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The Roman Empire under Hadrian (ruled 117-138), showing the location of the Anglii then inhabiting the neck of the Jutland peninsula (Denmark)

The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The Angles were one of the main groups that settled in Britain in the post-Roman period, founding several of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, and their name is the root of the name "England".

Name[link]

The name of the Angles is first recorded in Latinized form, as Anglii, in the Germania of Tacitus. The name is usually derived from a toponym, Angeln, from a Germanic word *anguz meaning "narrow" (of an estuary) or "angular" (of the shape of the Jutland peninsula).

Gregory the Great in an epistle simplified the Latinized name Anglii to Angli, the latter form developing into the preferred form of the word. The country remained Anglia in Latin. King Alfred's (Alfred the Great) translation of Orosius' history of the world uses Angelcynn (-kin) to describe England and the English people; Bede used Angelfolc (-folk); there are also such forms as Engel, Englan (the people), Englaland, and Englisc, all showing i-mutation.

Greco-Roman historiography[link]

Strabo and Pliny[link]

Two important geographers, Strabo and Pliny, are silent concerning the Angles. Their reasons for this exclusion was their consideration of the south shore of the Baltic to be terra incognita, "unknown land." However, both Strabo and Pliny describe that shore. Since the Angles took a geographic name, they possibly had other names not based on geography.

Strabo's mention of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest places his knowledge in the final years of Augustus' reign and after, which is the early first century. Strabo (7.2.1, 4 and 7.3.1) states that the Cimbri still live on the peninsula (Jutland) where they always did, even though some of them liked to wander. Beyond the Elbe the coastal people are unknown in Strabo's work, but south of them are the Suebi from the Elbe to the Getae (Goths). Strabo worked eastward from the Rhine.

Pliny, on the other hand, worked from east to west (4.13.94). His description leaves the Black Sea, crosses the Ripaei mountains to the shore of the northern ocean, and follows it westward to Cadiz. In the first direction is Scythia, where the Sarmati, Venedi, Scirii, and Hirri are located, as far as the Vistula. Then the Inguaeones, (the "people of Yngvi"), begin. Baunonia (Bornholm) is an island opposite Scythia. Cylipenus, probably the Bay of Kiel, is described, and from there a gulf called Lagnus, which is on the frontier of the Cimbri. Its location is not known, but it was possibly in the Angeln region.

In Pliny, the Inguaeones consisted of the Cimbri and the Teutones (the Chauci as well, but they were not in this region). If Lagnus was situated on the Cimbrian frontier and after Kiel, then Angeln must have been in the territory of the Teutones. They were perhaps not named "Angles" at that time; however, the territory of the Teutones probably included the Vorpommern and the region south to the Elbe (mainly Holstein), accounting for the implied larger range of the Angles in later sources.

Tacitus[link]

The map shows both the Angeln peninsula (to the east of Flensburg and Schleswig) and the Schwansen peninsula (south of the Schlei).

Possibly the first instance of the Angles in recorded history is in Tacitus' Germania, chapter 40, in which the "Anglii" are mentioned in passing in a list of Germanic tribes. He gives no precise indication of their geographical situation but states that, together with six other tribes, they worshiped a goddess named Nerthus, whose sanctuary was located on "an island in the Ocean". The other tribes are the Reudigni, Aviones, Varini, Eudoses, Suarini and Nuitones,^[1] which together are described as being behind ramparts of rivers and woods,^[2] i.e., inaccessible to attack. As the Eudoses are the Jutes, these names probably refer to localities in Jutland or on the Baltic coast, in which case their inhabitants would be Cimbri or Teutones for Pliny. The coast contains sufficient estuaries, inlets, rivers, islands, swamps and marshes to have been then inaccessible to those not familiar with the terrain, such as the Romans, who considered it unknown, inaccessible, with a small population and of little economic interest.

The majority of scholars believe that the Anglii lived on the coasts of the Baltic Sea, probably in the southern part of the Jutish peninsula. This view is based partly on Old English and Danish traditions regarding persons and events of the 4th century, and partly on the fact that striking affinities to the cult of Nerthus as described by Tacitus are to be found in pre-Christian Scandinavian, especially Swedish and Danish, religion.

The account in Germania is inconsistent with Strabo's and Pliny's on a major point. Tacitus called the Baltic the Suebian Sea and viewed the seven tribes that included the Anglii as Suebi. For Pliny the Suebi were among the tribes of Herminones in central Germany. For Strabo, the Suebi were to the south of the coast. The Suebian language developed into Old High German, while the Angles and Jutes were among the speakers of Old Saxon.

Ptolemy[link]

Ptolemy in his Geography (2.10), half a century later, presents a somewhat more complex view. The Saxons are placed around the lower Elbe, which area they could have reached merely by an extension of the Saxon alliance. East of them are the Teutones and also a dissimilation of them, the Teutonoari, which denotes "men" (wer); i.e., "the Teuton men." These Teutons or Teuton men appear to have been in Angeln and the land around it.

The Angles, as such, are not listed at all. Instead there are Syeboi Angeilloi, Latinized to Suevi Angili, located south of the middle Elbe. Owing to the uncertainty of this passage, there has been much speculation regarding the original home of the Anglii. One theory is that they or part of them dwelt or moved among other coastal people perhaps confederated up to the basin of the Saale (in the neighbourhood of the ancient canton of Engilin) on the Unstrut valleys below the Kyffhäuserkreis, from which region the Lex Angliorum et Werinorum hoc est Thuringorum is believed by many to have come. The ethnic names of Frisians and Warines are attested in the neighborhood names of this Saxon or Swabian lands.

A second possible solution is that these Angles of Ptolemy are not those of Schleswig at all. According to Julius Pokorny the Angri- in Angrivarii, the -angr in Hardanger and the Angl- in Anglii all come from the same root meaning "bend", but in different senses. In other words, the similarity of the names is strictly coincidental and does not reflect any ethnic unity beyond Germanic. The Suevi Angeli would have been in Lower Saxony or near it and, like Ptolemy's Suevi Semnones, were among the Suebi at the time.

Medieval historiography[link]

Manuscript of Bede

Bede states that the Anglii, before coming to Great Britain, dwelt in a land called Angulus, "which lies between the province of the Jutes and the Saxons, and remains unpopulated to this day." Similar evidence is given by the Historia Brittonum. King Alfred the Great and the chronicler Æthelweard identified this place with the district that is now called Angeln, in the province of Schleswig (Slesvig) (though it may then have been of greater extent), and this identification agrees with the indications given by Bede.

In the Norwegian seafarer Ohthere of Hålogaland's account of a two-day voyage from the Oslo fjord to Schleswig, he reported the lands on his starboard bow, and Alfred appended the note "on these islands dwelt the Engle before they came hither".^[3] Confirmation is afforded by English and Danish traditions relating to two kings named Wermund and Offa of Angel, from whom the Mercian royal family claimed descent and whose exploits are connected with Angeln, Schleswig, and Rendsburg. Danish tradition has preserved record of two governors of Schleswig, father and son, in their service, Frowinus (Freawine) and Wigo (Wig), from whom the royal family of Wessex claimed descent. During the 5th century, the Anglii invaded Great Britain, after which time their name does not recur on the continent except in the title of Suevi Angili.

The Angles are the subject of a legend about Pope Gregory I which apparently has roots in history. Gregory happened to see a group of Angle children from Deira for sale as slaves in the Roman market. Gregory inquired about their background. When told they were called "Anglii" (Angles), he replied with a Latin pun that translates well into English: “Bene, nam et angelicam habent faciem, et tales angelorum in caelis decet esse coheredes” ("It is well, for they have an angelic face, and such people ought to be co-heirs of the angels in heaven"). Supposedly, he thereafter resolved to convert their pagan homeland to Christianity.^[4]

Archaeology[link]

The province of Schleswig has proved rich in prehistoric antiquities that date apparently from the 4th and 5th centuries. A broad cremation cemetery has been found at Borgstedterfeld, between Rendsburg and Eckernförde, and it has yielded many urns and brooches closely resembling those found in pagan graves in England. Of still greater importance are the great deposits at Thorsberg moor (in Angeln) and Nydam, which contained large quantities of arms, ornaments, articles of clothing, agricultural implements, etc., and in Nydam even ships. By the help of these discoveries, Angle civilization in the age preceding the invasion of Great Britain can be fitted together.

Angle kingdoms in England[link]

Angles, Saxons and Jutes throughout England

According to sources such as the History of Bede, after the invasion of Great Britain, the Angles split up and founded the kingdoms of the Nord Angelnen (Northumbria), Ost Angelnen (East Anglia), and the Mittlere Angelnen (Mercia). H.R. Loyn has observed in this context that "a sea voyage is perilous to tribal institutions,"^[5] and the apparently tribally-based kingdoms were produced in England. In early times there were two northern kingdoms (Bernicia and Deira) and two midland ones (Middle Anglia and Mercia). As a result of influence from the West Saxons, the tribes were collectively called Anglo-Saxons by the Normans, the West Saxon kingdom having conquered, united and founded the Kingdom of England by the 10th century. The regions of East Anglia and Northumbria are still known by their original titles to this day. Northumbria once stretched as far north as what is now southeast Scotland, including Edinburgh, and as far south as the Humber Estuary.

The rest of that people stayed at the centre of the Angle homeland in the northeastern portion of the modern German Bundesland of Schleswig-Holstein, on the Jutland Peninsula. There, a small peninsular area is still called "Angeln" today and is formed as a triangle drawn roughly from modern Flensburg on the Flensburger Fjord to the City of Schleswig and then to Maasholm, on the Schlei inlet.

See also[link]

Ancient Germanic culture portal

• Angeln
• List of Germanic peoples

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Hector Munro Chadwick (1911). "Angli". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Notes[link]

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]