Legends of the Octagon: Anderson Silva

In the opinion of many fans, Anderson Silva is the greatest MMA fighter of all time. Whether you agree or not, he is certainly a legend of the Octagon. From a young age, he was a prodigy in martial arts. Here are some fun facts you may not know about ‘The Spider’:

Silva was born in 1975, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. At a young age, he was eager to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Due to his family being poor, he trained BJJ with neighborhood kids, who could afford the sport. Then, by the age of twelve years old, his parents had saved money for Silva to train in Muay Thai and Taekwondo.

In the early days, he used to work in customer service, at McDonald’s. In 2006, he was awarded a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by the Nogueira brothers. This was around the time Anderson Silva made his successful UFC debut. Before he was in the UFC, Anderson Silva started out his career at 170 lbs, where he defeated Hayato “Mach” Sakurai; the top ranked welterweight fighter at the time.

During his time in the Octagon, Silva was considered to be the best striker. He was well known for dancing around his opponent, until they would make the first move. Then, he would move in at full force.

Eventually, Silva became a star within the MMA world and scored a sponsorship deal with Burger King. Each time he entered the arena, his trademark song was, “Ain’t no sunshine” by Bill Withers. At one point, Anderson wished to change his entrance song, but  UFC President Dana White opposed that idea due to the song becoming somewhat of a trademark for Silva.

The beginning of the decline of Anderson’s career was when he lost by knockout to Chris Weidman. In the rematch, the fight ended when Silva’s leg was broken from a checked leg kick. ‘The Spider’ was never the same after the gruesome injury.

The former UFC Middleweight Champion holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. Currently, the 48 year old is trying his hand at a new sport: professional boxing. He also continues to contribute to the sport by training up-and-coming fighters, including his sons Gabriel and Kalyl, both professional boxers as well.