MMA Fighter Profile: Wanderlei Silva

Wanderlei Silva was born on July 7th, 1976 in Curitiba, Brazil, and from a young age was an impressive athlete and formidable fighter. He joined the military as a teenager, and was recognized for his ability, which is also the time that he started to train in Muay Thai. By this stage he had already won numerous tournaments for his age group, both in Muay Thai and Vale tudo.

After leaving the military, Silva began to fight professionally and quickly became the IVC light heavyweight champion, winning five of his six matches in the organization, losing only due to a cut stoppage. To get the title he beat another eventual UFC fighter in Eugene Jackson. These fights, unlike modern day mixed martial arts were also Vale Tudo rules, which means bare knuckle, headbutting, and kicking a downed opponent were all the norm.

Despite the success he would have later in his career, Silva's first foray into the octagon would not be a good bout for the star. He lost to an admittedly impressive Vitor Belfort in only 44 seconds, just prior to winning his IVC title. In a second performance in the UFC, Silva looked fairly impressive in knocking out Tony Petarra. His third match in the UFC however would also prove to be a disappointment, where Wanderlei was out-wrestled by the larger Tito Ortiz and was controlled for the entire fight.

Around the same time Silva started to fight in the now defunct Pride F.C, which was the main rival to the UFC at the time. After making his debut in 1999, Silva went on to win 20 straight fights, with the only exceptions being a draw against heavyweight Mirko 'Crocop' Filipovic, and a no contest against Gilbert Yvel. After this successful period Silva had more mixed success, as he lost to heavyweight Mark Hunt in a close decision, and then three fights later lost to Ricardo Arona.

Most of Wanderlei's fights were finished in quick order, usually by ko due to his excellent muay thai skills. Despite having gained a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Silva rarely ever resorted to using his submission skills. Instead he prefers to batter opponents with punches, kicks and knees, with a notorious ferocity that earned him the nickname 'the axe murderer'.

The loss to Ricardo Arona was especially significant because it was the first time Silva had lost to someone in his own weight class since being in Pride. Also Arona was from he rival camp in Brazil to Silva's, Brazilian top team. Silva of course being from their bitter rivals the Chute Boxe Acadamy. Soon after Silva was also beaten by heavyweight Mirko Crocop, and was then beaten by fellow Pride standout Dan Henderson. It was at this time (February 2007) that Pride was to hold its last event, and was bought by Zuffa inc, the owners of the UFC.

Eager to continue his career in what was now the largest mixed martial arts company in the world, Silva quickly signed with the UFC. He has since had three fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and has again met with mixed success. In his first fight Silva was matched up against the former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Lidell, who had been Silva's equivalent in the UFC during his time in Pride.

At the time of the bout, UFC 79 Silva, who many people had started to write off as being too old, lost in a decision to Chuck. Many fans started to deride Silva, claiming that too many blows had slowed his reflexes over the years. Silva was to bounce back however, and at UFC 84, dispatched the high flying Keith Jardine, with a knockout in a little over 30 seconds.

After this Silva was matched up with two time former victim Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, a man who he had already faced in Pride. Many expected Silva to beat him again, although on this occasion he was caught with a big punch, and lost via knockout.

At the age of 33, Silva may not seem that old for a mixed martial artist. Certainly the likes of randy Couture who is still competing at 44 seem to attest to this. However with a history of having taken a lot of punishment on the way to gaining his victories, many question how much Silva has left. With contemporaries such as Chuck Lidell and Kazuchi Sakuraba seemingly with their best days behind them, it seems to be only a matter of time before Silva starts slipping if he hasn't already. However whatever happens in the rest of his career, Silva will still go down as one of the best ever at light heavyweight, and certainly one of the most exciting.