5 Things You Might Not Know about Wanderlei Silva

The man personified violence.

Easily one of the most feared competitors in mixed martial arts history, Wanderlei Silva rose out of the bareknuckle scene in his native Brazil to become a global superstar. He boasts a career record of 35-14-1, his extensive resume highlighted by three victories over Japanese icon Kazushi Sakuraba and other notable wins over Quinton Jackson (twice), Hidehiko Yoshida (twice), Dan Henderson, Ricardo Arona, Michael Bisping and Cung Le. Spawned by the famed Chute Boxe camp in Curitiba, Brazil, Silva was known for the aggression and ferocity with which he fought. “The Axe Murderer” secured 27 of his 35 victories by knockout or technical knockout.

As Silva’s exploits fade further into memory, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. His debut was a harbinger.

Silva made his first appearance as a professional mixed martial artist at the age of 20, as he knocked out Dilson Filho in a brief but exhausting bareknuckle battle under the Brazilian Vale Tudo Fighting banner on Nov. 1, 1996. It was the first of his 23 first-round finishes.

2. He knows his way around the mat.

The Rudimar Fedrigo protégé owns the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu but rarely put those skills to use in MMA. Silva delivered only one of his 35 pro victories by submission, as he disposed of Bob Schrijber with a rear-naked choke at a Pride Fighting Championships event in January 2000.

3. He was an adopted son in Japan.

Silva’s posted 22 wins in Pride, the all-time record for the now-defunct Japanese organization. They account for 63% of his career total. Silva at one point enjoyed an incredible 20-fight unbeaten streak in the promotion during which he went 18-0-1 with one no contest from Sept. 12, 1999 to Oct. 31, 2004.

4. His style lent itself to suddenness.

“The Axe Murderer” authored six sub-minute stoppage victories during his illustrious 22-year career. However, only one of them took place in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Silva put away Keith Jardine with punches 36 seconds into their UFC 84 pairing in May 2008.

5. He never stopped thrilling the masses.

Though Silva was clearly past his prime when he returned to the UFC in 2007, he was still a force in terms of entertainment value. He banked seven post-fight bonuses across his last nine appearances with the company. Silva was awarded “Fight of the Night” on five occasions and “Knockout of the Night” twice, resulting in $420,000 of additional income.