in MMA was over, but that he did not explicitly announce his resignation from the sport in a Instagram post after the fight.

Silva was released from his UFC contract on November 19, 2020, allowing him to negotiate with other promotions.

Boxing career

Anderson Silva would face Julio César Chávez Jr. in a boxing match on June 1921, 2021. Silva was able to win by a split decision in the conflict. Silva threw more punches throughout the contest, but Chávez Jr. threw 153.

Silva defeated Tito Ortiz, the former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, in a pro boxing match on September 11, 2021. In round one, he beat him out of the competition by a knockout.

Silva was announced on September 6, 2022, in Phoenix, Arizona, against YouTuber and professional boxer Jake Paul.

Silva defeated Brazilian MMA veteran Bruno Machado in an eight-round exhibition bout in Abu Dhabi on May 21, 2022. Despite a knockdown for Silva in the fifth round, the brawl would go the full distance, with no winner named.

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