Look up mma in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

MMA may refer to:

• Mixed martial arts, a full contact combat sport
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, a museum in New York City

Business and commerce[link]

• MacRobertson Miller Airlines, a Western Australian airline that operated from 1934 into the 1980s
• Maldives Monetary Authority, a central bank
• Malta Maritime Authority, responsible for the operation of the ports in Malta
• Manufacturer's Mutual Association, an organization formed in 1902 to challenge the litigation of the fledgling automobile industry
• Money market account, a type of deposit account
• Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, a North American regional freight railroad
• Mobile marketing association, a trade group established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and technologies
• Mutuelles du Mans Assurances, a French insurance company

Politics and religion[link]

• Ma malakat aymanukum, a reference in the Qur'an to slaves
• Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a coalition of religious political parties in Pakistan
• Medicare modernization act, an American Congressional act that enabled the creation of medicare plans and health savings accounts

Science and technology[link]

• Manual metal arc welding, a common arc welding method
• Methyl methacrylate, an organic compound
• Methylmalonic acid, a dicarboxylic acid
• MIDI Manufacturers Association, caretaker of the MIDI specification
• Millimeter Array, an American radio telescope project
• Monomethylarsonic acid or MMA(V), an organic arsenic compound
• Monomethylarsonous acid or MMA(III), an organic arsenic compound
• Multimission Maritime Aircraft or P-8 Poseidon, a current US Navy program
• Tecnam MMA, a twin-engine aircraft
• Multi-path Management API, allows an application to discover multipath devices
• Method of Moving Asymptotes, method to solve structural optimization problem.

Medicine[link]

• Mastitis-metritis-agalactiae, a disease in sows
• Maxillomandibular advancement, a type of jaw surgery
• Methylmalonic acidemia, an autosomal genetic disorder
• Monomelic amyotrophy, a disease of the lower motor neurons
• Middle meningeal artery, a large artery supplying the dura mater, often a source of an epidural hematoma

Schools[link]

• Maine Maritime Academy, a US public college, Castine, Maine
• Marine Military Academy, a boarding school based on the United States Marine Corps, Harlingen, Texas
• Marmion Military Academy, a Benedictine boarding school in Aurora, Illinois
• Massachusetts Maritime Academy, a US state college, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
• Missouri Military Academy, a boarding school in Mexico, Missouri
• Moscow Medical Academy, a medical educational institution, Moscow, Russia

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Dana White
Born	(1969-07-28) July 28, 1969 (age 42) Manchester, CT, U.S.
Residence	Las Vegas, Nevada
Nationality	American
Occupation	President
Known for	Managing The Ultimate Fighting Championship
Style	Boxercise [1]
Net worth	US$150 million (2010)[2]
Height	5 ft 11 in
Spouse	Anne
Children	3

Dana White (born July 28, 1969) is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.

Biography[link]

Born in Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969, White grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ware, Massachusetts and Levant, Maine. White is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.^[3]

White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms^[4] in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president.^[5] White currently owns about 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.^[3]

White failed to comment on a potential network broadcast deal at the UFC 136 press conference. The next day it was confirmed that the UFC and Fox broadcast networks had made a multiple year deal.^[6]

Controversy[link]

Loretta Hunt[link]

On April 1, 2009, White was videotaped in a verbal tirade against Loretta Hunt, a sportswriter for Sherdog, in response to an article she wrote. In the video posted on his YouTube account, White used derogatory language in an obscenity-laced rant. The video was pulled from his official UFC YouTube page but has been widely republished across the internet and come under fire, including by GLAAD for his use of anti-gay slurs.^[7][8][9] White would later apologize for his slurs. He specifically did not include Hunt in the apology.^[10] Hunt responded by saying "I stand by the story. It's accurate."^{[citation needed]}

Miguel Torres[link]

In December of 2011, White cut fighter Miguel Torres from the UFC after Torres tweeted "If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises." In an interview with Sports Illustrated confirming Torres' firing over the controversial remarks, White claimed "Now there's no explanation for that. There's absolutely nothing I could say to make any sense of that. And the fact that he even thinks that's funny or that's a joke, it disturbs me. It bothers me." The firing of Torres immediately sparked controversy after it was revealed that White did not similarly punish two fighters of greater marquee value – Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans, both of whom have fought in the main event of multiple Pay-Per-View cards and the latter slated to fight in the main event of a fight card scheduled to air on the FOX network on January 28, 2012 – for making similarly offensive remarks:^[11] Griffin commenting that "Rape is the new missionary"^[12] and Evans evoking the recent child abuse scandal involving Penn State University while promoting a fight.^[13] Torres has since re-signed with the UFC after having a talk with Dana.

Charity[link]

In December 2010 White donated $50,000 to the Fransisco Espinoza foundation. White donated approximately $8,000 to help pay for the brain tumor treatment of two-year-old British girl, Ruby Owen. The young girl's family had described themselves as being "shocked and over the moon". Ruby Owen's uncle, being a UFC fan had contacted White via email and asked if he could help by donating to the Ruby Owen fund raising website. White and Owen have never officially met.^[14] In an act of compassion towards a fan, he gave $300 to one man without hesitation who said that he "just received a speeding ticket while racing across town to meet him".^[15] Shortly after being named 2009 Nevada Sportsman of The Year, White added $100,000 from his pocket to the $250,000 total raised for the fund raising marathon sponsored by ESPN Radio 1100 for Las Vegas.^[16]

Feud with M-1 Global[link]

After signing negotiations with M-1 Global Russian Heavyweight MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko fell through in 2009,^[17] White and the UFC became the subject of debate and criticism from fans and experts alike. On several occasions, White referred to Emelianenko as "a fake, a phony and a farce.^[18][19]

On June 26th, 2010 following Emelianenko's first legitimate defeat of his career to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum, White shared a simple ":)" via Twitter.^[20] The same symbol was expressed by White following Emelianenko's 2nd round doctor stoppage loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the opening round of the 2011 Strikeforce GP.^[21] White followed this with an insult to Fedor's manager and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein.^[22] This began a war of words on the social networking site. M-1 Global’s director of operations, Evgeni Kogan, stood up for Finkelstein and invited White to repeat his words to Finkelstein in person. When fans attempted to reason with White, they were met with similar contempt and insults.^[23]

There is controversy over whether Fedor Emelianenko and White have actually met.^[24] White has claimed to have met Emelianenko on a "crazy island in the middle of nowhere".^[25] In 2011, Emelianenko denied that this encounter ever took place.^[26]

Personal life[link]

White and his wife have two sons and a daughter.^[27] He is an atheist, and has stated that he is "fascinated" by religion.^[28]

Accomplishments[link]

• Nevada Sportsman of the Year (2009)^[29]
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards
  • Promoter of the Year (2005–2011/present)^[30][31]
• World MMA Awards
  • Leading Man of the Year 2011
  • Leading Man of the Year 2010
• Armed Forces Foundation
  • Patriot Award^[32]

References[link]

External links[link]

• UFC homepage
• June/July Men's Fitness cover story
• Dana White at the Internet Movie Database
• Dana White on Twitter
• Dana White Signs Fox

Josh Barnett
Josh Barnett attending Amie Nicole's "Fit to Rock" DVD Release Party, Hollywood, California on May 21, 2010
Born	(1977-11-10) November 10, 1977 (age 34) Seattle, Washington, United States
Other names	The Warmaster, Baby-Faced Assassin (former)
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	248 lb (112 kg; 17 st 10 lb)
Division	Heavyweight (265 lb)
Reach	78 in (198 cm)
Fighting out of	Fullerton, California, U.S.
Team	CSW
Trainer	Erik Paulson
Rank	A Catchwrestler but also has Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Erik Paulson
Years active	1997–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	37
Wins	31
By knockout	9
By submission	17
By decision	4
By disqualification	1
Losses	6
By knockout	3
By submission	0
By decision	3
Website	http://www.joshbarnett.tv/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: September 14, 2011 (2011-09-14)

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Men's Grappling
IBJJF World No Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship
Gold	2009 Long Beach	97.449+ kg (Black)

Joshua Lawrence Barnett (born November 10, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the King of Pancrase Openweight Championship. He was a finalist in the Pride 2006 Openweight Grand Prix. As of February 2012, Barnett is ranked the #3 heavyweight fighter in the world by Fight!Magazine,^[1] #3 by MMAWeekly.com^[2] and the #8 heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.^[3]

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Professional wrestling[link]

After having his UFC HW title stripped due to testing positive for 3 banned substances, Josh Barnett began his overseas career as a professional wrestler in the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) organization, where he wrestled numerous matches in 2003 and 2004. In his first match, he wrestled champion Yuji Nagata for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Although unsuccessful in that match,^[4] Barnett formed a tag team with Perry Saturn and was undefeated in the following NJPW tour, Fighting Spirit 2003. Barnett wrestled over 50 matches in total for the NJPW promotion.^[5]

Since then, Barnett has been wrestling for Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation wrestling promotion. He debuted with the company in 2007 with a victory over Tadao Yasuda. He racked up victories against Don Frye and Montanha Silva before suffering his first loss against Naoya Ogawa. The same man he beat earlier in the night. Since the loss, he has been on a winning streak beating The Predator, Hitokui Yoshiki, Tank Abbott, Jon Andersen, Fonseca, Atsushi Sawada, Bob Sapp, Ultimate Mask, Tim Sylvia, Montanha Silva, Bobby Lashley and Hideki Suzuki.^[6]

Starting in February at IGF GENOME 14, IGF began a title tournament to crown a new heavyweight champion and Barnett not only continued his winning streak but he advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament with his victory over Montanha Silva. In July at IGF GENOME 16, he defeated Bobby Lashley with a cross armbreaker to advance to the finals of the title tournament. Was scheduled to face Jérôme Le Banner for the IGF Heavyweight Championship in a tournament final scheduled for August 27 at the IGF SUPER STARS FESTIVAL 2011. However, it was announced on August 19 that Barnett had to pull out of the match up and Le Banner was declared the first ever IGF champion on August 22. However, Josh Barnett would get his shot at the IGF Heavyweight Championship on December 2 against the champion, Jerome Le Banner. Barnett would lose the contest by knockout.^[6]

On New Year's Eve, Josh Barnett made his return to Japan for the DREAM, "Fight for Japan" event. At the event he would face Hideki Suzuki in a IGF Rules match. After a wrestling clinic was put on by both athletes, it was Barnett who won with a brainbuster to seal the victory.^[6]

Pancrase and Pride[link]

Barnett competed in MMA fights in both Pride and Pancrase in Japan. While in Pancrase, he won its open-weight Grand Prix title by defeating Yuki Kondo. Winning this title put him alongside the likes of Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock and Bas Rutten as one of the few fighters to be a titleholder in both Pancrase and the UFC.

In his first fight in Pride, at Pride 28 against Croatian Mirko "Crocop" Filipović, he suffered a simultaneous fracture and dislocated shoulder injury that required surgery and over six months of rehab. His first fight back post-injury was a rematch against Filipović at Pride 30, which he lost by a close and controversial unanimous decision. He came back with a win against Kazuhiro Nakamura at Pride 31.

Barnett later beat Alexander Emelianenko by a keylock submission in the second round of the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix at Pride Total Elimination Absolute. He submitted Mark Hunt via kimura in the first round of the Open Weight Grand Prix at Pride Critical Countdown Absolute. Barnett defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by split decision in the semi finals of the Open Weight Grand Prix, however he lost the final match of the Pride Final Conflict Absolute to Filipović on September 10, 2006, submitting after an unintentional finger poke to the eye. In a post-fight interview, Barnett explained the incident: "I opened up my guard and I grabbed his leg to go for a leglock, and in the scramble Mirko put his hand out to post and he caught a finger deep in my right eye. And as soon as it happened I let go of the leg and grabbed my face, and I couldn't see anything at the time and I had no idea where he was and I just didn't want him to punt me in the face with a kick when I can't see and I'm blinded. He said, you know, 'Sorry' and I said to him that he was winning that night and it was an accident. He didn't mean [to do it]".^[7] This also marked the third time he was beaten by the MMA legend.

Next, Barnett fought the Polish Judo gold medalist Pawel Nastula at Pride 32, the organization's first show in the USA. To fight again in Nevada, the Nevada State Athletic Commission required that Barnett pass a mandatory drug test. In a surprisingly competitive match, Nastula controlled the first round and most of the second. Barnett reversed Nastula from the bottom and was able to secure a toe-hold submission, which earned him the victory. At a post fight press conference, Barnett complimented Nastula on his performance. Nastula, however, subsequently tested positive for steroids.^[8] Barnett then lost a rematch by unanimous decision to Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira at Pride Shockwave 2006.

World Victory Road: Sengoku[link]

After the bout against Nogueira and the acquisition of Pride by the UFC, Barnett did not participate in any MMA events in 2007, except one Pancrase match against Hikaru Sato, which was held under catch wrestling rules on Dec. 22. Barnett did not follow many other Pride veterans to the UFC because he desired to join an organization that included the top heavyweight fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko.^[9] In 2008, Barnett joined the newly organized MMA promotion, Sengoku, and fought in consecutive main events at Sengoku 1 and Sengoku 2, submitting Hidehiko Yoshida with a heel hook in the third round, and defeating Jeff Monson by unanimous decision. These fights were notable in that Barnett became the first man to submit Yoshida in mixed martial arts competition; and Barnett and Monson are good friends.

Affliction Entertainment[link]

Since his contract with World Victory Road is not exclusive, Barnett can join other MMA events. Barnett participated in the inaugural MMA event held by Affliction Entertainment, in July 2008. Seven years after his only knockout loss to Pedro Rizzo, he avenged that loss at Affliction: Banned with a knockout of his own in the second round.

In January 2009, Barnett fought Pride veteran Gilbert Yvel at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Barnett defeated Yvel by a submission resulting from strikes in the third round. His next match-up, scheduled on August 1, 2009 against Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction's 3rd event Affliction: Trilogy, was one of the most anticipated match-up between the then ranked No.1 heavyweight Emelianenko and No.2 heavyweight Barnett.^[10] However, the fight was officially pulled 10 days before the fight by the California State Athletic Commission after Barnett tested positive for anabolic steroids for a second time. (A metabolite of Drostanolone)^[11] The event and Affliction Entertainment itself was cancelled July 24, 2009 as a result. Barnett requested that they test his "B" sample hoping there was an error in the test. His "B" sample was positive.

Post-Affliction[link]

Due to the positive drug tests, Barnett has made a re-licensure appeal to the California State Athletic Commission(CSAC). The CSAC has postponed Barnett's appeal three times. The first two postponements happened because Barnett's law firm required additional information from the laboratory that conducted Barnett's tests. Michael J. DiMaggio, Barnett's attorney, was unable to attend the hearing due to travel problems, causing the third extension, which would have taken place at 22 February 2010.^[12]

Josh was a no-show at this hearing on February 22, 2010, making this the fourth delay in his appeal, Shannon Hooper, Barnett's manager, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Monday February 22, 2010 that Barnett was in Japan on Sunday February 21, 2010 for a pro wrestling match and will return to the U.S. later today. His reason was he was unaware that his presence was required, but the CSAC said they had notified him of this months before.^[13] Barnett more recently signed on with MMA organization Strikeforce.

Dream[link]

Barnett signed to fight for Dream in 2010, and made his debut on March 22, 2010 at Dream 13 against Mighty Mo. He won the fight via submission in the first round. During the fight, he accidentally kicked Mighty Mo in the groin so immediately after winning the fight, Barnett approached Mighty Mo apologizing for the illegal strike and in return allowed Mighty Mo to knee him in the groin.

Strikeforce[link]

On 13 September 2010 it was announced that Josh Barnett had signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce.^[14]

Barnett faced Brett Rogers on June 18, 2011 at Strikeforce: Dallas in the opening round of a Strikeforce heavyweight tournament. Barnett submitted Rogers with an arm triangle in the second round of the bout.^[15]

Barnett defeated Sergei Kharitonov in the semi-final of the tournament headlining Strikeforce: World Heavyweight Grand Prix – Barnett vs. Kharitonov on September 10, 2011 at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

He faced fellow finalist Daniel Cormier on May 19, 2012 at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier to determine the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion.^[16] Dana White announced if Barnett were to defeat Cormier, he would be allowed back into the UFC, "If he wins the fight, I can't see why he wouldn't come [to the UFC]."^[17] Barnett lost the bout via unanimous decision. (50-45, 50-45, 49-46), losing for the first time in over 5 years.

Other features[link]

Barnett has appeared in the Xbox 360 game Beautiful Katamari as one of the people that can be rolled up. He appears as the rare person "Wrestler" in his signature trunks and Pride FC gloves.

Billy Robinson had contributed immensely in training Josh Barnett. Barnett teaches catch wrestling at Erik Paulson's CSW Training Center in Fullerton, California. He is the primary trainer and manager of female fighter Megumi Fujii and listed on the Abe Ani Combat Club's website as a team wrestling coach and friend.

Barnett competed in the California Classic 2009 BJJ Tournament on November 15, 2009. Barnett lost a decision to ADCC veteran and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Romulo Barral from Gracie Barra in the Black Belt GI Absolute division. On December 19, 2009, Paulson awarded Barnett his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Even though Barnett had never trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu he was given his belt based on competition merit and overall knowledge.^[18][19]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Mixed martial arts[link]

• Strikeforce
  • 2011 Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Runner-up

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Heavyweight Championship (One time)

• Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling
  • Pancrase Openweight Championship (One time; Last)

• Pride Fighting Championship
  • 2006 Pride Openweight Grand Prix Runner-up

Submission grappling[link]

• International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation
  • 2009 World No Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship Black Belt Gold Medalist^[20][21]

• International Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Federation
  • Gracie US Nationals 2010 – 206+ lb / Advanced No-Gi: 1st place^[22]

Mixed martial arts record[link]

See also[link]

Professional wrestling portal

• List of male mixed martial artists
• List of current Strikeforce fighters

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Josh Barnett

• Official website
• Josh Barnett on Twitter
• Josh Barnett on Myspace
• Professional MMA record for Josh Barnett from Sherdog
• Josh Barnett's professional wrestling match results

Anderson Silva
The Spider
Born	Anderson da Silva[1] (1975-04-14) April 14, 1975 (age 37) São Paulo, Brazil[2]
Other names	The Spider[3]
Residence	Curitiba, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[4]
Weight	184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb)
Division	Welterweight (pre-2003) Middleweight Light Heavyweight
Reach	77.6 in (197 cm)
Stance	Southpaw
Fighting out of	Torrance, California, United States
Team	Chute Boxe Academy Muay Thai Dream Team Black House Team Nogueira
Trainer	Boxing: Josuel Distak and Luiz Dorea Jiu-Jitsu: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Sylvio Behring and Ramon Lemos Wrestling: Mark Munoz
Rank	Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black belt in Judo Black belt in Taekwondo Yellow rope in Capoeira
Years active	1997 – present
Professional boxing record
Total	2
Wins	1
By knockout	1
Losses	1
By knockout	1
Mixed martial arts record
Total	35
Wins	31
By knockout	18
By submission	6
By decision	7
Losses	4
By submission	2
By decision	1
By disqualification	1
Other information
Children	5
Website	http://www.spideranderson.com/
Boxing record from Boxrec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: September 14, 2011 (2011-09-14)

Anderson da Silva^[1] (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɐ̃deʁsõ ˈsiwvɐ]; born April 14, 1975) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion^[5] and the promotion's longest reigning champion.^[6] With 14 consecutive wins and 9 title defenses, Silva holds the longest winning streak and title defense streak in UFC history.^[7]

Silva is ranked as the number one Middleweight in the world by multiple publications,^[8][9][10] and is the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to ESPN, Sherdog, Yahoo! Sports, MMAFighting.com and other publications.^[11][12][13] UFC president Dana White has proclaimed Silva as "the greatest mixed martial artist ever."^{[14][undue weight? – discuss]} 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[link]

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, like 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.^[15] He is also a black belt in Judo^[15] and a yellow rope in Capoeira.^[16]

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. ^[17][18][19]

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Early career[link]

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.^[3] 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.^[3] 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.^[3]

Pride Fighting Championships[link]

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.^[3]

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.^[20] 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[link]

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.^[3] 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. Chonan was perceived by some to be winning up until the finish, as during the third round, Bas Rutten, who was commentating alongside Mauro Ranallo, stated that he believed Anderson must obtain a knockout or strong finish or he would lose the fight. Despite being the underdog, Chonan ended the fight in the third round with a flying scissor heel hook, forcing Silva to submit.^[3] 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.^[21]

Silva vs. Okami[link]

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."^[22] 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."^[23]

Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]

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.^[24]

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%.

Middleweight champion[link]

In response to the victory, the UFC 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.^[25] 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 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[link]

UFC 67

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 185 pounds (84 kg) weight limit and the match was changed to a non-title bout.^[26] 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.

UFC 73

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.

UFC 77

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.^[27] Silva defended his belt by defeating Franklin via TKO in the 2nd round.

UFC 82

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.

UFC Fight Night 14

At UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin on July 19, 2008, Silva made his debut at Light Heavyweight (205 lb (93 kg)) 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.^{[28][29][30][31]}

UFC 90

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.^[32][33] 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."^[34] Silva said in the post-fight news conference:^[35]

"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."

UFC 97

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".^[36]

UFC 101

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.^[37] 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.^[38] 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.^[39]

UFC 112

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.^[40] Silva was then set to face Belfort on February 6, 2010 at UFC 109.^[41] The fight, however, was dependent on Silva's healing, which he described as "not going as planned."^[42] The fight was canceled because of Silva's slow recovery.^[43] Silva was once again scheduled to face Belfort on April 10, 2010 at UFC 112.^[44] The fight was later canceled again due to an injury to Belfort.^[45] Demian Maia was selected to fill the spot and take on Silva for the belt.

In the first two rounds fighting Maia, 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.^[46] 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.^[47] 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.^[48] It was also claimed that Silva verbally taunted Maia saying "Come on, hit me in the face playboy."^[49]

In the immediate post-fight interview, Silva apologized and said that he wasn't himself and that he would need to go back and reevaluate the humility that got him to where he is. In the post-fight interview, Silva made multiple references about how Demian insulted him before the bout.

UFC 117

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 after being tagged by 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.^[50] 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.^[51]

Silva allegedly went into the fight with injured ribs and his doctor advised him not to fight. During the first round, Sonnen cracked his rib and Silva was out until 2011 because of the injury.^[52] Following the fight the California State Athletic Commission confirmed that Chael Sonnen tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PED's).^[53][54] Doping tests revealed Sonnen had an elevated testosterone to epitestosterone ratio which fell outside of the normal range prior to his fight with Silva (a result that is consistent with testosterone replacement therapy).^[55] The California State Athletic Commission confirmed, however, that his actual testosterone levels were normal.^[56] Dana White announced that Sonnen would get a rematch when Silva returns. This was revoked after the issue with PEDs came to light, but Dana White had a change of heart, after Sonnen came back and won two straight, and scheduled the rematch.

UFC 126

Silva faced Vitor Belfort on February 5, 2011 at UFC 126.^[57] Belfort was expected to face Yushin Okami on November 13, 2010 at UFC 122, but was replaced by Nate Marquardt.^[58] 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.^[59] With the win Silva handed Belfort his first KO loss in 28 career fights & extended his record streak of title defenses to eight.

UFC 134

Silva then faced Yushin Okami on August 27, 2011 at UFC 134. He defeated the Japanese middleweight by TKO at 2:04 of round 2, displaying skilled head movement and accurate striking, somewhat comparable to his win over Forrest Griffin. His record then went to 31–4, avenging his DQ loss to Okami back in 2006.

Rematch with Sonnen

A rematch with Chael Sonnen was expected to take place on June 23, 2012 at UFC 147.^[60] However, on April 20, according to a published report from Sherdog.com, the bout is now expected to take place on July 7, 2012 at UFC 148, while the expected co-feature of the Brazilian event, a rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva would headline that event. The changes are due to a scheduling conflict with the UN Conference, Rio+20, which will be occurring during the same time frame as the UFC event.^[61]

Personal life[link]

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."^[62] 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.^[63] 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.^[64] 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 has three sons and two daughters with his wife, Dayane.^[65][66] Silva appeared in Never Surrender in 2009.^[67]

Fighting style[link]

Silva is a well rounded fighter whose striking ability is considered to be one of the best in MMA.^[68][69] Silva's striking accuracy, knockout power, technically vicious Muay Thai and ability to counterstrike makes him a danger to his opponents.^[70][71][72] Silva's striking uses three major strengths: technical precision, the jab and transitions and movement.^[73] Silva switches from southpaw to orthodox with little drop-off in effectiveness.^[74] Although it has been claimed that his ground game is not as good as his stand-up,^[75] Silva has submitted notable grapplers, including Olympic wrestler Dan Henderson, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt Travis Lutter and Olympic alternate Chael Sonnen.

Silva holds several statistical records in the UFC including: Most all-time knockdowns in UFC history (15), No. 1 in significant strike accuracy (68.5%), Longest all-time UFC win streak (14), Best all-time UFC win percentage (1.000), Most title fight victories (10), Most UFC title defenses (9) and Longest reign by days (2,082).^[76]

Sponsors[link]

Anderson Silva is marketed by 9INE, a sports marketing company co-owned by former Brazilian footballer Ronaldo.^[77][78] Since August 2011, Anderson has been sponsored by Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, his favorite football club.^[79] He is also sponsored by fast food chain Burger King and sportswear and equipment supplier Nike.^[80]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Mixed martial arts[link]

• Shooto
  • Shooto Middleweight Championship (One time)
• Cage Rage Championships
  • Cage Rage Middleweight Championship (One time, final)
  • Three successful title defenses
• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Middleweight Championship (One time, current)
  • Unified UFC Middleweight and Pride FC Welterweight Championship
  • Fight of the Night (Three times)
  • Knockout of the Night (Three times)
  • Submission of the Night (Two times)
  • Most consecutive title defenses (Nine)
  • Most successful title defenses (Nine)
  • Most consecutive wins in the UFC (Fourteen)
  • Longest UFC title reign
  • Cover Athlete for UFC Undisputed 3
• ESPY Award
  • Best Fighter nomination (2009)^[81][82]
• Sherdog
  • Sherdog Beatdown of the Year for 2009 win over Forrest Griffin^[37]
• MMA Live
  • MMA Live Fight of the Year for 2010 win over Chael Sonnen^[83]
• World MMA Awards
  • World MMA Awards Fight of the Year for 2010 win over Chael Sonnen^[84]
  • World MMA Awards Knockout of the Year for 2011 win over Vitor Belfort^[85]

Mixed martial arts record[link]