UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson
A poster or logo for UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson.
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	November 19, 2011
Venue	HP Pavilion
City	San Jose, California, USA
Attendance	13,832[1]
Total gate	$1,268,000[1]
Buyrate	290,000[2]
Event chronology
UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller Finale

UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 2011 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, USA.^[3] It was the first UFC event in San Jose, the longtime home and base arena for Strikeforce.

Background[link]

UFC 139 featured two preliminary fights live on Spike TV.^[4]

UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez was originally expected to have his first title defense against Junior dos Santos at this event.^[5] However, on September 2, 2011, the UFC announced that fight would be moved to the inaugural UFC on Fox event.^[6]

Vitor Belfort was briefly linked to a matchup with Cung Le at this event.^[7] However, Belfort was removed from the bout and replaced by Wanderlei Silva.^[8]

Dana White announced that the winner of the main event between Rua and Henderson was possibly going to receive a title shot, but then stated in January 2012 that the winner Phil Davis vs. Rashad Evans at UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis would receive the next title shot, due to the fact that the then-champion: Jon Jones was unable to fight the winner of Rua and Henderson because they couldn't materialize the fight between Jones and the Rua vs. Henderson winner (at that time).

Johnny Eduardo was expected to face Michael McDonald at the event.^[9] However, Eduardo was forced from the card with a shoulder injury on November 4^[10] and replaced by promotional newcomer Alex Soto.^[11]

It was initially suspected that the first Spike TV preliminary fight would feature Tom Lawlor vs. Chris Weidman, but it became known that it was Michael McDonald fighting UFC newcomer Alex Soto instead.^[12]

During the official UFC 139 weigh ins, Shamar Bailey and Nick Pace failed to make the weight limit for their respective weight classes. Bailey came in 3 pounds over, while Pace came in six pounds over. Each fighter was fined 20 percent of their earnings and their bouts took at catchweights of 158 lbs and 141 lbs respectively.^[13]

Results[link]

Preliminary card (Facebook)[link]

• Catchweight (158 lb) bout: Shamar Bailey vs. Danny Castillo

Castillo defeated Bailey via TKO (punches) at 4:52 of round 1. This bout aired on the Spike broadcast following the Bader vs. Brilz fight.

• Welterweight bout: Matt Brown vs. Seth Baczynski

Baczynski defeated Brown via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:42 of round 2. This bout aired on the Spike broadcast following the McDonald vs. Soto fight.

• Catchweight (141 lb) bout: Miguel Torres vs. Nick Pace

Torres defeated Pace via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).

• Lightweight bout: Gleison Tibau vs. Rafael dos Anjos

Tibau defeated dos Anjos via split decision (28–29, 29–28, 30–27).

• Middleweight bout: Tom Lawlor vs. Chris Weidman

Weidman defeated Lawlor via technical submission (D'Arce choke) at 2:07 of round 1. This bout aired on the Spike broadcast following the Bailey vs. Castillo fight.

Preliminary card (televised)[link]

• Bantamweight bout: Michael McDonald vs. Alex Soto

McDonald defeated Soto via KO (punches) at 0:56 of round 1.

• Light Heavyweight bout: Ryan Bader vs. Jason Brilz

Bader defeated Brilz via KO (punch) at 1:17 of round 1.

Main card[link]

• Light Heavyweight bout: Stephan Bonnar vs. Kyle Kingsbury

Bonnar defeated Kingsbury via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–25, 30–27).

• Welterweight bout: Martin Kampmann vs. Rick Story

Kampmann defeated Story via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–28). Initially announced incorrectly as a split decision win for Kampmann, but Dana White stated at the events' post-fight press conference that in fact Kampmann won by unanimous decision.

• Bantamweight bout: Urijah Faber vs. Brian Bowles

Faber defeated Bowles via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:27 of round 2.

• Middleweight bout: Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le

Silva defeated Le via TKO (knees and punches) at 4:49 of round 2.

• Light Heavyweight bout: Maurício Rua vs. Dan Henderson

Henderson defeated Rua via unanimous decision (48–47, 48–47, 48–47).

Critical Reception[link]

The event was well received by critics. The main event drew many accolades, including UFC President Dana White calling it "one of the top three best fights ever in MMA", later comparing the fight to the Thrilla in Manila.^[14][15] The fight would later garner numerous Fight of the Year awards.^[16][17][18]

Bonus awards[link]

Fighters were awarded $70,000 bonuses.^[19]

• Fight of the Night: Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le and Maurício Rua vs. Dan Henderson
• Knockout of the Night: Michael McDonald
• Submission of the Night: Urijah Faber

Reported payout[link]

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money or "locker room" bonuses often given by the UFC and also do not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.^[20]

• Dan Henderson: $250,000 (no win bonus) def. Maurício Rua: $165,000
• Wanderlei Silva: $200,000 (no win bonus) def. Cung Le: $350,000
• Urijah Faber: $64,000 ($32,000 win bonus) def. Brian Bowles: $19,000
• Martin Kampmann: $58,000 ($29,000 win bonus) def. Rick Story: $19,000
• Stephan Bonnar: $68,000 ($34,000 win bonus) def. Kyle Kingsbury: $10,000
• Ryan Bader: $48,000 ($24,000 win bonus) def. Jason Brilz: $13,000
• Michael McDonald: $14,000 ($7,000 win bonus) def. Alex Soto: $6,000
• Chris Weidman: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus) def. Tom Lawlor: $12,000
• Gleison Tibau: $54,000 ($27,000 win bonus) def. Rafael dos Anjos: $16,000
• Miguel Torres: $60,000 ($30,000 win bonus) def. Nick Pace: $4,000 ^
• Seth Baczynski: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Matt Brown: $12,000
• Danny Castillo: $34,000 ($17,000 win bonus) def. Shamar Bailey: $8,000 ^

^ Shamar Bailey and Nick Pace were reportedly fined 20 percent of their purse for failing to make the required weight for their respective fights. The CSAC's initial report did not include information on the penalty.

Entrance music[link]

^[21]

References[link]

v t e Ultimate Fighting Championship events Upcoming events are in italics Major events 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UU 8 9 10 11 UU 2 12 13 14 15 Japan 16 17 Brazil 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 37.5 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 Fight Nights UFN 1 UFN 2 UFN 3 UFN 4 UFN 5 UFN 6 Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3 Sanchez vs. Riggs Evans vs. Salmon Stevenson vs. Guillard Stout vs. Fisher Thomas vs. Florian Swick vs. Burkman Florian vs. Lauzon Silva vs. Irvin Diaz vs. Neer Fight for the Troops Lauzon vs. Stephens Condit vs. Kampmann Diaz vs. Guillard Maynard vs. Diaz Florian vs. Gomi Marquardt vs. Palhares Fight for the Troops 2 Nogueira vs. Davis Shields vs. Ellenberger UFC on Versus Vera vs. Jones Jones vs. Matyushenko Sanchez vs. Kampmann Kongo vs. Barry Hardy vs. Lytle Cruz vs. Johnson UFC on Fox Velasquez vs. Dos Santos Evans vs. Davis Diaz vs. Miller Stann vs. Lombard UFC on FX Guillard vs. Miller Alves vs. Kampmann Johnson vs. McCall Maynard vs. Guida UFC on Fuel TV Sanchez vs. Ellenberger Gustafsson vs. Silva Korean Zombie vs. Poirier Muñoz vs. Weidman The Ultimate Fighter Finales 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Category Commons WikiProject Mixed martial arts

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

Wanderlei César da Silva ( /ˈvændərleɪ/ VAN-dər-lay; Portuguese: [vɐ̃dɛɾˈlej ˈsɛzɐr dɐ ˈsiɫvɐ];^[1] Japanese: [ba̠nda̠ɽe̞i ɕiü͍βa̠]; 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 holds the record for the most wins and knockouts in Pride FC history. He is currently ranked as #22 best middleweight fighter in the world by FightMatrix.com.^[2]

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.^[3] Silva was given the nickname "Cachorro Louco" ("Mad Dog") in Brazil because of his aggressive style and his pre-fight opponent "stare down".^[4] He is the former IVC Light heavyweight Champion, former PRIDE Middleweight Champion, and the 2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Winner.

After spending a majority of his career in Brazil and Japan, 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.^[5] Silva currently trains there with his former Chute Boxe coach Rafael Cordeiro. In 2011 Silva trained at Reign Training Center, along side top middleweight contenders such as Mark Munoz.^[6]

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Early career[link]

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.^[7]

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.^[8] The doctor observed the cut several times before the fight was ended.^[8]

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[link]

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[link]

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, 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.^[9] 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.^[10] Silva never lost under pure Pride rules^{[attribution needed]} at 205 pounds.

Return to the UFC[link]

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.^[12][13] 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.^[14] 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"^[15] 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.^[16] 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 in Pride Fighting Championships.^[17] Jackson avenged his previous defeats by knocking Silva out with a left hook in the first round.^[18] 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.^[19] 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 fight 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.^[20] 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)^[21] and his first victory in almost two years.^[22] 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.”^[23]

Wanderlei Silva was expected to face former K-1 HERO'S Light Heavyweight Champion Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116.^[24] Unfortunately, on June 22, Wanderlei had to pull out due to breaking three ribs during training.^[25] 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.^[26] "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."^[27]

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.^[28]

Silva was scheduled to face Brian Stann at UFC 130.^[29] However, after Silva voiced his reluctance to face Stann, he was replaced on the card by returning UFC veteran Jorge Santiago.^[30] 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.^[31] 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.^[32][33] 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 whether Wanderlei himself would like to fight again.

Silva faced Cung Le on November 19, 2011 at UFC 139. Silva defeated Le via second round TKO after a flurry of knees and punches, earning his third Fight of the Night award in the UFC.

Silva and Vitor Belfort will be the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil A rematch with Belfort was expected to take place on June 23, 2012 at UFC 147 but due to a broken hand Vitor Belfort had to withdraw from the match.^[34] Silva is now scheduled to face Rich Franklin in a 190 lb catchweight at the event.^[35] Franklin and Silva fought once before at UFC 99, where Franklin won via unanimous decision.

Personal life[link]

Wanderlei and his wife Tea have a son named Thor. He also has a daughter named Rafaela from a previous relationship.^[36][37]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Mixed Martial Arts[link]

• Ultimate Fighting Championship

• Fight of the Night (Three times)
• Knockout of the Night (One time)
• Most Wins & Knockouts in combined PRIDE FC & UFC History (25 Wins 17 Knockouts)

• 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)
• Most Wins & Knockouts in PRIDE FC Middleweight Division
• Longest Undefeated Streak in PRIDE FC History (20 Fights)
• Longest Win Streak in PRIDE FC History (18 Wins)
• Most Consecutive Title Defenses in PRIDE FC History
• Most Title Defenses in PRIDE FC History
• Most Title Defenses in PRIDE FC Middleweight Division

• International Vale Tudo Championship

• IVC Light Heavyweight Champion

• Sherdog

• 2004 Fighter of the Year [1]

• 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

• Fighters Only World MMA Awards

• Fight of the Year (2007) - vs Chuck Liddell on December 29, 2007 [2]
• Knockout of the Year (2008) - vs Keith Jardine on May 24 [3]
• Gym of the Year (2010) - awarded to Wand Fight Team [4]

• Inside Fights

• 2008 Fight of the Year vs Chuck Liddell on December 29, 2007 [5]

Mixed martial arts record[link]