Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). The site is a member of the Crave Online network and provides MMA related content for ESPN.com.

History

Sherdog was created by photographer Jeff Sherwood (Nicknamed "Sherdog") in 1997 and was later refined with the help of Garrett Poe. Sherdog features MMA news, individual records of fighters, reviews and previews of MMA events, interviews with fighters and referees, user forums, divisional & pound-for-pound fighter rankings, and original radio programs.

Sherdog is also home to the Sherdog Radio Network, an internet-only sports talk network featuring Sherdog writers and staffers. Weekly programs include ''The Savage Dog Show'' hosted by Greg Savage and Jeff Sherwood, ''Beatdown'' hosted by TJ DeSantis and Jon Luther, ''It's Time'' hosted by Bruce Buffer and ''The Jordan Breen Show'' hosted by Jordan Breen.

The current schedule includes Beatdown and SDS on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, It's Time on Tuesdays, the Jordan Breen Show on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and The SRN Rewind every Sunday evening. Also included for big events are SRN Roundtables providing previews and "Beatdown After the Bell" for post-fight recaps.

Sherdog has also affiliated with ESPN to provide extensive MMA content for their site. The deal includes ESPN sharing Sherdog's extensive Fight Finder database. The deal would also include the Sherdog Radio Network being part of ESPN's podcast center.

The website also boasts a highly active and lively forum section composed of thousands of members from all over the world. It is the 74th largest forum (by post count), 403rd (by member count). The forum boasts 209,000 members, who have collectively submitted over 30 million posts.

The site has recently begun hosting free live streams of mixed martial arts events from organizations such as Palace Fighting Championships, Wargods and M-1 Global.

Year-End Awards

Beginning in 2004 under then-executive editor Josh Gross, Sherdog.com has awarded "Fighter of the Year" honors to the fighter who has been the most outstanding for that calendar year. In 2008, Sherdog expanded its year-end awards to include categories such as "Knockout of the Year", "Submission of the Year", "Fight of the Year", among others. Sherdog now recognizes 12 awards annually.

Fighter of the Year

2004 - Wanderlei Silva

2005 - Takanori Gomi and Mauricio Rua (co-winners)

2006 - Chuck Liddell

2007 - Quinton Jackson

2008 - Rashad Evans

2009 - José Aldo

2010 - Cain Velasquez

Fight of the Year

2006 - Diego Sanchez W3 Karo Parisyan

2008 - Eddie Alvarez KO1 Tatsuya Kawajiri

2009 - Benson Henderson W5 Donald Cerrone

2010 - Jorge Santiago TKO5 Kazuo Misaki

Knockout of the Year

2006 - Mirko Filipović KO1 Wanderlei Silva

2008 - Rashad Evans KO2 Chuck Liddell

2009 - Fedor Emelianenko KO1 Andrei Arlovski

2010 - Robbie Lawler KO1 Melvin Manhoef

Submission of the Year

2006 - Shinya Aoki SUB1 Joachim Hansen

2008 - Dustin Hazelett SUB2 Josh Burkman

2009 - Toby Imada SUB3 Jorge Masvidal

2010 - Fabricio Werdum SUB1 Fedor Emelianenko

Story of the Year

2008 - The Rise and Fall of EliteXC

2009 - The Development of Strikeforce

2010 - Judging in MMA

Beatdown of the Year

2008 - B.J. Penn SUB2 Joe Stevenson

2009 - Brock Lesnar KO2 Frank Mir and Anderson Silva KO1 Forrest Griffin (co-winners)

2010 - Cristiane Santos KO2 Jan Finney

Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

2008 - Miguel Torres

2009 - Jon Jones

2010 - Anthony Pettis

Comeback Fighter of the Year

2008 - Frank Mir

2009 - Mauricio Rua

2010 - Chris Leben

Event of the Year

2008 - UFC 84

2009 - UFC 100

2010 - WEC 53

Robbery of the Year

2008 - Thales Leites W3 Nathan Marquardt

2009 - Mike Easton W5 Chase Beebe

2010 - Leonard Garcia W3 Nam Phan

Round of the Year

2008 - Donald Cerrone W3 Rob McCullough, Round 1

2009 - Thierry Quenneville SUB2 Douglas Evans Round 1

2010 - Mark Hominick TKO2 Yves Jabouin Round 1

Upset of the Year

2008 - Sergey Golyaev W3 Takanori Gomi

2009 - Mackens Semerzier SUB1 Wagnney Fabiano

2010 - Fabricio Werdum SUB1 Fedor Emelianenko

See also

ESPN

Inside MMA

HDNet

References

External links

Sherdog, Sherdog forums

Sherdog on ESPN.com

Category:Mixed martial arts websites Category:Internet properties established in 1997

fr:Sherdog ja:SHERDOG pt:Sherdog ru:Sherdog

name	Anderson Silva
other names	The Spider
birth name	Anderson da Silva
nationality	Brazilian
birth date	April 14, 1975
birth place	São Paulo, Brazil
other names	The Spider
residence	Curitiba, Brazil
fighting out of	Torrance, California, United States
height
weight lb	184
weight class	Welterweight (pre-2003) Middleweight Light Heavyweight
reach in	77.6
style	Muay Thai, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo, Judo, Capoeira
trainer	Boxing: Josuel Distak Jiu-Jitsu: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Sylvio Behring and Ramon Lemos
team	Black House
stance	Southpaw
rank	Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-JitsuBlack belt in JudoBlack belt in TaekwondoYellow rope in Capoeira
years active	1997 – present (MMA)
box win	1
box kowin	1
box loss	1
box koloss	1
mma win	31
mma kowin	18
mma subwin	6
mma decwin	7
mma loss	4
mma subloss	2
mma decloss	1
mma dqloss	1
children	5
url	http://www.spidersilva.com/
boxrec	152826
sherdog	1356
updated	February 5, 2011 }}

Anderson da Silva (; born April 14, 1975) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and the promotion's longest reigning champion. With 14 consecutive wins, Silva holds the longest active winning streak in the UFC and the record for the longest winning streak in UFC history. In a press conference for UFC 134, UFC president Dana White proclaimed Silva as the greatest fighter in the history of mixed martial arts.

Silva is ranked as the number one Middleweight in the world by multiple publications; he is also the consensus #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to multiple publications. Silva is also the last Cage Rage Middleweight Champion and a former Shooto Middleweight Champion. Besides the UFC and Cage Rage, Silva has fought for a number of other MMA promotions including the Pride Fighting Championships, Shooto and Rumble on the Rock.

Biography

Although known primarily for his mastery of Muay Thai striking, Silva is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt, a rank he earned in 2006 from Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira who follows Gracie Lineage through Carlson Gracie, likewise Murilo Bustamante and the Brazilian Top Team. He began martial arts training at the age of 14, training Tae kwon do and earning a black belt by the age of 18. He is also a black belt in Judo and a yellow rope in Capoeira.

Once a member of the Chute Boxe Academy, Silva left to form the Muay Thai Dream Team. In late November 2006, he joined new team Black House with Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, Assuerio Silva, and the Nogueira brothers. On May 16, 2008 Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira opened the Team Nogueira MMA Academy in Miami, Florida.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Silva initially fought in his native Brazil in the welterweight category. According to Sherdog.com, Silva made his professional debut in 1997 with a pair of wins. Silva recorded his first loss in 2000 to Luiz Azeredo by decision. After that fight, he went on a nine-fight winning streak, winning six of those fights by either submission or TKO. After winning his first match in Japan he was put up against Shooto champion Hayato Sakurai on August 26, 2001. Silva beat Sakurai by unanimous decision after three rounds and became the new Shooto Middleweight Champion (at 167 lb) and the first man to defeat Sakurai who was undefeated in his first 20 fights.

Pride Fighting Championships

In 2002, Silva began fighting in Pride. In his first fight with the promotion, he stopped Alex Stiebling with a cut resulting from a high kick. In his next match, he won via decision against the "Diet Butcher" Alexander Otsuka. At ''Pride 25'', Silva faced former UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton. Newton tried to shoot in on Silva, but was hit with a flying knee. Newton collapsed and Silva finished the fight with strikes, winning by technical knockout.

At ''Pride 26'', Silva faced Daiju Takase. Considering his record at the time – with only four wins to seven losses – Takase was a big underdog. Surprisingly, after dominating most of the fight with takedowns, top position, and effective ground and pound, Takase submitted Silva with a triangle choke late in the first round.

After his loss to Takase, Silva fought in other promotions around the world. On June 27, 2004, Silva fought Jeremy Horn and earned a decision victory.

Cage Rage

Three months later, Silva made his debut in the Cage Rage promotion in England. At ''Cage Rage 8'' Silva fought and defeated noted striker Lee Murray by decision. That year, Silva returned to Pride on December 31 to face Ryo Chonan. Silva was in control with a take down and body triangle in the first round. Chonan was able to counter Silva's knees from the clinch, with knees, and takedowns. Despite being the underdog, Chonan ended the fight in the third round with a flying scissor heel hook, forcing Silva to submit. After the loss to Chonan, Silva continued fighting in the Cage Rage promotion, as well as other promotions around the world. Silva defended his Cage Rage title against Curtis Stout.

Although he was slated to fight Matt Lindland at ''Cage Rage 16'', Lindland's decision to fight Mike Van Arsdale at ''Raze Fight Night'' put an end to the highly-anticipated match up. Instead, Silva defended his championship against Tony Fryklund, winning the fight with a reverse elbow, knocking out Fryklund early in the first round.

Silva vs. Okami

Silva competed in Hawaii's Rumble on the Rock promotion, where he fought Yushin Okami in the first round of the 175 lb tournament. Although he was labeled as the favorite to win the tournament, Silva lost his fight when he kicked Okami in the face from the guard position. Okami's knees were on the ground at the time, making the attack an illegal strike to the head of a downed opponent. Silva later said that the rule had not been properly explained to him before the bout. "When I fought Okami the rules really weren't explained to me properly in the event I was fighting in," said Silva. "You could kick a downed opponent to the groin or to the head when your back's on the ground. So the rules weren’t explained to me properly." While Okami was given the opportunity to recover and continue fighting, Okami opted for the disqualification win. Silva responded by saying he "felt it was a cheap, cowardly way of winning," and that "people that were there saw that he was in the condition to come back and keep fighting, and he didn't."

Arrival in the UFC

Although speculation ran rampant about where Silva would sign next, the UFC announced in late April 2006 that they had signed him to a multi-fight contract. It was not long before the UFC started promoting Silva, releasing an interview segment almost immediately after announcing his arrival.

Silva vs. Leben

Silva made his debut at ''Ultimate Fight Night 5'' on June 28, 2006. His opponent was ''The Ultimate Fighter 1'' contestant Chris Leben who had gone undefeated in the UFC with five consecutive victories. Leben, confident of victory, had predicted he would KO Silva in a pre-fight interview. A relatively unknown fighter in the United States, Silva made an emphatic debut when he knocked out Leben with a flurry of pinpoint strikes, followed by a final knee strike at 49 seconds into the first round. Silva's striking accuracy was 100%.

Silva vs. Franklin and Winning the Belt

In response to the victory, the UFC quickly tallied a poll on their main page, asking viewers to select Silva's next opponent; the majority of voters selected the UFC Middleweight Champion, Rich Franklin.

Silva fought Franklin at ''UFC 64'' on October 14, 2006, and defeated him by TKO (strikes) at 2:59 in the first round. Silva hit Franklin with knees to the body from the Muay Thai-clinch, then badly broke Franklin's nose with a knee to the face. Unable to strike back, Franklin dodged the last of Silva's strikes before falling to the ground, where referee "Big" John McCarthy ended the fight. Silva was then crowned the new UFC Middleweight Champion, becoming the second man to defeat Franklin, after Black House-teammate Lyoto Machida.

Title defenses and Light Heavyweight bouts

Silva vs. Lutter

On February 3, 2007 at ''UFC 67'', Silva was scheduled to fight ''The Ultimate Fighter 4'' winner Travis Lutter in what would be his first title defense since defeating Rich Franklin in October 2006. However, Lutter failed to make the weight limit and the match was changed to a non-title bout. Many felt that Lutter's best chance to win was to take the fight to the ground, with Lutter being an accomplished Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt. Silva won via submission with combination of a triangle choke and elbow strikes in the second round.

Silva vs. Marquardt

In his next fight at ''UFC 73'' on July 7, 2007, Silva successfully defended his title against Nate Marquardt, winning by TKO at 4:50 in the first round.

Silva vs. Franklin II

Three months later, on October 20, 2007 at ''UFC 77'', Silva fought a title defense rematch against Rich Franklin, in Franklin's hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio at the U.S. Bank Arena. Silva defended his belt by defeating Franklin via TKO in the 2nd round.

Silva vs. Henderson

On March 1, 2008 at ''UFC 82'' Silva fought Pride Middleweight champion Dan Henderson, in a title unification bout (UFC and Pride titles on the line). Again, many thought that Henderson had the edge on the ground, having competed in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling. Silva defended his title by defeating Henderson via rear naked choke in the 2nd round.

Silva vs. Irvin

At ''UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin'' on July 19, 2008, Silva made his debut at Light Heavyweight () in a bout against James Irvin. Silva won via KO due to strikes in 1:01 of the first round after catching Irvin's attempted leg kick with his left arm and delivering a straight right that dropped Irvin to the mat, Silva then finished a prone Irvin with a blitz of punches to the head.

Silva vs. Cote

Silva's next fight was on October 25, 2008 at ''UFC 90'' in Rosemont, Illinois, Silva defended his Middleweight title against Patrick Côté. In the third round, Côté landed awkwardly on his right leg while throwing a kick and fell to the mat grasping his right knee in pain. Referee Herb Dean declared the fight over when Côté could not continue, ruling the bout a TKO victory for Silva. Côté, however, became the first of Silva's UFC opponents to make it past the 2nd round.

After his fight with Côté, Silva was criticized for seemingly avoiding contact during the bout. Dana White criticized Silva, saying: "I didn't understand Silva's tactics... It wasn't the Anderson Silva I've been watching the last two years." Silva said in the post-fight news conference:

"There are many people saying I was disrespecting Cote, but this is absolutely not true. My game plan since the beginning was fight five rounds, inducing him to commit mistakes and capitalize on that during the first three rounds and look for the knockout during the fourth and fifth rounds. It was working, and the biggest proof of that is that I almost didn’t waste any blows. I connected with a couple of good punches and knees, but unfortunately he got hurt and the fight was over. This is not my fault."

Silva vs. Leites

On April 18, 2009 at ''UFC 97'' in Montreal, Canada, Anderson Silva defeated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt Thales Leites by Unanimous Decision, and recorded his UFC record 9th consecutive win in the octagon. Thales Leites is credited with being the first man in UFC history to take Silva through 5 rounds to a judges' decision. The crowd repeatedly booed his lackluster performance, bored expression, and frustrated attempts to goad his opponent into fighting, and in the 4th and 5th rounds took to dancing, lowering his guard and slapping his opponent without retaliation. Following the fight, Dana White has stated that he was "embarrassed" by Silva's performance, but still said that he believes him to be "the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world".

Silva vs. Griffin

At ''UFC 101'' which took place on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Silva again fought at 205 pounds against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin. Griffin was knocked down three times in the first round. The bout earned Silva Beatdown of the Year honors from Sherdog. The bout shared those honors with the second bout between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. Both fighters were awarded $60,000 as Fight of the Night bonuses and Silva received $60,000 in bonus money for Knockout of the Night.

After defeating Griffin, a Yahoo! Sports reporter allegedly claimed that Silva's manager, Ed Soares, had confirmed that Silva would abandon his Middleweight belt to fight at Light Heavyweight. However, Soares and a UFC spokesperson confirmed that a conversation agreeing Silva would permanently move up to Light Heavyweight never took place. Silva did not relinquish his title to fight exclusively at Light Heavyweight. Soares stated his attorney plans to speak to Yahoo! Sports about the matter.

Silva vs. Maia

Silva was expected to defend the UFC Middleweight Championship against Vitor Belfort on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108. However, Ed Soares announced that the bout would not take place as Silva would not be fully recovered from surgery. Silva was then set to face Belfort on February 6, 2010 at UFC 109. The fight, however, was dependent on Silva's healing, which he described as "not going as planned." The fight was canceled because of Silva's slow recovery. Silva was once again scheduled to face Belfort on April 10, 2010 at UFC 112. The fight was later canceled again due to an injury to Belfort. Demian Maia was selected to fill the spot and take on Silva for the belt.

In the first two rounds Silva appeared to mock his opponent while employing quick, precise striking. In the third round, however, Silva's tempo seemed to change. He looked to Maia to be the aggressor while he largely circled and taunted his opponent. In the fifth round, Silva's lack of action prompted referee Dan Miragliotta to warn Silva for his conduct. The crowd began to side with Maia, who was the only fighter attempting to engage. After 5 rounds, Silva was declared the winner via unanimous decision.

Silva was widely criticized for his performance. Dana White said it was the most embarrassed he had ever been since becoming UFC president. Midway through the fourth round, White walked away from the fight and gave the championship belt to Silva's manager, Ed Soares. White was so annoyed that he declined to personally place the belt around Silva's waist, claiming it was the first time he had done so after a title match. It was also claimed that Silva verbally insulted Maia multiple times during the fight.

In the immediate post-fight interview, Silva apologized and said he did not know what got into him and said he should have been more humble. However, in the official post-fight press conference, he said he "owed nobody an apology" and that "he couldn't please everyone". He also made multiple references about how Demian insulted him. In the same conference, Dana White apologized to the fans that "bought this [stuff]", and said he would make it up to them.

Silva vs. Sonnen

Dana White went on to say, on April 14 (Anderson's 35th birthday) in an appearance on ESPN's Jim Rome is Burning, that Anderson's next title defense would be against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 in Oakland, California, and that "If he [Silva] ever acts like that again in the ring, I will cut him."

On August 7, 2010, Silva faced Chael Sonnen for the UFC Middleweight Title at UFC 117. In the first round, Sonnen stunned Silva with a punch before taking him down and dominating from the top position, landing multiple blows. The following three rounds played out in a similar fashion, going to the ground early with Sonnen dominating from inside Silva's guard. In the fifth round, Silva slipped while ducking under Sonnen's left hook and the challenger took advantage by once again establishing a top position and delivering strikes to Silva. With about two minutes left in the round, Silva was able to lock up a triangle armbar on Sonnen, forcing Sonnen to submit at 3:10 of Round 5.

Silva was hit more in the fight than in his entire career. According to CompuStrike, in his first 11 UFC fights, Silva was hit 208 times. Sonnen hit him a total of 289 times. After the bout it was revealed that Sonnen would have won a judges' decision. All three judges had Sonnen marked as the winner of all four rounds, judges Nelson Hamilton and Dan Stell had Sonnen taking Round 1 10–8, as well as Hamilton awarding the challenger another 10–8 total in Round 3.

Silva allegedly went into the fight with injured ribs and his doctor advised him not to fight. During the first round, he cracked his rib and was out until 2011 because of the injury. Following the fight the California State Athletic Commission confirmed that Chael Sonnen tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PED's). Doping tests revealed Sonnen had an elevated testosterone level which fell outside of the normal range prior to his fight with Silva. Dana White had announced that Sonnen would get a rematch when Silva returns, but this was revoked after the issue with PEDs came to light.

Silva vs. Belfort

Silva faced Vitor Belfort on February 5, 2011 at UFC 126. Belfort was expected to face Yushin Okami on November 13, 2010 at UFC 122, but was replaced by Nate Marquardt. After a "feeling out" period of about two and a half minutes in the first round, Silva and Belfort started to trade strikes. Silva landed a brutal front kick to Belfort's jaw and followed up with punches to the grounded challenger. Referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight at 3:25 minutes into the first round. Silva extended his record streak of title defenses to eight and his overall record to 30–4.

Silva vs. Okami II

Silva faced Yushin Okami on August 27, 2011 at UFC 134. The fight was a rematch from the 2006 Rumble on the Rock tournament where Okami defeated Silva via disqualification, thus making Okami the last fighter to defeat Silva. Silva defeated Okami, avenging his most recent loss, in a manner similar to when he fought Griffin. Silva dropped his hands and used effective counter-striking and head movement to knock Okami down twice, finishing him off with ground-and-pound. Several fighters including Forrest Griffin stated after the fight, "A healthy Silva is simply unbeatable. The 185 pound division is not weak and contains amazing fighters except none of them can come close to Anderson."

Personal life

In an interview with MMA Weekly, Anderson Silva's manager stated: "Anderson would love to fight Roy Jones Jr. in a boxing match up under boxing rules to prove that MMA fighters are technical, too." UFC president, Dana White, later expressed that he would use his veto power to stop such a match from taking place because he does not need his fighters getting themselves injured while fighting outside of the octagon. Silva, however, has commented: "After my contract with the UFC is finished, I will set up the fight with Jones Jr. The fight has already been permitted by Jones himself." In April 2009, Jones himself confirmed he is still interested in fighting Silva: "I'm going to try and make it happen. He's saying he wants to fight me, so, OK, I'm ready. Let's brawl." Roy Jones Jr. was in attendance at UFC 101.

In an interview with Brazilian TV station SporTV in September 2008, Silva stated that he was interested in retiring within the next year. However, Anderson's manager, Ed Soares and co-manager Nicholas Gansen, responded to the talk of retirement by saying that Anderson was contractually obligated to fight six more fights (his sixth was against Vitor Belfort) and would do so before retiring. Soares further stated that Silva desires to retire when he is 35 which he turned on April 14, 2010. According to Anderson Silva's manager, Ed Soares, he is not retiring after his contract is over in 2010 and what he supposedly wants is to stay in the 185 division.

Silva is Afro-Brazilian and has three sons and two daughters with his wife. Silva appeared in ''Never Surrender'' in 2009.

Fighting style

Silva is an extremely well rounded fighter whose striking ability is considered to be one of the best in MMA. Silva's striking accuracy, knockout power, technically vicious Muay Thai and ability to counterstrike makes him a danger to his opponents. Silva's striking uses three major strengths: technical precision, the jab and transitions and movement. Silva switches from Southpaw to Orthodox with little drop-off in effectiveness. Although it has been claimed that his ground game is not as good as his stand-up, Silva has submitted notable grapplers, including Olympic wrestler Dan Henderson, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt Travis Lutter and Olympic alternate Chael Sonnen.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Shooto

*Shooto Middleweight Championship (One time)

Cage Rage Championships

*Cage Rage Middleweight Championship (One time, Last)

*Three successful title defenses

Ultimate Fighting Championship

*UFC Middleweight Championship (One time, Current)

*Won Fight of the Night (Three times)

*Won Knockout of the Night (Three times)

*Won Submission of the Night (Two times)

*Unified UFC Middleweight and Pride FC Welterweight Championships

*Most consecutive title defenses (Nine)

*Most successful title defenses (Nine)

*Most consecutive wins in the UFC (Fourteen)

*Longest UFC title reign

ESPY Award

In June 2009, Anderson Silva was nominated for the 2009 ESPYs "Best Fighter" category, along with Lyoto Machida, Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley. The award was won by Manny Pacquiao.

Sherdog

Won Sherdog Beatdown of the Year for 2009 win over Forrest Griffin

MMA Live

Won MMA Live Fight of the Year for 2010 win over Chael Sonnen

World MMA Awards

Won World MMA Awards Fight of the Year for 2010 win over Chael Sonnen

Mixed martial arts record

|- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 31-4 | Yushin Okami | TKO (punches) | UFC 134 | | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:04 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |Defended UFC Middleweight Championship; Extends UFC record for most consecutive title defenses (9) & wins (14). |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 30–4 | Vitor Belfort | KO (front kick and punches) | UFC 126 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 3:25 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |Defended UFC Middleweight Championship; Knockout of the night. |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 29–4 | Chael Sonnen | Submission (triangle armbar) | UFC 117 | | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 3:10 | Oakland, California, U.S. |Defended UFC Middleweight Championship; Fight & Submission of the Night; Sonnen later tested positive for elevated testosterone. |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 28–4 | Demian Maia | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 112 | | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship; Broke record for most consecutive title defenses (6). |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 27–4 | Forrest Griffin | KO (punch) | UFC 101 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 3:23 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Light Heavyweight bout; Fight of the night; Knockout of the night. |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 26–4 | Thales Leites | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 97 | | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:00 | Montreal, Canada | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship; Broke UFC record for most consecutive wins (9); Tied record for most title defenses (5) |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 25–4 | Patrick Côté | TKO (knee injury) | UFC 90 | | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 0:39 | Rosemont, Illinois, U.S. | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship. |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 24–4 | James Irvin | KO (punches) | UFC: Silva vs Irvin | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:01 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Light Heavyweight bout; after the fight Irvin tested positive for illegal substances |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 23–4 | Dan Henderson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 82 | | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 4:50 | Columbus, Ohio, U.S. | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship, Fight & Submission of the Night; Unified PRIDE Welterweight & UFC Middleweight titles. |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 22–4 | Rich Franklin | TKO (knees) | UFC 77 | | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:07 | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship; Knockout of the night |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 21–4 | Nate Marquardt | TKO (punches) | UFC 73 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 4:50 | Sacramento, California, U.S. | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 20–4 | Travis Lutter | Submission (elbows) | UFC 67 | | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:11 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Non-title fight (Lutter did not make weight) |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 19–4 | Rich Franklin | KO (knee) | UFC 64 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:59 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | Won UFC Middleweight Championship |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 18–4 | Chris Leben | KO (knee) | UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 0:49 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 17–4 | Tony Fryklund | KO (elbow) | Cage Rage 16 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:02 | London, England | Defended Cage Rage World Middleweight Championship |- |Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 16–4 | Yushin Okami | DQ (illegal kick) | Rumble on the Rock 8 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:33 | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | ROTR WW Tournament Opening Round; Silva was disqualified for delivering an illegal upkick that rendered Okami unable to continue. |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 16–3 | Curtis Stout | KO (punches) | Cage Rage 14 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 4:59 | London, England | Defended Cage Rage World Middleweight Championship |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 15–3 | Jorge Rivera | TKO (knees and punches) | Cage Rage 11: Face Off | | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 3:53 | London, England | Defended Cage Rage World Middleweight Championship |- |Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 14–3 | Ryo Chonan | Submission (flying heel hook) | Pride Shockwave 2004 | | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 3:08 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 14–2 | Lee Murray | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Rage 8 | | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:00 | London, England | Won Cage Rage World Middleweight Championship |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 13–2 | Jeremy Horn | Decision (unanimous) | Gladiator FC: Day 2 | | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:00 | Seoul, South Korea | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 12–2 | Waldir dos Anjos | TKO (corner stoppage) | Conquista Fight 1 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:00 | Vitória da Conquista, Brazil | |- |Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 11–2 | Daiju Takase | Submission (triangle choke) | Pride 26 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 8:33 | Yokohama, Japan | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 11–1 | Carlos Newton | KO (flying knee and punches) | Pride 25 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 6:27 | Yokohama, Japan | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 10–1 | Alexander Otsuka | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 22 | | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:00 | Nagoya, Japan | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 9–1 | Alex Stiebling | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Pride 21 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:23 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 8–1 | Roan Carneiro | Submission (punches) | Mecca: World Vale Tudo 6 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:32 | Curitiba, Brazil | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 7–1 | Hayato Sakurai | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto: To The Top 7 | | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:00 | Osaka, Japan | Won Shooto Middleweight (168 pounds) Championship |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 6–1 | Israel Albuquerque | Submission (punches) | Mecca: World Vale Tudo 5 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 6:17 | Curitiba, Brazil | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 5–1 | Tetsuji Kato | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto: To The Top 2 | | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 4–1 | Claudionor Fontinelle | TKO (punches and knees) | Mecca: World Vale Tudo 4 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 4:35 | Curitiba, Brazil | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 3–1 | Jose Barreto | TKO (head kick and punches) | Mecca: World Vale Tudo 2 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:06 | Curitiba, Brazil | |- |Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 2–1 | Luiz Azeredo | Decision (unanimous) | Mecca: World Vale Tudo 1 | | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 10:00 | Curitiba, Brazil | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 2–0 | Fabricio Camoes | TKO (retirement) | Brazilian Freestyle Circuit 1 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 25:14 | Campo Grande, Brazil | |- |Win | style="text-align:center;"| 1–0 | Raimundo Pinheiro | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Brazilian Freestyle Circuit 1 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:53 | Campo Grande, Brazil |

Boxing record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
align="center" xWin		Julio Cesar De Jesus	KO				Ginasio Antonio Balbino, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
align="center" xLoss		Osmar Luiz Teixeira	TKO				Uniao da Vitoria, Parana, Brazil

See also

List of current mixed martial arts champions

List of current UFC fighters

List of male mixed martial artists

References

External links

Black House MMA

Anderson Silva Fight Stats

Official UFC Profile

|- Category:Brazilian capoeira practitioners Category:Brazilian expatriates in the United States Category:Brazilian judoka Category:Brazilian mixed martial artists Category:Brazilian Muay Thai practitioners Category:Brazilian people of Black African descent Category:Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Category:Brazilian taekwondo practitioners Category:Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Living people Category:Middleweight mixed martial artists Category:People from Curitiba Category:Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Category:Welterweight mixed martial artists Category:1975 births

de:Anderson Silva (Kampfsportler) fr:Anderson Silva ko:앤더슨 실바 it:Anderson Silva ja:アンデウソン・シウバ no:Anderson Silva pl:Anderson Silva pt:Anderson Silva ru:Силва, Андерсон simple:Anderson Silva fi:Anderson Silva sv:Anderson Silva uk:Андерсон Сілва

name	Wanderlei Silva
other names	The Axe Murderer
birth name	Wanderlei César da Silva
birth date	July 03, 1976
birth place	Curitiba, Brazil
nationality	Brazilian
height
weight lb	185
weight class	Middleweight ''(2010 – present)'' Light Heavyweight ''(1996 - 2009)'' Heavyweight ''(2006)''
reach in	74
style	Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu| stance
fighting out of	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
team	Wand Fight Team
rank	''black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
years active	1996 - present
mma win	33
mma kowin	23
mma subwin	3
mma decwin	7
mma loss	11
mma koloss	6
mma subloss	0
mma decloss	5
mma draw	1
mma nc	1
occupation	Professional MMA fighter
url	http://www.wandfightteam.com/
sherdog	209
updated	February 25, 2010 }}

Wanderlei César da Silva ( , ; born July 3, 1976), nicknamed "''The Axe Murderer''", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in knockout or referee stoppage due to strikes. His style includes engaging opponents with punches and knees from the Muay Thai clinch. He is currently ranked as #21 best middleweight fighter in the world by FightMatrix.com.

Silva began his training under Rudimar Fedrigo at the Chute Boxe Academy in his hometown of Curitiba, Brazil. Although he specializes in Muay Thai, he has also trained and received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from trainer Cristiano Marcello. Silva was given the nickname "Cachorro Louco" ("Mad Dog") in Brazil because of his aggressive style and his pre-fight opponent "stare down". He is the former IVC light heavyweight champion, former Pride middleweight (205 lb) champion, and the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix champion.

He holds notable wins over Guy Mezger, Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba (3 times), Kiyoshi Tamura, Hidehiko Yoshida (twice), Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (twice), Ikuhisa Minowa, Yuki Kondo, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Kazuyuki Fujita, Ricardo Arona, Keith Jardine, and Michael Bisping.

After spending a majority of his career in Brazil, Silva moved to the United States in 2007 and he trained at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Preferring a more aggressive gym atmosphere, like he had at Chute Boxe, he opened his own gym, The Wand Fight Team Training & Conditioning Center, in Las Vegas. Silva currently trains there with his former Chute Boxe coach Rafael Cordeiro.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Silva's aggressive style is rooted in street brawling, refined with elements of Muay Thai and kickboxing. As a late teen he joined the military and was quickly recognized for his fighting talents and rose up in the ranks. Silva enlisted after already winning fight tournaments in his age group in Brazil.

Silva's first professional match was on November 1, 1996, in the Brazilian Vale Tudo Fighting organization (BVF), where he knocked out Dilson Filho via strikes at ''BVF 6''. He fought in one other match in BVF, ''BVF 10'' on July 1, 1997, against Marcelo Barbosa, who submitted due to a shoulder injury.

Silva fought six matches in four different IVC events, ''IVC 2'', ''IVC 6'', ''IVC 9'' and ''IVC 10'', from 1997 to 1999. He won five of these matches by KO/TKO, with his one loss being the result of a cut stoppage against Artur Mariano in the IVC 2 show on September 15, 1997. The cut was above his left eyelid and opened back up several times, partially because Silva continued to use the cut side of his head to inflict many headbutts on Mariano over the course of the match. The doctor observed the cut several times before the fight was ended.

Silva culminated his IVC career by winning the promotion's light heavyweight belt with a submission win over Eugene Jackson in the IVC 10 show on April 27, 1999. It was after this fight that Silva earned the nickname "The Axe Murderer".

Silva participated in one Meca World Vale Tudo event, ''Meca 2'' on August 12, 2000, where he knocked out Todd Medina with muay thai knees.

UFC

Silva entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 16, 1998, at ''UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil'', in a match against Vitor Belfort. The match has arguably been Silva's worst defeat in his career, lasting only 44 seconds and ending with Silva being knocked down by Belfort's punches then being stopped by the referee. Silva won his next UFC match on May 7, 1999, at ''UFC 20'' where he knocked out Tony Petarra with knees. On April 14, 2000, Silva was given a chance to fight for the UFC light heavyweight championship, but lost via decision to Tito Ortiz at UFC 25.

Pride Fighting Championships

Silva debuted in Pride at the ''Pride 7'' event on September 12, 1999, winning against Carl Malenko by decision. From 1999 to 2004, Silva won eighteen-straight fights in Pride, excluding a draw against Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (under slightly modified rules in which if the match would go the distance, the bout would be declared a draw) and a no contest against Gilbert Yvel (Silva accidentally kicked Yvel in the groin), giving him a twenty-fight unbeaten streak. Silva's reputation as a formidable MMA fighter grew as he developed a successful 5 year win record in the middle weight division (205 lb) of Pride.

Silva fought Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba for the first time at ''Pride 13: Collision Course'' on March 25, 2001. Silva won via TKO (knees and soccer kick) at 1:38 into the first round. At ''Pride 17: Championship Chaos'' on November 3, 2001, Silva won the inaugural Pride middleweight (205 lb) championship when he defeated Sakuraba for the second time. Sakuraba suffered a broken clavicle and was forced to withdraw after the first round, giving Silva a TKO win via doctor's stoppage. The two fought for a third time on August 10, 2003 at ''Pride Total Elimination 2003'', part of Pride's middleweight tournament. Silva knocked out Sakuraba with a two punch combination at 5:01 into the first round. Silva faced Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at ''Pride Final Conflict 2003'' on November 9, 2003. Silva won by TKO after delivering seventeen consecutive knees to Jackson. Silva became Pride's 2003 tournament champion with the win. The two fought again on October 31, 2004 at ''Pride 28: High Octane''. Jackson knocked Silva down near the end of the first round and mounted him as the bell rang. In round two Silva caught Jackson with a counter right hand and followed up with knees from the thai clinch knocking Jackson out, successfully defending the Pride middleweight championship with the win. In Japan, Silva additionally gained his reputation as a fighter who has never been defeated by any Japanese opponent, resulting in a trend of various Japanese fighters being arranged by Pride to face him.

Silva's undefeated 5-year streak (18 wins, 13 knockouts) in Pride was broken by heavy weight Mark Hunt, a K-1 champion on December 31, 2004 at the ''Pride Shockwave 2004'' event. Hunt won the non-title match by split decision. The decision was controversial because some who felt that Hunt's weight of 280 lb (125 kg), over 80 lb more than Silva, as well as Silva's performance in rounds two and three, had not been sufficiently considered by the judges in their decision; Randy Couture and Bas Rutten, both being commentators at the event, expressed disagreement with the judges decision. Silva also took this fight on two days notice. Nonetheless, Silva's 2004 campaign earned him Fighter of the Year honors from both Sherdog and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Silva's former status as Pride's middleweight champion first came under debate and criticism with his loss to Ricardo Arona (who subsequently lost the tournament to Silva's team-mate, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua) on August 28, 2005 at ''Pride Final Conflict 2005''. The loss, by unanimous decision in the tournament's semi-finals, was Silva's first defeat in a middleweight match in Pride; however, since it was not a title fight and held under special rules due to the grand prix format (2 rounds instead of 3), Silva was still recognized as the middleweight champion. A rematch between Arona and Silva took place at the ''Pride Shockwave 2005'' event on December 31, 2005, with Silva winning by split decision.

On May 18, 2006, Pride's parent company, Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE), announced that Silva would replace Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko in the Open Weight Grand Prix. Emelianenko's doctors stated that his hand, which had recently undergone surgery, would not be in good enough shape to fight because the metal implant would still be present. Because Silva was also a champion, he received a first round bye and fought in the second round at ''Pride Critical Countdown Absolute'', which took place on July 1, 2006. Silva moved to the semi-finals of the Open Weight Grand Prix after defeating Kazuyuki Fujita by TKO (punches and soccer kicks) at 9:21 of round one.

On July 8, 2006, at ''UFC 61: Bitter Rivals'', UFC president Dana White announced Silva would face Chuck Liddell in a UFC event held in November, provided Liddell beat Renato "Babalu" Sobral at ''UFC 62''. Liddell did end up winning that fight. However, talks dwindled and the fight as advertised did not happen.

On September 10, 2006, at ''Pride Final Conflict Absolute'', Wanderlei Silva was knocked out by Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in their rematch during the Open Weight Grand Prix semi-finals. After a brief stoppage to tend to a swollen eye on Silva, "Cro Cop" struck Silva in the head with a left kick, knocking him out. On October 21, 2006 at ''Pride 32: The Real Deal'', Wanderlei issued his challenge to Chuck Liddell to a fight inside a Pride ring in February, when the promotion returned to Las Vegas, Nevada, however Dana White stated that the fight would not be happening, citing Silva's recent KO loss to Mirko Filipovic which would have not allowed the NSAC to clear him medically for the fight that soon after being knocked out.

Silva put his Pride middleweight title on the line against Dan Henderson, Pride's welterweight (183 lb) champion at ''Pride 33: The Second Coming'', held on February 24, 2007, in Las Vegas, Nevada. In a night of upsets, Henderson knocked out Silva in the third round with a left hook to become the new middleweight champion. This fight was held under unified rules which prevent knees and kicks to the head of a downed opponent as well as having five 5 minute rounds. Many believe this hindered Silva's ability to fully utilize his offensive arsenal. Silva was denied the ability to participate in Pride 34 due to medical suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) which made this his last Pride appearance. Silva never lost under pure Pride rules at 205 pounds.

Return to the UFC

}} On August 17, 2007, the UFC announced that they had signed Wanderlei Silva to compete in the organization and that he would return to the Octagon on December 29, 2007 at UFC 79. After months of speculation about Silva's opponent, UFC President Dana White announced that Chuck Liddell would be Silva's opponent for his return match. The long-awaited match happened on December 29, with Wanderlei Silva losing to Chuck Liddell by unanimous decision. After the fight Silva said, "Win or lose I like to give the emotion for my fans" He also added that he gave his best and promised that next time he will deliver a win.

Keeping to his promise, on May 24, 2008 at UFC 84 in Las Vegas, he earned a decisive knockout win against Keith Jardine at the 36-second mark of the very first round by referee stoppage, earning him Knockout of the Night honors. When Jardine threw a kick, Silva countered with a right-left-right combo that dropped him. Silva then finished the fight with ground strikes to earn the brutal knockout.

At UFC 92, Wanderlei fought Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who he beat twice previously. Jackson avenged his previous defeats by knocking Silva out with a left hook in the first round. Following the fight, Silva stated that he would like to fight Jackson again, for the 4th, and possibly in the future, even the 5th time, knowing he already has two knockouts of Jackson. The two fighters also buried the hatchet after this fight.

Wanderlei met Rich Franklin at ''UFC 99'' in Germany at a catchweight bout of 195 lb. After a hard fought match on both sides, Silva lost via unanimous decision to Franklin. During the second round, Silva rocked Franklin hard with punches and almost finished the match during that moment. This was counterbalanced by Franklin dropping Silva three times in that round, each time with singular strikes. Silva then announced he would be out of action until 2010, as he underwent facial surgery to repair his nose (which was broken during Silva's second fight with Cro Cop, and then repeatedly broken again in later matches) and remove some scar tissue from above his eyes to avoid bleeding and being easily cut open during future fights. The surgery allowed him to breathe through a once completely blocked nose thus increasing his oxygen intake by 30% by doctor's estimates. At UFC 110, announcer Joe Rogan emphatically stated that Wanderlei looked like a totally different person in the wake of his recent facial reconstructive surgery.

Silva made his middleweight (185 lb) debut during UFC 110 against British striker Michael Bisping on February 21, 2010. During the fight Bisping was able to take Silva down several times during the first round, however Wanderlei came back with a flurry of punches at the end of the first round, a tight guillotine choke in the second, and a right hook that dropped Bisping in the third. After three rounds of fighting, Silva was awarded the unanimous decision victory (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)and his first victory in almost two years. Although winning only one of his previous 6 bouts, he was slightly favored going into the fight as it was widely speculated that Bisping was apprehensive to fight toe-to-toe after being viciously knocked out by Dan Henderson on July 11, 2009 in UFC 100. After the fight Silva said, “In your life you have bad moments. Everybody has bad moments, but if you believe in God and working hard, good moments they’ll come,” an emotional Silva told the audience. Silva attributed his success to working with his previous trainer Raphael Cordeiro. Bisping added, “Wanderlei’s a great opponent...I felt the reason he got the decision was the knockdown right at the end.”

Wanderlei Silva was expected to face former K-1 HERO'S Light Heavyweight Champion Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116. Unfortunately, on June 22, Wanderlei had to pull out due to breaking three ribs during training. Akiyama would instead be fighting on the card, against Chris Leben. After Leben defeated Akiyama with a triangle choke in the third round Leben verbally called out Silva saying "Come on Wanderlei, I'll take you out too" in his post fight interview. "He represented very well, he's a good opponent," said Silva of "The Crippler." "I think if he's gonna wait that I'm gonna fight him next however Dana White has not considered a Silva/Leben fight happening anytime soon."

Silva underwent knee surgery in late July 2010 and his doctors have stated that he will need to wait at least 4 months before returning to training. This means that he will not be seen fighting in the octagon again until early 2011.

Silva was scheduled to face Brian Stann at UFC 130. However, after Silva voiced his reluctance to face Stann, he was replaced on the card by returning UFC veteran Jorge Santiago. On April 4, 2011, the UFC announced that Silva's next opponent would be Chris Leben with the two scheduled to meet at UFC 132. on July 2, 2011. During the fight's first round Leben won by KO with several uppercuts before following Silva to the ground for a referees stoppage at the 27 second mark. Silva is now 4-6 in his last ten fights, after a 29-5-1 Record to start his career and 3-6 overall in the UFC. When Dana White was asked about his thoughts on Wanderlei's possible retirement, he said he felt it would be the best time for Wanderlei to retire but in the end it is up to wether Wanderlei himself would like to fight again.

Personal life

Wanderlei and his wife Tea have a son named Thor. He also has a daughter named Rafaela from a previous relationship.

Championships and accomplishments

'''International Vale Tudo Championship

:*IVC Light Heavyweight Champion

'''PRIDE Fighting Championships

:*PRIDE Middleweight Championship 2001-2007 (One time, First) :*2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Winner :*2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Semi-Finalist :*2006 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix Semi-Finalist :*Most Wins & Knockouts in PRIDE FC History (22 Wins 15 Knockouts)

'''Sherdog

:*2004 Fighter of the Year

'''Ultimate Fighting Championship

:*Fight of the Night (Two times) :*Knockout of the Night (One time)

'''Fighters Only World MMA Awards

:*Fight of the Year (2008) - vs Chuck Liddell on December 29, 2007 :*Knockout of the Year (2008) - vs Keith Jardine on May 24 :*Gym of the Year (2010) - awarded to Wand Fight Team

'''Inside Fights

:*2008 Fight of the Year vs Chuck Liddell on December 29, 2007

'''Wrestling Observer Newsletter

:*2001 Feud of the Year (vs Kazushi Sakuraba) :*2001 Shootfighter of the Year :*2003 Shootmatch of the Year (vs Hidehiko Yoshida) :*2004 Shootfighter of the Year :*2004 Shootmatch of the Year (vs Quinton Jackson)

Mixed martial arts record

| Loss |align=center| 33–11–1(1) | Chris Leben | KO (punches) | UFC 132 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:27 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- | Win |align=center| 33–10–1(1) | Michael Bisping | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 110 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Sydney, Australia | |- | Loss |align=center| 32–10–1(1) | Rich Franklin | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 99 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Cologne, Germany | |- |Loss |align=center| 32–9–1 (1) | Quinton Jackson | KO (punch) | UFC 92 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:21 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center| 32–8–1 (1) | Keith Jardine | KO (punches) | UFC 84 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:36 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center| 31–8–1 (1) | Chuck Liddell | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 79 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center| 31–7–1 (1) | Dan Henderson | KO (punch) | Pride 33 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 2:08 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center| 31–6–1 (1) | Mirko Filipović | KO (head kick) | Pride Final Conflict Absolute | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 5:26 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 31–5–1 (1) | Kazuyuki Fujita | TKO (punches and soccer kicks) | Pride Critical Countdown Absolute | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 9:21 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 30–5–1 (1) | Ricardo Arona | Decision (split) | Pride Shockwave 2005 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Loss |align=center| 29–5–1 (1) | Ricardo Arona | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Final Conflict 2005 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 29–4–1 (1) | Kazuhiro Nakamura | TKO (punches) | Pride Critical Countdown 2005 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 5:24 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 28–4–1 (1) | Hidehiko Yoshida | Decision (split) | Pride Total Elimination 2005 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Osaka, Japan | |- |Loss |align=center| 27–4–1 (1) | Mark Hunt | Decision (split) | Pride Shockwave 2004 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 27–3–1 (1) | Quinton Jackson | KO (knees) | Pride 28 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 3:26 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 26–3–1 (1) | Yuki Kondo | KO (stomps) | Pride Final Conflict 2004 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 2:46 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 25–3–1 (1) | Ikuhisa Minowa | KO (punches) | Pride Bushido 2 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:09 | Yokohama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 24–3–1 (1) | Quinton Jackson | TKO (knees) | Pride Final Conflict 2003 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 6:28 | Tokyo, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 23–3–1 (1) | Hidehiko Yoshida | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Final Conflict 2003 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 22–3–1 (1) | Kazushi Sakuraba | KO (punch) | Pride Total Elimination 2003 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 5:01 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 21–3–1 (1) | Hiromitsu Kanehara | TKO (corner stoppage) | Pride 23 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:40 | Tokyo, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 20–3–1 (1) | Tatsuya Iwasaki | TKO (head kick and punches) | Pride Shockwave | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:16 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Draw |align=center| 19–3–1 (1) | Mirko Filipović | Draw | Pride 20 | |align=center| 5 |align=center| 3:00 | Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 19–3 (1) | Kiyoshi Tamura | KO (punch) | Pride 19 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 2:28 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 18–3 (1) | Alexander Otsuka | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Pride 18 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 2:02 | Fukuoka, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 17–3 (1) | Kazushi Sakuraba | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Pride 17 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 10:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 16–3 (1) | Shungo Oyama | TKO (punches) | Pride 14 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:30 | Yokohama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 15–3 (1) | Kazushi Sakuraba | TKO (knees and soccer kick) | Pride 13 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:38 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 14–3 (1) | Dan Henderson | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 12 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 10:00 | Saitama, Japan | |- | NC |align=center| 13–3 (1) | Gilbert Yvel | No Contest (groin strike) | Pride 11 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:21 | Osaka, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 13–3 | Guy Mezger | KO (punch) | Pride 10 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:45 | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 12–3 | Todd Medina | KO (knees) | Meca World Vale Tudo 2 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:39 | Curitiba, Brazil | |- |Loss |align=center| 11–3 | Tito Ortiz | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 25 | |align=center| 5 |align=center| 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 11–2 | Bob Schrijber | Submission (rear naked choke) | Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 2:42 | Tokyo, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 10–2 | Daijiro Matsui | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 8 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 10:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 9–2 | Carl Malenko | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 7 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 10:00 | Yokohama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 8–2 | Tony Petarra | KO (knees) | UFC 20 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 2:53 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |- |Win |align=center| 7–2 | Eugene Jackson | Submission (punches) | IVC 10: World Class Champions | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:32 | Brazil | |- |Win |align=center| 6–2 | Adrian Serrano | KO (punches and soccer kick) | IVC 9: The Revenge | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:22 | Aracaju, Brazil | |- |Loss |align=center| 5–2 | Vitor Belfort | TKO (punches) | UFC Brazil | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:44 | São Paulo, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center| 5–1 | Mike Van Arsdale | KO (punch and soccer kick) | IVC 6: The Challenge | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 4:00 | São Paulo, Brazil | |- |Loss |align=center| 4–1 | Artur Mariano | TKO (cut) | IVC 2: A Question of Pride | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 13:10 | São Paulo, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center| 4–0 | Egidio da Costa | Submission (punches) | IVC 2: A Question of Pride | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 2:27 | São Paulo, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center| 3–0 | Sean Bormet | KO (head kick) | IVC 2: A Question of Pride | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:19 | São Paulo, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center| 2–0 | Marcelao Barbosa | TKO (shoulder injury) | Brazilian Vale Tudo 10 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:20 | Brazil | |- |Win |align=center| 1–0 | Dilson Filho | KO (elbow) | Brazilian Vale Tudo 6 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:35 | Brazil |

References

External links

Wanderlei Silva audio interview from 12/19/08

Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:People from Curitiba Category:Brazilian mixed martial artists Category:Middleweight mixed martial artists Category:Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Pride Fighting Championships champions Category:Brazilian Muay Thai practitioners Category:Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Category:Brazilian expatriates in the United States

als:Wanderlei Silva de:Wanderlei Silva es:Wanderlei Silva fr:Wanderlei Silva it:Wanderlei Silva nl:Wanderlei Silva ja:ヴァンダレイ・シウバ no:Wanderlei Silva pl:Wanderlei Silva pt:Wanderlei Silva ru:Силва, Вандерлей fi:Wanderlei Silva sv:Wanderlei Silva uk:Вандерлей Сілва

name	Lyoto Machida
birth name	Lyoto Carvalho Machida
nationality	Brazilian
birth date	May 30, 1978
birth place	Salvador, Brazil
other names	The Dragon
residence	Belém, Brazil
height
weight lb	205
weight class	Light Heavyweight
reach in	74
style	Machida Karate, Shotokan Karate, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Sumo
stance	Southpaw
team	Black House
trainer	Yoshizo Machida
rank	3rd dan black belt in Shotokan Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
years active	2003–present (MMA)
mma win	17
mma kowin	6
mma subwin	2
mma decwin	9
mma loss	2
mma koloss	1
mma decloss	1
spouse	Fabyola
children	2
relatives	Chinzô Machida (brother), Yoshizo Machida (father)
url	http://lyotomachida.net
sherdog	7513
updated	October 28, 2009 }}

Lyoto Carvalho Machida (; born May 30, 1978) is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist from Belém, Brazil who fights as a Light Heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and holds notable wins over former UFC champions Rich Franklin, B.J. Penn, Rashad Evans, Randy Couture, and Maurício Rua. He is currently ranked as the #5 light heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog, MMAWeekly & Yahoo! Sports. The son of a Japanese Shotokan karate master, , Machida utilizes a karate striking style that implements a wide Shotokan stance and an elusive strategy.

On May 23, 2009, Machida won the UFC light-heavyweight championship from the previously undefeated Rashad Evans by knockout in the second round. Machida subsequently lost his title, and his undefeated streak, on May 8, 2010, when he was knocked out in the first round by Mauricio Rua in their rematch. Machida was named one of the Top 10 Most Superstitious Athletes by Men's Fitness. He is the only man who holds a victory over former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans and the only man to knock out Light Heavyweight Fighter Thiago Silva.

Early life

Machida was born in the city of Salvador as the third son of the highly ranked head of the Brazilian branch of the Japan Karate Association, Shotokan karate master Yoshizo Machida. Yoshizo moved to Brazil from Japan when he was 22 years old. There he met and married Lyoto's mother, Ana Claudia. Growing up in Belém, Lyoto began training in karate at the age of three and earned his black belt at the age of thirteen. He also began training in sumo at twelve and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at fifteen. He won a number of amateur karate tournaments, including the 2001 Pan American Karate tournament.

He was the runner-up in the 2000 Brazilian Sumo Championships in the 115 kg division. As an adult, he became Brazilian Champion twice under Taylor Swanson, and placed second in the South American Championship. He defeated American black belt Jiu-Jitsu fighter Rafael Lovato Jr. at ''L.A. Sub X''. In addition to his sumo and karate achievements, he has a college degree in Physical Education. Lyoto's brother, Chinzô, is a Shotokan vice-champion (Australia 2006), losing only to number-one ranked Shotokan master Koji Ogata. Lyoto and Chinzô fought in a Karate Final 10 years ago in which Lyoto gave Chinzô a cheek scar that still exists today. His other brothers include Kenzo Machida, a TV journalist for one of Brazil's biggest TV stations, Take Machida and adopted brother Francisco Machida.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC Debut

Machida made his UFC debut on the preliminary card of ''UFC 67'' against Sam Hoger and won by unanimous decision. He followed up with a main-card debut at ''UFC 70'' and won a unanimous decision against David Heath. He next faced judo practitioner and Pride Fighting Championship veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura at ''UFC 76''. Machida won by unanimous decision and Nakamura would later test positive for marijuana.

At ''UFC 79'', Machida faced the highly touted Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, a judo practitioner who was making his UFC debut after two quick upset victories over Pride veterans Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona. He scored the first stoppage of his UFC career by submitting Sokoudjou with an arm triangle choke in the second round.

Machida's next fight was at ''UFC 84'', facing former UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz in what would be Ortiz's final UFC appearance before a long-standing dispute with Dana White led to Ortiz being out of a UFC contract for over a year. Machida frustrated Ortiz with lateral movement and counterstriking while successfully defending against the former champion's takedowns. In the closing minute of the first round Ortiz got Machida in a clinch, but Machida took Ortiz down, moved to side control, and had Ortiz in a modified crucifix position and began to punch Ortiz's unprotected face. In the final seconds of the third round, Machida landed a flying knee to the body of Ortiz and knocked him to the mat. As Machida moved in to finish the fight, Ortiz almost locked in a triangle choke before transitioning to an armbar attempt. Machida managed to escape and win a unanimous decision, and all three judges scored the fight 30–27 in his favor.

Machida was originally scheduled to fight fellow undefeated Brazilian Thiago Silva at ''UFC 89'' in Birmingham, England, however, the bout was postponed due to a back injury sustained by Silva. The fight ultimately took place at ''UFC 94''. After scoring several trips and knockdowns, Machida managed to knock out the grounded Silva in the final second of the first round. Machida's first UFC knockout earned Knockout of the Night Honors and a $65,000 bonus. In June 2009, Lyoto Machida was nominated for the 2009 ESPYS "Best Fighter" category, along with Anderson Silva, Manny Pacquiao, and Shane Mosley. However, Machida did not gain enough votes and the award was won instead by pro boxer Manny Pacquiao.

Light Heavyweight Championship

Machida met then light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans in another clash of undefeated fighters at ''UFC 98''. Machida scored an early knockdown in the first-round, while Evans struggled to make any progress. In the second-round, Evans experienced a flurry of accurate punches by Machida rendering him unconscious before hitting the canvas. Machida was subsequently crowned the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion; his performance earning him Knockout of the Night Honors with a $60,000 bonus for the second time in as many fights. This victory continued his undefeated streak in his MMA career and was also Evans' first career loss.

Machida was set to face Quinton Jackson in his first title defense, but Jackson opted to coach the tenth season of ''The Ultimate Fighter'' instead and then face fellow coach Rashad Evans. Pride Fighting Championship's 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix winner Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was then selected as Machida's first title defense which took place on October 24, 2009, at UFC 104, with Machida winning a unanimous decision victory, 48–47 from all three judges, with one stating that Machida "landed the more damaging strikes throughout the fight" and was the more "effective aggressor".

Machida vs Rua controversy and Rematch

Out of the three judges, Hamilton gave Machida Rounds 2, 3 and 4. Peoples and Rosales each gave Machida the first three rounds. One of the judges (Nelson Hamilton) later commented in a post-fight interview that his line of sight was obstructed for much of the action in Round 4, and that after reviewing footage of the round, he likely would have scored the round to Rua. However, since the verdict was unanimous, retroactively changing the score for this judge would still have resulted in a 2–1 split decision in favor of Machida. Hamilton also commented that he felt the commentary had led many fans to believe Shogun had won the fight decisively, when it was a very close, technical and difficult fight to score for all three judges. In spite of this, a significant amount of the audience, who had not heard the commentary, booed the decision after it was delivered, voicing their support for Rua. Writers for a number of sports websites/magazines also claimed they felt Rua had won.

There were also MMA fighters in attendance who, after the bout, voiced support for the decision. Among them were Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Anderson Silva, Junior dos Santos, Jose Aldo and Rafael Cavalcante. However all of these fighters were training partners of Machida at the time of the fight.

A Fightmetric analysis of the fight suggested that Rua had been more aggressive and had landed more blows to the head and legs than Machida, while CompuStrike reported that Rua landed almost twice as many strikes as Machida did. Both Fightmetric and CompuStrike explicitly state on their websites that they are not intended to be used to judge MMA events, and are merely a way to track a fighter's activity.

Because of the controversy surrounding the close decision, on May 8, 2010, at UFC 113 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Machida and Mauricio Rua faced each other again, seven months after their original fight. It was a very much anticipated rematch. Both fighters started aggressively and scored significant points in striking exchanges, with Machida scoring two takedowns during the round. Rua showed strong defense on the ground, spinning to attempt a knee bar before both fighters returned to their feet. At 3:30 of round 1, Rua swayed to avoid a hook left and landed a powerful counter overhand right to the temple, which knocked Machida down. Rua then took the full mount and proceeded to finish with ground-and-pound knocking out Machida, making him the new Light Heavyweight Champion at 3:35 in round 1, while Machida suffered his first career MMA loss.

Back to title contention

Machida then faced Quinton Jackson at UFC 123. The decision in this fight ultimately came down to the scoring of the first round, as there is near-unanimous agreement that Rampage narrowly won the second round while Machida won the third, and most dominant round of the fight where Machida landed a vicious flurry of strikes to Rampage before taking him down to full mount, which was also the most judge-convincing (for Machida) part of the fight as well.

During the first round Machida landed several leg kicks and some counter punches while Rampage predominantly landed from the clinch, utilizing stomps and punches to Machida's side. Both Compustrike and Fightmetric records show that Rampage out-struck Machida when counting small blows such as stomps and elbows to the thigh in the clinch, while Machida landing more significant strikes during the standup exchanges. In the second round, Compustrike and Fightmetric records again show Rampage as the busier overall fighter, and Rampage also scored a takedown. The cleanest and most significant blow of the second round was also an uppercut landed by Rampage.

In the third round, Machida landed a counter left that stunned Rampage and followed it with a flurry of punches, kicks and knees that backed Quinton into the cage. When Rampage tried to retaliate, Machida scored a takedown, eventually gaining full mount and attempting several submissions.

At the end of the final round, Rampage was declared the winner via split decision (29–28, 29–28, 28–29) in what was considered by some as a controversial decision loss for Machida. Fighters such as Anderson Silva, Randy Couture and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a post-fight interview days later, all thought that Machida won the fight. In interview after the fight, Rampage expressed to Joe Rogan that the fairest thing would be to offer Machida an immediate rematch as he felt he had lost the fight. However, since UFC President Dana White personally felt that Rampage won the fight, he denied the possibility of an immediate rematch. This has generated some controversy, as UFC President White previously awarded an immediate rematch to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in spite of a unanimous judgment decision awarded to Machida in that fight.

Machida vs. Rampage controversy

Just like the Shogun fight and briefly stated about a little bit before in "Back to title contenion", controversy surrounded the fight between Rampage and Machida. Anderson Silva, Randy Couture and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua stated in an interview they thought that Machida won the fight. People all over the internet posted they thought Machida had won the fight and considered it to be (along with the Machida vs. Shogun fight) in their top 10 most controversial decision outcomes of all-time. Rampage Jackson himself thought that Machida won the fight and that Lyoto "whooped his ass" as well as stating even though he didn't want to (in a fear of losing to Machida), giving him a re-match. This was later cancelled by Dana White, as he stated because he felt that Rampage won the fight, there would be no re-match. Despite fans cheering when Rampage was declared the winner, the reason for that was because of Rampage's popularity and some people later stated that if they were to cheer for the decision, they would definitely boo it and the decision of not giving Lyoto Machida a re-match.

UFC President Dana White had indicated in January 2011 that Machida was under pressure to perform in his upcoming bout against UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture, saying, "this is a must-win for him.". Machida defeated Randy Couture at UFC 129 in Toronto via KO with a jumping front kick that earned ''Knockout of the Night'' honors and bore a distinct resemblance to the Crane kick demonstrated by the title character in ''The Karate Kid''.

Dana White has commented that Machida's performance vs Randy Couture has put him back into the mix at the top of the division, but also stated that he is not yet the next in line for a title shot.

Machida was briefly linked to a rematch with Rashad Evans at UFC 133, replacing an injured Phil Davis. However, Dana White claimed that Lyoto Machida wanted "Anderson Silva money" and the UFC scheduled Tito Ortiz for the fight with Evans.

Machida was thought to then fight Phil Davis at UFC 140, but now the UFC is considering something else for him. Such fighters that could be Lyoto's next opponent are: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua or Phil Davis, but it's unconfirmed at the moment.

Fighting style

Machida uses a unique, unorthodox style in MMA that combines elements from his diverse training background to make it as suitable for the sport as possible. Machida has received both praise and criticism for backpedaling in his fights while winning on points. It is based mainly on Shotokan karate and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but also integrates techniques from wrestling and Sumo, which Machida says makes him "fully prepared for any situation" in the Octagon. Often described as "elusive", Machida relies on cautious and precise counter-striking that frustrates his opponents into making mistakes. Machida has earned considerable respect from MMA fans, fighters, and commentators for his effectiveness and winning ways. At the same time, his cerebral and conservative style is sometimes deemed boring and unsatisfying to watch. Machida has drawn fire from fans, and criticism from MMA commentators for his limited aggression and many decision victories. In response to these criticisms, Machida said, "If you don't like it, sorry. I always try to win." He also stated that he believes fans are coming to appreciate the efficiency of his style just like they came to appreciate Royce Gracie's jiu-jitsu.

Machida defied expectations at ''UFC 94,'' where he earned a "Knockout of the Night" honor for his first-round stoppage of then undefeated Thiago Silva. Machida noted that he started to include weight training in his preparation for the bout. Commentators hailed the knockout as a step in the right direction toward building interest in him as a potential champion. In addition, Machida showcased his improved English skills during interviews for the event, which gave him the ability to connect with fans more easily. Machida's limited English was previously seen as a marketing liability. After knocking out Rashad Evans at UFC 98, in the post fight in-ring interview with Joe Rogan, Machida announced to his fans, "Karate is back! Machida Karate!" Many fans referred to his style as "Machida Karate" since then.

In the November issue of the MMA Unltd magazine, Machida once again mentioned the phrase "Machida Karate", claiming that it was based on a very traditional form which is very different from modern sports karate. He also said that the Karate we see nowadays has lost many techniques over the years in which it was practiced, and that his style was one of the very few that still kept those techniques. "My style is Machida Karate and it is a very traditional form", he said, "It differs from sports karate which we usually see in Karate schools and competitions as it has many elements which were lost in the style including the use of knees, elbows, takedowns and even some submissions". Lyoto is a black belt in brazillian jiu-jitsu under Walter Broca.

Personal life

In an interview, Lyoto discussed his practice of urine therapy, which he learned from his father.

Championships and achievements

Martial arts

Shotokan

*3rd-dan black belt in Shotokan

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

*Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Mixed martial arts

Black Belt Magazine

2009 MMA Fighter of the Year

Ultimate Fighting Championship

*UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)

* One successful title defense

*Knockout of the Night (Three times)

Mixed martial arts record

|- | Win |align=center| 17–2 | Randy Couture | KO (jumping front kick) | UFC 129 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 1:05 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |- | Loss |align=center| 16–2 | Quinton Jackson | Decision (split) | UFC 123 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States | |- | Loss |align=center| 16–1 | Maurício Rua | KO (punches) | UFC 113 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:35 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |- | Win |align=center| 16–0 | Maurício Rua | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 104 | |align=center| 5 |align=center| 5:00 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |- | Win |align=center| 15–0 | Rashad Evans | KO (punches) | UFC 98 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 3:57 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- | Win |align=center| 14–0 | Thiago Silva | KO (punches) | UFC 94 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 4:59 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Knockout of the Night. |- | Win |align=center| 13–0 | Tito Ortiz | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 84 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- | Win |align=center| 12–0 | Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC 79 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 4:20 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- | Win |align=center| 11–0 | Kazuhiro Nakamura | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 76 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Anaheim, California, United States | |- | Win |align=center| 10–0 | David Heath | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 70 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Manchester, England | |- | Win |align=center| 9–0 | Sam Hoger | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 67 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- | Win |align=center| 8–0 | Vernon White | Decision (unanimous) | WFA: King of the Streets | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |- | Win |align=center| 7–0 | Dimitri Wanderley | TKO (exhaustion) | Jungle Fight 6 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 3:24 | Manaus, Brazil | |- | Win |align=center| 6–0 | B.J. Penn | Decision (unanimous) | K-1 Hero's 1 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | Machida fought at a weight of . Penn weighed in at . |- | Win |align=center| 5–0 | Sam Greco | Decision (split) | K-1 MMA ROMANEX | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 4–0 | Michael McDonald | Submission (forearm choke) | K-1 Beast 2004 in Niigata | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 2:30 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 3–0 | Rich Franklin | TKO (head kick and punches) | Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 1:03 | Kobe, Hyogo, Japan |Both Machida and Franklin fought at a weight of 214lbs |- | Win |align=center| 2–0 | Stephan Bonnar | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Jungle Fight 1 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 4:21 | Manaus, Brazil | |- | Win |align=center| 1–0 | Kengo Watanabe | Decision (unanimous) | New Japan Pro Wrestling: Ultimate Crush | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan |

References

External links

Lyoto Machida Official website

The official Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida Fan Club (Facebook)

Machida Facts and Training Routine

UFC Profile

Category:Brazilian mixed martial artists Category:Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Brazilian karateka Category:Brazilian people of Japanese descent Category:Living people Category:1978 births Category:People from Belém Category:Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Category:Ultimate Fighting Championship champions

de:Lyoto Machida es:Lyoto Machida fr:Lyoto Machida ja:リョート・マチダ no:Lyoto Machida pl:Lyoto Machida pt:Lyoto Machida ru:Мачида, Лиото simple:Lyoto Machida fi:Lyoto Machida sv:Lyoto Machida uk:Ліото Мачіда

name	Mirko Filipović
birth name	Mirko Filipović
birth date	September 10, 1974
birth place	Vinkovci, Croatian SR, Yugoslavia
nationality	Croatian
other names	Cro Cop
residence	Zagreb, Croatia
height
weight lb	227
weight class	Heavyweight
reach in	73
style	Kickboxing
stance	Southpaw
team	Cro Cop Squad Gym Tigar Gym Vos Gym
trainer	Ivan Hippolyte
rank	Black belt in Taekwondo
years active	1996 – 2003 (Kickboxing)2001 – present (MMA)
kickbox win	16
kickbox kowin	11
kickbox loss	7
kickbox koloss	4
mma win	27
mma kowin	20
mma subwin	4
mma decwin	3
mma loss	9
mma koloss	4
mma subloss	2
mma decloss	3
mma draw	2
mma nc	1
am label	Amateur boxing record
am win	40
am kowin	31
am loss	5
spouse	Klaudija
url	http://www.mirko-crocop.com/
students	Fabricio Werdum
sherdog	2326
updated	November 08, 2009 }}

Mirko Filipović (; born September 10, 1974) is a Croatian heavyweight kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and former law enforcement officer. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007. His nickname, Cro Cop, short for "Croatian Cop", comes from his membership in the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit, Croatia's elite Police Special Forces tactical unit.

Filipović has been successful in both K-1 and Pride Fighting Championships. On September 10, 2006, he won the Pride 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix, and in 2007 began fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Filipović is famous for his left head kicks. He has been famously quoted as describing his kicks as, "Right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery." He holds notable wins over Josh Barnett (3x), Wanderlei Silva, Igor Vovchanchyn, Mark Coleman, Hidehiko Yoshida, Ikuhisa Minowa, Kevin Randleman, Kazushi Sakuraba, Kazuyuki Fujita (2x) and Aleksander Emelianenko.

Professional career

A martial arts enthusiast since his youth, Filipović started his professional career in 1996 as a kickboxer, following in the footsteps of his compatriot Branko Cikatić. Before turning pro Filipović was said to have accumulated an amateur boxing record of 40–5 (31 KO's). At the time, Filipović was working as a commando in the Croatian police anti-terrorist unit ''Alpha'' (stationed in Lučko near Zagreb), which earned him his nickname "Cro Cop". He also fought several times early in his career under the nickname "Tigar" (Croatian for "tiger"). His entrance theme song is The Wild Boys by Duran Duran.

K-1

In 1996, at the age of 22, Filipović entered the K-1 World Grand Prix elimination tournament. After defeating the previous year's finalist, Jérôme Le Banner, Filipović was stopped in the next round by Ernesto Hoost. He returned to K-1 three years later in 1999, knocking out British fighter Ricky "Tank" Nicholson, but subsequently dropped a decision against Swiss fighter, Xhavit Bajrami. Despite this, Filipović was given a wildcard into the world tournament where he shocked the kickboxing world by defeating highly regarded K-1 fighter Mike Bernardo. Filipović went on to knock out Japanese star Musashi and Australian karate fighter Sam Greco on the same night before being stopped again by Hoost. It was later revealed that Filipović actually entered the ring with a broken rib, a result of his previous fights.

Filipović continued to have successes in K-1, winning a number of matches against such top ranked opponents as Peter Aerts, Mark Hunt and Remy Bonjasky. He was the first fighter to beat then-undefeated giant, "The Beast" Bob Sapp in 86 seconds, breaking Sapp's zygomatic bone with a left punch. In 2000 he beat karate fighter Glaube Feitosa and boxer Hiromi Amada to reach the finals of the Nagoya Grand Prix, losing by first-round TKO to Mike Bernardo in a rematch. Once again, previously acquired injuries were the major factors in this loss. Filipović actually entered the ring limping on one leg due to injuries sustained in previous bouts. Bernardo repeatedly attacked Filipović's damaged leg and rendered him unable to continue due to injuries. Filipović, however, gained tremendous respect among Japanese fight enthusiasts for his courage and heart. As a finalist he progressed to the final eight for the 2000 Grand Prix, but once again dropped a decision to his nemesis Hoost.

In 2001 he was unexpectedly defeated by Canadian fighter Michael McDonald in the first round. Shortly thereafter, he began a transition to Pride, a Japanese mixed martial arts organization. He fought four more K-1 matches, however, winning each, most notably against Mark Hunt, Remy Bonjasky and Bob Sapp.

Pride FC

In 2001, Filipović began his switch to fighting in Pride, citing personal challenge as well as dissatisfaction with K-1 salaries. A year later, he also left his job at the anti-terrorist unit in order to focus fully on his martial arts career. Since then, Filipović maintained a comparably low kickboxing profile, but nevertheless scored some impressive K-1 victories, most notably against Mark Hunt in March 2002 (unanimous decision), Remy Bonjasky in July 2002 (second round TKO) and Bob Sapp in April 2003 (first round KO).

Following a TKO win over Kazuyuki Fujita in his MMA debut, Filipović made his Pride debut at Pride 17 against Nobuhiko Takada. The bout featured a special rule stating if it went to a decision it would be ruled a draw. Neither fighter was able to stop the other.

Filipović's next Pride fight was against then-middleweight (205 lb) champion Wanderlei Silva. This bout featured the same rules as the Takada fight and also ended in a draw. On August 28, 2002 Filipović faced Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba at ''Pride Shockwave''. Filipović won after fracturing Sakuraba's orbital bone.

His next fight was a rematch with Fujita at the ''Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002'' event where he picked up his fourth victory, this time by decision.

Filipović returned to Pride to face heavyweight contender Heath Herring at ''Pride 26'' (June 8, 2003). Filipović defeated Herring decisively, scoring a TKO victory with a left roundhouse body kick to Herring's liver at 3:17 into the fight. His next fight was against Ukrainian striker Igor Vovchanchyn at ''Pride Total Elimination 2003''. Following the powerful kicks of the Herring fight, this fight continued to showcase Filipović's kicking power as he knocked out Vovchanchyn with a head kick 1:29 into the fight. Filipović then defeated Mexican professional wrestler Dos Caras Jr. at ''Pride Bushido 1,'' also with a head kick knockout, in 46 seconds.

Filipović's string of Pride wins secured him a chance to fight for the interim heavyweight championship against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on November 9, 2003. Filipović's stand-up fighting proved effective in the first round, allowing him to control the fight from his feet while defending every takedown attempt Nogueira made, and landing a head-kick at the end of the round. Nogueira, however, prevailed in the second round after finally getting a successful takedown, forcing Filipović to submit to an armbar after being mounted. Filipović admitted to Bas Rutten in a later interview that he was overconfident against Nogueira.

In 2004 Filipović put his K-1 career on hold and recruited Fabricio Werdum (a former world champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu) as his coach, working on improving his ground fighting skills. He went on to win his next two bouts by KO and TKO at a combined time of only 3:49, against Yoshihisa Yamamoto and 280 lb. Ron Waterman.

Filipović then participated in Pride's Heavyweight Grand Prix. In a upset, Filipović was knocked out in the first round by Kevin Randleman. Filipović later submitted Randleman in a rematch at the end of 2004.

Filipović repeatedly requested Pride to let him challenge the heavyweight champion, Fedor Emelianenko. After winning seven straight matches since his loss to Randleman, including a head-kick knockout victory against Alexander Emelianenko (the 6'4", brother of the champion) and wins over Josh Barnett, Mark Coleman and Ibragim Magomedov, Filipović received a chance to fight Emelianenko for the title on August 28, 2005 at Pride Final Conflict 2005. After three rounds, Emelianenko won by unanimous decision and retained his title. Filipović later stated on Croatian national television that he came exhausted to the match, mostly because he was not used to the time difference in Japan and he had sleeping problems. He also said many times after the match that he fought too defensively and cautiously. The champion, likewise, was not in his top form. According to Emelianenko he "could not take full advantage of his right hand during the striking exchanges and had to try to close the distance", due to a previous hand injury.

On October 23, 2005, less than two months after the loss to Emelianenko, Filipović stepped back into the ring to rematch open-weight King of Pancrase Josh Barnett. After three rounds Filipović received a unanimous judges' decision victory.

On December 31, 2005, Filipović lost his match against Mark Hunt via split decision. Hunt was the more aggressive fighter, an important criterion in Pride judging. Unusually, Filipović wore shoes for this fight, something that had no precedent. This had led to speculation and statements from his camp about Filipović having sustained injuries to his feet before the fight. Filipović himself has never confirmed these speculations. Filipović also displayed considerable problems with his cardio during his fights with Emelianenko, Barnett and Hunt leading to the speculation that he was much too active and a resting period from the ring would work to his advantage.

Pride Openweight Grand Prix Champion

Filipović re-entered the Pride ring, competing in Pride's 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix on May 5, 2006. It was during this tournament that he came up with the quote, "Right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery". His first match at the ''Pride Total Elimination Absolute'' event was against Ikuhisa Minowa, the lighter but highly acclaimed professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Filipović won by TKO 1:10 into the fight. On July 1, 2006 at ''Pride Critical Countdown Absolute'', Filipović defeated 1992 Olympic judo gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida by technical knockout (leg kicks) in the first round to move on to the semi-finals.

On September 10, 2006, Filipović won the Open-Weight Grand Prix at ''Pride Final Conflict Absolute''. In the semi-finals, Filipović knocked out then-Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva with his trademark left high kick. In the final match, Filipović won a third victory over Josh Barnett, who submitted after sustaining an eye injury. With these two victories, Filipović became the Pride Openweight Grand Prix champion, the first widely recognized championship belt he has ever won. In a post-fight interview with Frank Trigg, Filipović stated if he had not won the tournament, it would have been his last night fighting. The night was also his birthday, and Filipović dedicated winning the tournament to his deceased father.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After his victory at the Open-Weight Grand Prix, a rematch between Filipović and Fedor Emelianenko failed to materialize and on December 12, 2006 Filipović pulled out of the New Year's Eve event, citing both a foot injury and Emelianenko's commitment to meet Mark Hunt at the card in question. Through his official website, Filipović revealed "I still can't kick like I want to. It's the best that we give more time to this injury to heal. I want to be in perfect shape for my next fights." Also in December 2006, rumors began to surface about Filipović entertaining offers from other mixed martial arts organizations; the Ultimate Fighting Championship was one of the promotions that Filipović confirmed came forward with an offer. Rumors continued to circulate about Filipović's future with the Pride FC organization and soon media websites were reporting that Filipović had chosen the UFC for his future.

UFC president Dana White and the UFC officially announced on December 30, 2006 during the post-''UFC 66'' press conference, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, that Filipović had signed a two-year, six-fight deal with the Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts promoter. It was also announced that Filipović would make his UFC debut on February 3, 2007 at ''UFC 67'' in Las Vegas against Eddie Sanchez, promoting him under the name Mirko "Cro Cop" alternatively with and without quotation marks. Filipović defeated Sanchez in the first round via TKO. Filipović entered the octagon under the Pride FC theme.

On April 21, 2007, Filipović faced Gabriel Gonzaga at ''UFC 70'' in Manchester, England. At 4:51 of round one, Gonzaga won with a head kick knockout. Filipović has stated since that the elbows on the ground confused and damaged him enough that he was disoriented after the stand up, contributing to the subsequent knock-out. During the fall to the canvas, Filipović suffered a minor injury to his ankle and a ligament was detached in his knee.

Filipović's next fight was on September 8, 2007 at ''UFC 75'' against French kickboxer Cheick Kongo where he lost via unanimous decision. In a post-fight interview upon his return home, Filipović stated that he cracked a rib during the fight and that the three illegal knees to the groin he received also cost him some strength. Filipović trained with Remy Bonjasky and Gilbert Yvel, and 2003 Abu Dhabi Combat Club champion grappler Dean Lister for this fight. Lister joined Filipović at his home town for a month to train for this upcoming bout. Filipović's coach was Vos Gym's main trainer and muay thai practitioner Ivan "Hydro" Hippolyte. According to his home page, Marijan Žižanović is the new head coach again, since October 1, 2007. Žižanović was his K-1 trainer.

Dream

On February 12, 2008, Filipović announced a visit to Japan on his blog. With the foundation of the new MMA event, 'Dream', co-established by FEG running K-1 Hero's and the former Yarennoka! organizing committee members which had managed Pride FC, Filipović officiates ending his career in UFC and the participation into the new event.

After much speculation and many possible rumoured opponents, (including Yoshihiro Nakao and Dong Sik Yoon), Fight Entertainment Group confirmed on March 11, 2008 that Filipović would face Tatsuya Mizuno at Dream 1 on March 15, 2008 at Saitama Arena, in Japan.

When asked about the Croatian's current contract status with the UFC and whether it would interfere with his participation in 'Dream' events, Dream producer and front man Keiichi Sasahara said, "Though I can't share specific details about his contract, there will not be any foreseeable problems arising."

Filipović was vague in answering the question himself, qualifying his response by mentioning his intent to return to the UFC sometime in the future.

"Well, as you all know, I had a bad period in my last two fights, which I'd lost in the UFC," Filipović said. "I don't want anyone to think that I'm running away from the UFC, but I was thinking a lot about how to continue with my career, and I think in this moment, I think Dream is the right place for me."

"Another thing is that I never liked fighting in the cage. I always liked to fight in the ring. The second thing is that I liked fighting in Japan. Japan is like my second home—I feel like I'm home in Japan. All those reasons [have brought me] here, and I'm very happy that I'm going to fight here in Japan. But of course, one day, I don't know when, but definitely I'll be back in the UFC to show that it was just a bad period for me. Now I'm fully recovered, physically and mentally, most important mentally."

On March 15, 2008 he defeated Tatsuya Mizuno by TKO in the 1st round at Dream 1.

His next fight was scheduled to be against Jerome Le Banner at Dream 5, after being rescheduled once due to Filipović sustaining a minor leg injury. However, it was later announced by Filipović himself on his webpage that he would be unable to fight due to his elbow injury worsening and needing surgery. Filipović underwent successful arthroscopic elbow repair in early July.

Filipović's next fight was against Alistair Overeem at Dream 6 on September 23, 2008. After almost half of the first round saw Overeem takedown Filipović twice and the two fighters exchanging stand-up and ground strikes (with Filipović sustaining a cut) the bout was stopped and declared a no contest due to Overeem landing multiple knees to the groin of Filipović. Filipović stated after the match that he had wanted to continue to fight, as evident by his remaining in the ring, but the ringside doctor would not allow him to continue. Filipović's manager stated that the injury was not serious and that a rematch as soon as possible was sought. Filipović said that he was planning for a long fight and a KO towards the end. He expressed frustration and quoted "I'm angry it ended this way, it seemed as if he was the dominant one, however I wasn't in trouble for a second and was waiting for my opportunities. I prepared very well because I thought the match could last a while. I thought I would knock him down in the end."

Filipović defeated the 30 cm taller and 50 kg heavier opponent from Korea, Choi Hong-man, on December 31 at FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008. The winning leg kick was to the back side of his opponent's left knee and resulted in a TKO win for Filipović. After the fight, Filipović announced that he would have a medical procedure carried out on his injured knee.

Return to the UFC

On May 18 Filipović issued a press release on his official website and his MMAid account stating his scheduled return to the UFC. His first match upon returning was at UFC 99 in Germany against Mostapha Al-turk. During the bout, Filipović knocked down Al-Turk with punches within the first round, then allowed him to stand. The fight ended when Filipović finished Al-turk with a flurry of punches.

After the one-fight agreement with the UFC, it was announced Filipović was scheduled to return to Dream to face Siala "Mighty Mo" Siliga on July 20 at ''Dream.10''. On July 3, 2009 however, it was reported that he might have re-signed with the UFC after getting an offer "he couldn't refuse" by UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta who personally flew to Filipović's residence in Zagreb. It was later confirmed at the UFC Fan Expo by Fertitta that Filipović had indeed signed a three fight contract with the UFC.

Filipović fought Up and coming striker Junior dos Santos at UFC 103. During the third round, Filipović sustained a punch to his left eye that caused him to wave his hand at the referee saying "I can't see". The fight was stopped due to submission, giving Dos Santos the win. After the fight, Filipović showed signs of frustration, stating, "I don't feel the hunger anymore. I started playing it safe, I'm not ready to take risks." A few days later, Filipović seemed more upbeat, and looked to continue his career, saying fighting is the only life he knows, and at least wants to honor the last two fights on his UFC contract. He was quoted as saying, "I did a few things wrong in training and in preparation for the Dos Santos fight, and will find the motivation and strength needed to come back".

Since then, Filipović has hired legendary former Muay Thai champion Ivan Hippolyte and revamped his whole training team. The source went on to say "After the defeat by Dos Santos, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has announced drastic changes in the training methods and composition of Team CroCop. Marjan Zizanovic is no longer his boxing coach. Instead, Cro Cop is now working with the Dutch Muay Thai legend Ivan Hippolyte, who these days resides in Zagreb. Filipović will combine training at his own facility with visits to the Netherlands where he can train with top-notch sparring partners. Igor Pokrajac, Cro Cop’s long-time friend and sparring partner, is also no longer in Filipović's team. Pokrajac continues his career with the UFC, but is no longer training with Filipović although the pair remain on good terms."

Filipović has stated that he plans to fight at least three times in 2010.

Filipović was scheduled to face Ben Rothwell on February 21, 2010 at UFC 110. Just days before the fight, Rothwell was forced to withdraw from the event because of an illness. Australian fighter Anthony Perosh stepped in to replace Rothwell.

During the fight, Filipović dominated for two rounds before opening a cut on Perosh's forehead which forced a doctor stoppage before the third round and awarded the TKO win to Filipović. Filipović fought despite receiving a cut in training that required stitches.

Filipović next fought against fellow former Kickboxer Pat Barry at UFC 115 in Vancouver, Canada. After being knocked down twice to the canvas in the first round by Barry's strikes, he won the second round after utilizing his ground game. The third round saw Filipović open up with a head kick followed by an axe kick to Barry's head. He ended the fight with a strong flurry, dropping Barry against the cage where he continued his assault with numerous punches to the face. He then took his back and defeated Barry by rear naked choke (with no hooks in), earning him ''Submission of the Night'' honors which Mirko had joked to Dana White and the crowd earlier that he deserved it.

Prior to the Barry fight, Filipović was detained by Canadian officials, who threatened to deport him. He revealed that the Canadian officials had asked for details of his activities in the Lucko ATJ (anti-terrorist unit) that he had joined a few years after the Croatian War of Independence. Filipović was held for a total of six hours, across two days.

Filipović faced former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir on September 25, 2010 at UFC 119, replacing an injured Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. There was a brief scare the weekend before the fight when Cro Cop suffered an eye injury in Croatia during his final day of training, but upon arrival in the U.S., was medically cleared to compete. It was a largely uneventful fight in which both fighters stayed on their feet. Neither fighter managed to deliver any significant damage to the other until Filipović was defeated by Mir at 4:02 of the third round by knockout due to a knee strike to the head. Mirko Filipović was defeated by Ultimate Fighter alumni Brendan Schaub on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones by way of knockout at 3:44 of the third round. Shortly after the knockout loss to Schaub, Dana White stated that Filipović is most likely retiring. Since this time, Dana White has appeared to have had a change of heart. In a recent interview White said "This guy wants to fight again, and I owe him another fight." White also added "Do I think he should have retired? Yeah," White said. "But I don't think he's in one of these situations like Chuck Liddell, who needed to retire right then. He's a man, a grown man, and if he wants to continue to fight, that's his right."

Filipović is expected to face Roy Nelson on October 29, 2011 at UFC 137.

Personal life

Filipović was born in the village of Privlaka in Vinkovci, Croatia, the son of Žarko and Ana Filipović.

Filipović and his wife Klaudija have a son named Ivan. The couple had their second child, a son named Filip on November 22, 2010.

On his UFC profile, Filipović lists his father as his hero.

FIlm Career

Filipović starred in the 2005 action film Ultimate Force as Axon Rey

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Black Belt Magazine

2003 Full-Contact Fighter of the Year

PRIDE Fighting Championships

*2006 PRIDE World Grand Prix Open-Weight Champion

Sherdog

2006 Knockout of the Year vs Wanderlei Silva

Ultimate Fighting Championship

*Submission of the Night (One time)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

*Most Outstanding Fighter of the Year (2006)

Kickboxing

K-1

*K-1 World Grand Prix 1999 Runner Up

*K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka Runner Up

*K-1 Braves '99 3rd Place

IKBF

*IKBF World Heavyweight Full Contact Champion

Mixed martial arts record

|align=center| |align=center| | Roy Nelson |align=center| | UFC 137 | |align=center| |align=center| | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |align=center| |- | Loss |align=center| 27–9–2 (1) | Brendan Schaub | KO (punch) | UFC 128 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 3:44 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | |- | Loss |align=center| 27–8–2 (1) | Frank Mir | KO (knee) | UFC 119 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 4:02 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |- | Win |align=center| 27–7–2 (1) | Pat Barry | Submission (rear naked choke) | UFC 115 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 4:30 | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | |- | Win |align=center| 26–7–2 (1) | Anthony Perosh | TKO (doctor stoppage) | UFC 110 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 5:00 | Sydney, Australia | |- | Loss |align=center| 25–7–2 (1) | Junior dos Santos | Submission (injury) | UFC 103 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 2:00 | Dallas, Texas, United States | |- | Win |align=center| 25–6–2 (1) | Mostapha Al-turk | TKO (punches) | UFC 99 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:06 | Cologne, Germany | |- | Win |align=center| 24–6–2 (1) | Choi Hong-man | TKO (low kick) | Dynamite!! 2008 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 6:32 | Saitama, Japan | |- | NC |align=center| 23–6–2 (1) | Alistair Overeem | No Contest (groin strike) | Dream 6 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 6:09 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 23–6–2 | Tatsuya Mizuno | TKO (punches) | Dream 1 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:56 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Loss |align=center| 22–6–2 | Cheick Kongo | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 75 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | London, England | |- | Loss |align=center| 22–5–2 | Gabriel Gonzaga | KO (head kick) | UFC 70 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 4:51 | Manchester, England | |- | Win |align=center| 22–4–2 | Eddie Sanchez | TKO (punches) | UFC 67 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 4:33 | Las Vegas, Nevada , United States | |- | Win |align=center| 21–4–2 | Josh Barnett | Submission (punches) | Pride Final Conflict Absolute | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 7:32 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 20–4–2 | Wanderlei Silva | KO (head kick) | Pride Final Conflict Absolute | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 5:22 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 19–4–2 | Hidehiko Yoshida | TKO (leg kicks) | Pride Critical Countdown Absolute | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 7:38 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 18–4–2 | Ikuhisa Minowa | TKO (punches) | Pride Total Elimination Absolute | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:10 | Osaka, Japan | |- | Loss |align=center| 17–4–2 | Mark Hunt | Decision (split) | Pride Shockwave 2005 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 17–3–2 | Josh Barnett | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 30 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Loss |align=center| 16–3–2 | Fedor Emelianenko | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Final Conflict 2005 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 16–2–2 | Ibragim Magomedov | KO (body kick) | Pride Critical Countdown 2005 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:53 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 15–2–2 | Mark Coleman | KO (punches) | Pride 29 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:40 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 14–2–2 | Kevin Randleman | Submission (guillotine choke) | Pride Shockwave 2004 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:41 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 13–2–2 | Josh Barnett | Submission (injury) | Pride 28 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:46 | Saitama, Japan | Shoulder injury. |- | Win |align=center| 12–2–2 | Alexander Emelianenko | KO (head kick and punches) | Pride Final Conflict 2004 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 2:09 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 11–2–2 | Shungo Oyama | TKO (punches) | Pride Bushido 4 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:00 | Nagoya, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 10–2–2 | Hiromitsu Kanehara | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Bushido 3 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 5:00 | Yokohama, Japan | |- | Loss |align=center| 9–2–2 | Kevin Randleman | KO (punches) | Pride Total Elimination 2004 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:57 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 9–1–2 | Yoshihisa Yamamoto | TKO (punches) | Pride Bushido 2 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 2:12 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 8–1–2 | Ron Waterman | TKO (soccer kicks) | Pride 27 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 4:37 | Osaka, Japan | |- | Loss |align=center| 7–1–2 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | Submission (armbar) | Pride Final Conflict 2003 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 1:45 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 7–0–2 | Alberto Rodriguez | KO (head kick) | Pride Bushido 1 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:46 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 6–0–2 | Igor Vovchanchyn | KO (head kick) | Pride Total Elimination 2003 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:29 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 5–0–2 | Heath Herring | TKO (body kick and punches) | Pride 26 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:17 | Yokohama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 4–0–2 | Kazuyuki Fujita | Decision (unanimous) | Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 3–0–2 | Kazushi Sakuraba | TKO (injury) | Pride Shockwave | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Draw |align=center| 2–0–2 | Wanderlei Silva | Draw | Pride 20 | |align=center| 5 |align=center| 3:00 | Yokohama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 2–0–1 | Yuji Nagata | TKO (head kick and strikes) | Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:21 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Draw |align=center| 1–0–1 | Nobuhiko Takada | Draw | Pride 17 | |align=center| 5 |align=center| 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 1–0 | Kazuyuki Fujita | TKO (cut) | K-1 Andy Memorial 2001 Japan GP Final | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:39 | Saitama, Japan |

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing Record ''Legend'':

See also

List of current UFC fighters

List of K-1 events

List of kickboxing organizations

List of male kickboxers

List of male mixed martial artists

List of Pride events

List of UFC events

References

External links

Filipović's official website

Official UFC Profile

Category:1974 births Category:Athlete-politicians Category:Croatian kickboxers Category:Croatian mixed martial artists Category:Heavyweight kickboxers Category:Heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Living people Category:People from Vinkovci Category:Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament

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