Anderson Silva: the UFC middleweight champion who held the belt for nearly seven years | Ultimate Fighter Reunion

Why fans still care

ANDERSON SILVA held the UFC middleweight title for 2,457 days, nearly seven years. He defended it 10 times and won 16 straight UFC fights, a UFC record until August 2026.

He finished fights with knees, elbows, chokes and a front kick, and at 46 he started a second career as a professional boxer.

Early life

He was born on 14 April 1975 in São Paulo state and grew up with an aunt and uncle on the edge of Curitiba. He trained in taekwondo, jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai and earned black belts. He has named Bruce Lee as his biggest idol, along with Muhammad Ali and Roy Jones Jr.

Getting started

Sherdog records his professional debut on 25 June 1997, with two wins on the same night at BFC 1 in Brazil. On 26 August 2001 he beat Hayato Sakurai on a unanimous decision to win the Shooto middleweight title in Japan. He fought in PRIDE, then won all four of his Cage Rage fights in England and held its middleweight title.

Career chapters

1. 1997Professional debut in Brazil
2. 2001Wins the Shooto middleweight title
3. 2006Wins the UFC middleweight title from Rich Franklin
4. 2010Submits Chael Sonnen in the fifth round
5. 2011Knocks out Vitor Belfort with a front kick
6. 2013Loses the title to Chris Weidman
7. 2021Beats Julio César Chávez Jr. in his boxing return
8. 2023Enters the UFC Hall of Fame

Champion 2006 to 2013

His UFC debut on 28 June 2006 ended with a knee knockout of Chris Leben. On 14 October 2006 at UFC 64 he knocked out Rich Franklin with a knee in the first round to win the middleweight title. His defences included a rear-naked choke of Dan Henderson, Who’s Who number 16 at UFC 82 in 2008. SI.com named him its Fighter of the Year for 2008. At UFC 117 in 2010 Chael Sonnen landed 320 strikes, a UFC record at the time, before Silva caught him in a triangle armbar with 1:50 left in the fifth round. At UFC 126 on 5 February 2011 he dropped Vitor Belfort with a front kick and finished him at 3:25 of the first round, ESPN.com’s Knockout of the Year. He also won non-title fights at light heavyweight, including a 61-second knockout of James Irvin.

Weidman and after 2013 to 2020

Chris Weidman knocked him out in the second round at UFC 162 on 6 July 2013 to take the title. In their rematch on 28 December 2013 he broke his left tibia and fibula when Weidman checked a kick, and a rod was placed in his tibia. He beat Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January 2015, but the Nevada commission suspended him for a year after failed drug tests and changed the result to a no contest. In 2018 he accepted a one-year USADA sanction, which USADA linked to a contaminated supplement. Michael Bisping, Who’s Who number 9 beat him on a decision in London in February 2016, and he later lost to Daniel Cormier and Israel Adesanya, Who’s Who number 23. His last MMA fight was against Uriah Hall on 31 October 2020.

Boxing 2021 to 2025

On 19 June 2021 in Guadalajara he beat Julio César Chávez Jr. on a split decision. On 11 September 2021 in Hollywood, Florida, he knocked out Tito Ortiz, Who’s Who number 25 in 81 seconds. Jake Paul beat him on points in 2022. On 19 December 2025 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, aged 50, he stopped Tyron Woodley in the second round.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fights

He finished fights with knees, elbows, punches and a front kick, and he could also finish on the ground, as Sonnen and Henderson found. UFC.com puts his UFC striking accuracy at 62 per cent, with 61 per cent strike defence. Of his wins, 22 came by knockout, 4 by submission and 8 by decision.

Teams and gyms

His Black House team was set up in 2005, with its X-Gym following a year later; the gym closed in February 2018 after 13 years.

Stories people still tell

1. The front kick.

   The kick that finished Belfort in 2011 was ESPN.com’s Knockout of the Year. Silva credited actor Steven Seagal with helping him sharpen it.

2. The Hall of Fame twice.

   Silva entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023, and his first fight with Sonnen was added to the Fight Wing in 2024.

3. On screen.

   A Paramount+ series about his life, Anderson Spider Silva, premiered in the United States in March 2026.

Legacy

His 16-fight UFC winning streak stood as a record until Islam Makhachev passed it at UFC 330 in August 2026. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Dayane, and their five children. In January 2026 he began police academy training in Los Angeles.