Anderson Silva was renowned for his frequent and deft hitting, but he was also skilled at grappling. He finished with 26 victories and will always be regarded as a mixed martial arts legend.
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The UFC signed Anderson Silva, a former PRIDE fighter, in 2006 and started promoting him. He debuted at Ultimate Fight Night 5 after a long wait. Since leaving PRIDE, Silva has amassed 13 straight victories and left an enduring imprint on the MMA world.
Silva makes his UFC debut against a tough opponent and former TUF season 1 contestant Chris Leben. The UFC veteran Leben, who had won his previous five fights, anticipated that Silva would be knocked out in the first round and returned to the PRIDE organization in Japan, but the reality was very different.
Anderson Silva dismantled Leben’s resistance in only 49 seconds using exquisite precision and a flurry of punches, knees, and elbows that would have easily taken down any man.
After such an outstanding victory, the UFC would offer Silva a championship opportunity after just one UFC contest. Anderson Silva has unquestionably held one of the most remarkable titles reigns in mixed martial arts history, making him the greatest UFC middleweight of all time. In his professional MMA promotion, he had a 34-13 record and made ten championship defenses.
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The octagon performance by Anderson Silva that led to his victory over Vitor Belfort may rank as his most spellbinding to date. Belfort returned to the UFC in 2009 and defeated Rich Franklin in the opening round to position himself as the top middleweight contender. At their encounter at UFC 126, Silva made it apparent he was upset by Belfort’s remarks made at the weigh-ins. In the opening round, the two started exchanging blows as Silva employed deft head movements to escape Belfort’s powerful punches.
In the second part of round one, Silva stunned the crowd by landing a left front kick directly in the face of Belfort. Immediately Belfort stumbled, landed on his knees, then hit the canvas. Before the referee had had enough, Silva delivered two blows to Belfort’s head. The winner had a phenomenal performance, showcasing his unmatched creativity and hitting prowess.
At UFC 148, Silva and Sonnen reconnected. Similar to the first fight, Sonnen attempted to use his aggressive wrestling in the opening stages of this one. In the second round, Sonnen launched an odd spinning back fist that put Silva on top and Sonnen on the ground.
In the second round, Silva viscously assaulted the opponent before dispatching Sonnen with ground and pound. His successful and protracted career as middleweight champion would come to an end with this defense.
Another example of Silva’s tremendous striking happened in the course of his championship defense at UFC 134. The Japanese fighter Yushin Okami, who had previously defeated the Brazilian champion through DQ, was the opponent for the Brazilian’s championship defense.
Silva frequently left Okami perplexed with his powerful kicks and jab. landed a strong head kick between rounds one and two and repeatedly jabbed the challenger, injuring him numerous times. At about the two-minute mark of the second round, he finally connected with a counter hook, down Okami. In the MMA world, Silva’s domination appeared to have no bounds. Here are the match highlights.
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