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Wanderlei Silva - The Axe Murderer - Mad DogWanderlei Silva, also known as “The Axe Murderer” or “Mad Dog,” is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He has had success in both PRIDE and the UFC, and held the PRIDE middleweight title for a number of years. He is noted for his knees and punches, and Silva is skilled in both Muay Thai kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A member of the Chute Boxe Academy in Curitiba, Brazil, Wanderlei Silva holds wins over such fighters as Kazushi Sakuraba, Ricardo Arona, Quinton Jackson, Yuki Kondo and Dan Henderson.
Born Wanderlei Cesar Silva on July 3rd, 1976 in Curitiba, Brazil, he has a younger sister and an older brother. His father runs a bar. As a child, he learned to fight on the streets and then began entering more organized tournaments as he got older. In his late teens, he enlisted in the military and became known for his talents at hand-to-hand fighting. Wanderlei Silva's first official MMA match took place on November 1st, 1996 during an event for the Brazilian Vale Tudo Fighting organization. He defeated Dilson Filho with punches and then moved on to beat Marcelao Marcelao by submission in July of 1997. From 1997 to 1999, Silva competed in six matches for the International Vale Tudo Championship. His only loss came by doctor’s stoppage due to a severe cut suffered against Artur Mariano. His UFC debut came on October 16th, 1998 at UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil. He took on Vitor Belfort and suffered a knockout defeat only 44 seconds into the match. Many experts regard this as the worst loss of his career. Wanderlei Silva rebounded with a win over Tony Petarra at UFC 20, and he then found himself fighting Tito Ortiz for the UFC middleweight title. They clashed at UFC 25: Ultimate Japan 3, but Ortiz won a close decision. Silva then moved on to compete in the PRIDE organization. He debuted at PRIDE 7 on September 12th, 1999 and won a decision over Carl Malenko. From that point until 2004, Silva would win eighteen straight fights in PRIDE (there was also a draw against Mirko Filipovic and a no contest against Gilbert Yvel). He captured the PRIDE middleweight title along the way and defeated such fighters as Kazushi Sakuraba, Quinton Jackson, Guy Mezger, Dan Henderson, Hidehiko Yoshida and Yuki Kondo. In the course of this impressive streak, Wanderlei Silva was given numerous accolades and awards by the media. For example, the Wrestling Observer voted him:
His winning streak was finally broken on December 31st, 2004 by former K-1 champion Mark Hunt. The 280 pound Hunt won a controversial decision in a non-title match. It should be noted that Hunt outweighed Silva by more than 80 pounds. Wanderlei Silva then lost a unanimous decision to Ricardo Arona on August 28th at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005. This was the first time that Silva had lost a match to another middleweight opponent in PRIDE. It was a non-title match, however, and Silva retained the title. In December of that same year, Silva would avenge the loss by winning a split decision over Arona. Entered into the Open Weight Grand Prix, Silva received a first round bye and then defeated Kazuyuki Fujita by TKO. Talk then began to surface that Silva might face Chuck Liddell of the UFC after the tournament has concluded. Things fell apart, however, after Silva was knocked out in the semi-finals against Mirko Filipovic. Silva openly challenged Liddell, but UFC president Dana White cited Silva’s recent loss as the reason why the fight would not happen. Wanderlei Silva then defended his middleweight title against Dan Henderson (the reigning welterweight champion of PRIDE). In the third round, Henderson surprised the crowd by knocking out Silva with a left hook. After the purchase of PRIDE by the UFC, the future of Wanderlei Silva seemed to be in doubt. After suffering two brutal knockouts in a row, many believed that he might retire. However, on August 17th, 2007, the UFC announced that they had signed Silva to a contract. It was then announced that Silva would be fighting at UFC 79 in December of 2007. After several months of speculation, Dana White finally made it official at Spike TV’s Scream Awards - Silva’s next opponent would be none other than Chuck Liddell. When Silva is not fighting, he enjoys spending time with his wife and children (a daughter and a son). He also enjoys reading, listing biographies as his favorite subject. He has recently relocated to the United States. See also: Betting articles:
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