Silva hiking trail

Silva hiking trail
Data
Fight name	The Ax Murderer
size	1.80 m
Weight	84 kg
nationality	Brazilian
Date of birth	3rd July 1976
Fight out	Las Vegas, Nevada , United States
place of birth	Curitiba , Brazil
Fighting style	Muay Thai , Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
MMA statistics
Victories	35
Knockout	25th
task	3
Points	7th
Defeats	13
Knockout	6th
Points	7th
draw	1
Crashes	1

Wanderlei Cesar Silva (born July 3, 1976 in Curitiba ) is a professional MMA fighter from Brazil and has lived in Las Vegas , Nevada since 2007 . His strengths are mainly in standing combat. His style is shaped by techniques from Muay Thai , but he also has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu . For a long time he was considered one of the best fighters in the weight class up to 93 kg.

Rise to Pride Champion

Wanderlei Silva trained with MMA greats such as Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Murilo "Ninja" Rua at the "Chute Boxe Academy" in Curitiba ( Brazil ). His achievements include 16 wins in a row at Pride FC , the Pride World Light Heavyweight Title and winning the Pride FC Light-Heavyweight Grand Prix 2003 .

His defeats during his years at Pride were against Tito Ortiz on points, against Artur Mariano by TKO (cut), against Vitor Belfort by TKO, against Mark Hunt on points and in the semifinals of the Pride Middleweight GP 2005 (August 28, 2005) against Ricardo Arona on points. The fight for revenge against Arona, in which Silva's middleweight belt was also at stake, was won by Silva on New Year's Eve 2005 (2-1 decision). Silva suffered his next defeat against Mirko "CroCop" Filipović in the Pride Grand Prix 2006. The last fight at Pride FC he played against Dan Henderson for the middleweight title, which Silva lost by knockout.

In Japan and Brazil, Wanderlei Silva was celebrated and paid like a pop star. Like numerous other professional fighters, he earned money through sponsorships and advertising contracts. He also runs his own sportswear and fashion brand "Wand". After he trained in Las Vegas at Extreme Couture to prepare for his UFC fights and this training wasn't intense enough for him, he opened his own gym in Las Vegas.

Career after Pride

After the sale of Pride FC to Zuffa and thus the dissolution of Pride FC, Silva signed a contract with the UFC, where he had already fought three times before, Silva moved to Las Vegas, Nevada . He lost his first fight in the new contract with a point decision against Chuck Liddell at UFC 79. The fight was named fight of the evening. His second fight took place at UFC 84 against Keith Jardine , which he knocked out after 36 seconds in the first round. Wanderlei received the "Knock Out of the Night" bonus for this knockout. Silva's third fight was against Quinton Jackson at UFC 92 . He lost it in the first round after 3:21 minutes by knockout. At the first UFC event in Germany, UFC 99 in Cologne, Wanderlei fought Rich Franklin and lost after three rounds by a judge's decision. The fight received the $ 60,000 match bonus for the evening. On February 20, 2010, Silva met Michael Bisping and won the fight on points. Michael Bisping did not agree with this result, but congratulated Wanderlei on his victory. Silva lost his fight on July 2nd, 2011 against Chris Leben by knockout in the 1st round. UFC President Dana White then indicated that Silva's career in the UFC may have come to an end, but it was not. On November 19, 2011, he defeated Cung Le in his UFC debut by knockout in round two. He was then appointed coach for the first The Ultimate Fighter season in Brazil. Silva was to play a rematch against the other coach, Vitor Belfort , at the end of the season at UFC 147 on June 23, 2012, but met Rich Franklin due to an injury to Belfort , to whom he also lost before. As in the first fight against Franklin, Silva lost on points. Silva won his last UFC fight by knockout against Brian Stann on March 3, 2013 in Saitama, Japan . In 2014, Silva confessed to doping . On June 24, 2017, he returned after more than four years back break to at an event of Bellator Fighting Championships at Madison Square Garden against Chael Sonnen fight. Silva lost the fight by unanimous decision of the judge.

MMA results

Result	Professional record	opponent	date	event	method	round	time
victory	1-0	Dilson Filho	November 1, 1996	BVF 6 - Campeonato Brasileiro de Vale Tudo 1	KO (kick to head)	1	3:35
victory	2-0	Marcelo "Marcelao" Barbosa	July 1, 1997	BVF 10 - Brazilian Vale Tudo Fighting 10	TKO (shoulder injury)	1	0:20
victory	3-0	Sean Bormet	September 15, 1997	IVC 2 - A Question of Pride	KO (kicks)	1	1:19
victory	4-0	Egidio "Sombra da Noite" Amaro da Costa	September 15, 1997	IVC 2 - A Question of Pride	Task (blows)	1	2:27
defeat	4-1	Artur Mariano	September 15, 1997	IVC 2 - A Question of Pride	TKO (doctor stop)	1	13:10
victory	5-1	Mike van Arsdale	August 23, 1998	IVC 6 - The Challenge	KO (kicks & punches)	1	4:00
defeat	5-2	"The Phenom" Vitor Belfort	October 16, 1998	UFC 17.5 - Ultimate Brazil	TKO (blows)	1	0:44
victory	6-2	Adriano Serrano	January 20, 1999	IVC 9 - The Revenge	KO (kicks & punches)	1	4:00
victory	7-2	"The Wolf" Eugene Jackson	April 27, 1999	IVC 10 - World Class Champions	Task (blows)	1	0:32
victory	8-2	Tony Petarra	May 7, 1999	UFC 20 - Battle for the Gold	KO (knee)	1	2:53
victory	9-2	Carl "Malenko" Ognibene	May 7, 1999	Pride FC - Pride 7	Point decision (unanimous)	2	10:00
victory	10-2	Daijiro Matsui	November 21, 1999	Pride FC - Pride 8	Point decision (unanimous)	2	10:00
victory	11-2	Bob "Dirty Bob" Schrijber	January 30, 2000	Pride FC - Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round	Task (rear-naked choke)	1	2:42
defeat	11-3	"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz	April 14, 2000	UFC 25 - Ultimate Japan	Point decision (unanimous)	5	5:00
victory	12-3	"El Tiburon" Todd Medina	August 12, 2000	Meca 2 - Meca World Vale Tudo 2	KO (knee)	1	0:39
victory	13-3	"The Sandman" Guy Mezger	August 27, 2000	Pride 10 - Return of the Warriors	KO (blows)	1	3:45
No contest	13-3-1	"The Hurrican" Gilbert Yvel	October 31, 2000	Pride 11 - Battle of the Rising Sun	No rating (unintentional blow to the groin)	1	0:21
victory	14-3-1	Dan "Hendo" Henderson	December 23, 2000	Pride 12 - Cold Fury	Point decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
victory	15-3-1	"The Gracie Hunter" Kazushi Sakuraba	March 25, 2001	Pride 13 - Collision Course	TKO (knee and soccer kick)	1	1:38
victory	16-3-1	Shungo Oyama	May 27, 2001	Pride 14 - Clash of the Titans	TKO (blows)	1	0:30
victory	17-3-1	"The Gracie Hunter" Kazushi Sakuraba	November 3, 2001	Pride 17 - Championship Chaos	TKO (doctor stop)	1	10:00
victory	17-3-1	"The Diet Butcher" Alexander Otsuka	December 23, 2001	Pride 18 - Cold Fury 2	TKO (doctor stop)	3	2:22
victory	18-3-1	Kiyoshi Tamura	February 24, 2002	Pride 19 - Bad Blood	KO (blows)	2	2:28
No contest	18-3-2	Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović	April 28, 2002	Pride 20 - Armed and ready	draw	5	3:00
victory	19-3-2	Tatsuya Iwasaki	August 28, 2002	Pride FC Shockwave	TKO (kick to the head and punches)	1	1:16
victory	20-3-2	Hiromitsu Kanehara	November 24, 2002	Pride 23 - Championship Chaos 2	TKO (cancellation by the team)	1	3:40
victory	21-3-2	"The Gracie Hunter" Kazushi Sakuraba	August 10, 2003	Pride - Total Elimination 2003	KO (blows)	1	5:01
victory	22-3-2	Hidehiko Yoshida	November 9, 2003	Pride - Final Conflict 2003	Point decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
victory	23-3-2	Quinton "Rampage" Jackson	November 9, 2003	Pride - Final Conflict 2003	TKO (knee)	1	6:28
victory	24-3-2	Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa	February 15, 2004	Pride - Bushido 2	KO (blows)	1	1:09
victory	25-3-2	Yuki "Sora" Kondo	August 15, 2004	Pride FC - Final Conflict 2004	KO (kicks on the floor)	1	2:46
victory	26-3-2	Quinton "Rampage" Jackson	October 31, 2004	Pride 28 - High Octane	KO (knee)	2	3:26
defeat	26-4-2	"The Super Samoan" Mark Hunt	December 31, 2004	Pride FC - Shockwave 2004	Point decision (shared)	3	5:00
victory	27-4-2	Hidehiko Yoshida	April 23, 2005	Pride FC - Total Elimination 2005	Point decision (shared)	3	5:00
victory	28-4-2	Kazuhiro "King Kaz" Nakamura	June 26, 2005	Pride FC - Total Elimination 2005	TKO (blows)	1	5:24
defeat	28-5-2	"The Brazilian Tiger" Ricardo Arona	August 28, 2005	Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005	Point decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
victory	29-5-2	"The Brazilian Tiger" Ricardo Arona	December 31, 2005	Pride FC - Shockwave 2005	Point decision (shared)	3	5:00
victory	30-5-2	Kazuyuki "Ol 'Ironhead" Fujita	July 1, 2006	Pride FC - Critical Countdown Absolute	TKO (blows)	1	9:21
defeat	30-6-2	Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović	September 10, 2006	Pride FC - Final Countdown Absolute	KO (kick to head)	1	5:26
defeat	30-7-2	Dan "Hendo" Henderson	February 24, 2007	Pride FC 33 - Second Coming	KO (kick to head)	3	2:08
defeat	30-8-2	"The Iceman" Chuck Liddell	December 29, 2007	UFC 79 - Nemesis	Point decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
victory	31-8-2	"The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine	July 1, 2006	Pride FC - Critical Countdown Absolute	TKO (blows)	1	9:21
victory	31-8-2	"The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine	July 1, 2006	Pride FC - Critical Countdown Absolute	TKO (blows)	1	9:21
defeat	31-9-2	Quinton "Rampage" Jackson	December 27, 2008	UFC The Ultimate 2008	KO (blows)	1	3:21
defeat	31-10-2	Rich "Ace" Franklin	June 13, 2009	UFC 99 - The Comeback	Point decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
victory	32-10-2	"The Count" Michael Bisping	February 20, 2010	UFC 110 - Nogueira vs. Velasquez	Point decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
defeat	32-11-2	"The Crippler" Chris Life	July 2, 2011	UFC 132 - Cruz vs. Faber 2	KO (blows)	1	0:27
victory	33-11-2	Cung Le	November 19, 2011	UFC 139 - Shogun vs. Henderson	TKO (knees & punches)	2	4:49
defeat	32-12-2	Rich "Ace" Franklin	June 23, 2012	UFC 147 - Silva vs. Franklin 2	Point decision (unanimous)	5	5:00
victory	33-13-2	Brian "All-American" Stenn	March 3, 2013	UFC on Fuel TV 8 - Silva vs. Stenn	KO (blows)	2	4:08
defeat	33-14-2	Chael Sonnen	June 24, 2017	Bellator 180 - Suns vs. Silva	Point decision (unanimous)	3	5:00

Titles and recognitions

On April 14, 2000 Wanderlei Silva had his first chance to hold a coveted mixed martial arts belt, but lost after 5 rounds unanimously on points against the then UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz . Almost a year later, however, Silva was able to strap the coveted Pride Middleweight Championship title around her waist after defeating Kazushi Sakuraba at Pride 17 - Championship Chaos by TKO. Silva was able to defend and hold this belt three times until February 2007, before losing it to Dan Henderson in round 3 of Pride - The Second Coming .

Silva also won the Pride Grand Prix at Pride - Final Conflict 2003 in 2003 and succeeded Mark Coleman .

Mixed martial arts

• Pride World Middleweight Championship
• Pride World Grand Prix 2003

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• 2001 Shootfighter (Most Outstanding Fighter) of the year
• 2001 Fede of the Year (vs Kazushi Sakuraba)
• 2003 Shootmatch of the Year (vs Hidehiko Yoshida)
• 2004 Shootmatch of the Year (vs Quinton Jackson)
• 2004 Shootfighter (Most Outstanding Fighter) of the year

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wanderlei Silva Training at Couture, August 15, 2007
2. ↑ Wanderlei Silva Gym Location ( Memento of the original from July 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ UFC 84 Awards, May 25, 2008 ( Memento from June 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ UFC 99 Bonus, June 14, 2009
5. ↑ MMA Fanhouse, February 21, 2010
6. ↑ Dana White May Have to “Chuck Liddell” Wanderlei Silva into Retirement In: MMAWeekly.com , July 3, 2011, accessed June 29, 2017.
7. ↑ Rich Franklin wants to replace Vitor Belfort against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147 ( Memento of the original from September 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
8. ↑ Attorney: Silva admits using banned substance, ducking testing foxsports.com June 18, 2014

Web links

• Wanderlei Silva in the database of Sherdog (English)