Mixed Martial Artists
On this page is a list of MMA and UFC fighters. Click on their names to learn more about these mixed martial artists on their profile and biographies pages.
Wanderlei Silva – The Axe Murderer – Mad Dog
Wanderlei 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.
In the ring, Wanderlei Silva is known for his relentless style and intimidating staredown of his opponent before a match. His favorite tactic is grabbing an opponent in a Muay Thai clinch and then kneeing them repeatedly. The majority of his fights have ended in either knockouts or a referee stoppage.
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:
- 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)
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.
Quinton Jackson
Bio and profile of fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Fedor Emelianenko
Heavyweight fighter Fedor Emelianenko is profiled here.
Diego Sanchez
The Nightmare himself is profiled on these pages, including information about his appearances on The Ultimate Fighter.
Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell is a mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. He has experience in kickboxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and karate (both Kempo and Koei-Kan).
Known for his standup fighting skills and takedown defense, the 6’2”, 205 pound Chuck Liddell has notable wins over Randy Couture, Jeremy Horn, Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Kevin Randleman, Jeff Monson, Guy Mezger, Renato Sobral, Alistair Overeem and Murilo Bustamanta. He has also held the UFC Light Heavyweight championship.
Chuck Liddell – The Early Years
He was born Charles David Liddell on December 17th, 1969, in Santa Barbara, California. At the age of 12, he became interested in martial arts and began studying Koei-Kan karate (years later, he would receive a tattoo on his scalp which reads “Koei-Kan”). This training continued throughout high school and college.
Chuck Liddell attended San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara, California and was the captain of both the wrestling and football teams. He was a four year starter on the football team.
He attended college at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. During this time, he competed as a Division I/Pacific 10 wrestler and was a four year starter.
Chuck Liddell – Birth of a Fighter
Chuck Liddell’s first professional fight came in 1991 at a kickboxing match in Bakersfield, California. While he had to report to the stadium by 5pm, Liddell didn’t actually get into the ring until 11pm. He fell asleep in the locker room waiting for his match, and this became something of a tradition before future fights.
In 1993, Liddell watched the first UFC pay-per-view and quickly became interested in the sport of mixed martial arts. He made it a personal goal to one day participate in the competition.
While he graduated with a degree in accounting in 1995, he continued to compete in kickboxing events. During this time, he began training with former boxer John Hackleman at The Pit in Arroyo Grande, California. Liddell finished his kickboxing career with a record of 20 – 2 with 16 knockouts, and his relationship with Hackleman continues to this day.
In 1998, Liddell was ready to achieve his goal of participating in a UFC event. Prior to this event, he started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
UFC 17
His UFC debut came at UFC 17: Redemption on May 15th, 1998. His opponent for the bout was Noe Hernandez, and Liddell got a decision victory after twelve minutes of competition.
More UFC Fights – Chuck Liddell Career
After picking up a win in another organization, Liddell returned to the UFC in March of 1999 and lost to a much more experienced Jeremy Horn. Unfazed, Liddell continued to fight and won his next ten bouts, including victories over Vitor Belfort, Renato Sobral and Kevin Randleman.
In 2001, he was named No Holds Barred Co-Competitor of the Year by Black Belt Magazine. UFC champion Tito Ortiz also received the honor.
Considered the number one contender for the light heavyweight belt, the UFC tried to arrange a fight between Liddell and champion Tito Ortiz. While the two men had been friends and training partners, Ortiz frustrated both Liddell and the UFC by continually citing scheduling conflicts as the reason why he couldn‘t defend the title. This eventually led to a falling out between the two fighters and an end to their friendship.
The UFC eventually set up an interim Light Heavyweight championship and made a match between Liddell and Randy Couture at UFC 43. While Liddell was favored to win the fight, Couture managed to control the action and score a TKO victory.
Next up, Liddell ventured to Japan to compete in a cross-promotional event with the PRIDE organization. He advanced to face Quinton Jackson in the semi-finals of the 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix, but suffered a TKO loss.
Liddell returned to the UFC and found that Randy Couture had captured the Light Heavyweight title by defeating Tito Ortiz. Eager to regain his title, Ortiz agreed to a match with Liddell to establish himself as the number one contender.
The two clashed at UFC 47 in a bout which greatly contributed to the growing popularity of the company. After exchanging words with Ortiz following the end of the first round, Liddell came out in the second and quickly stunned him with a flurry of punches. The Iceman would go on to win by TKO.
In 2005, Chuck Liddell served as a coach for the first season of Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter. Randy Couture was the opposing coach, and a rematch was scheduled between the two for April 16th, 2005. Members of Liddell’s team included Forrest Griffin and Diego Sanchez.
At UFC 52, Liddell and Couture clashed again. This time, Liddell won by a first round KO and captured the Light Heavyweight championship.
It was then time to take on Jeremy Horn, another fighter who has previously defeated The Iceman. Liddell demonstrated his much-improved technique by stifling much of Horn’s offense and going on to a fourth round TKO victory.
Liddell continued to defend his title by defeating Randy Couture and Renato Sobral (for the second time each). He was scheduled to fight PRIDE’s Middleweight champion, Wanderlei Silva, but this did not materialize due to difficulties between the competing promotions.
A rematch was scheduled with Ortiz for UFC 66, and the result was a third round TKO win for Liddell. Later, it was learned that Liddell had tore his MCL prior to the fight.
At UFC 71, Liddell took on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. At that time, Jackson was the only fighter to hold an unavenged win over The Iceman. While Jackson, who had mainly fought for the PRIDE promotion, was considered a heavy underdog by American fans, he went on to quickly defeat Liddell by a first round KO. Before the fight, Liddell became the first MMA fighter to be featured on the cover of ESPN The Magazine.
After another attempt to match up Liddell and Wanderlei Silva fell through, The Iceman signed to face Keith Jardine at the main event of UFC 76. Much to the surprise of the crowd, Jardine went on to defeat Liddell by split decision.
While many critics speculated that he might retire after two consecutive losses, Liddell seemed determined to stay in the fight game. As of this writing, he is next scheduled to finally take on “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79.
One of the most recognizable faces in the world of MMA, Liddell has appeared in both movies and on television. His credits include Blade: The Series, Inked, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Cradle 2 the Grave, and Entourage. He has also appeared in a video for the rock group Nickelback.
Liddell has two children, Trista and Cade. At one time, he was romantically linked with Playboy model and former UFC host Willa Ford. He has a brother, Sean Liddell, who has also competed in mixed martial arts events.
Chuck Liddell makes his home in San Luis Obispo, California. There, he owns and operates the San Luis Obispo Kickboxing School.
Matt “The Terror” Serra
Matt Serra, also known as “The Terror,” is a mixed martial artist who was born and raised in East Meadow, New York. A practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Matt has held the UFC Welterweight Championship. He is also the first American to receive a black belt under the tutelage of Renzo Gracie.
Born Matthew John Serra on June 2nd, 1974, his parents were immigrants from Ankara, Turkey. Born three months premature, his physical development came slowly, and he was often picked on by neighborhood children.
Matt Serra started practicing martial arts at an early age, first choosing to learn the art of kung fu. By the age of 11, Serra was enrolled in a local karate school. Serra’s father was a lifelong martial artist.
At the age of 17, Serra signed up for delayed entry into the United States Marine Corps. Before his training began, he became involved in a streetfight in which his opponent was seriously hurt. Serra was charged with a felony but eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
After this incident, the Marines would no longer accept him. Unsure about his future, Serra’s father showed him a tape of the Gracies fighting various opponents. Matt was hooked and decided that he wanted to give mixed martial arts a try.
In the 1990’s, Serra began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie while working nights as a security guard. During this time, the 5’6”, 170 pound Serra won first place at the BJJ Pan American Games in 1999. He followed this up with a third place finish at the 1999 World Championships in Brazil. He also competed in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship.
1999 also saw Matt’s debut as a professional mixed martial artist. He faced Graham Lewis at an event known as Vengeance at the Vanderbilt 6 and won with an armbar submission in the first round. He would compete in two more Vengeance events, winning both by submission.
During this period, he was also awarded his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Renzo Gracie. Serra became the first American to earn this distinction.
In 2001, he debuted in the UFC and faced “Mr. International” Shonie Carter. Serra was knocked out by a spinning backfist in the third round.
He then reeled off back-to-back wins against Yves Edwards and Kelly Dullanty, but lost his next two fights to BJ Penn and Din Thomas. Serra then put together another series of wins, gaining victories over Jeff Curran and Ivan Menjivar before suffering a unanimous decision loss to Karo Parisyan.
Matt Serra was then invited to participate in The Ultimate Fighter 4 reality show. With his experience in the octagon, Serra defeated Pete Spratt and Shonie Carter to advance to the show’s finals. There, he defeated Chris Lytle by split decision to win a title shot against welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, a $100,000 contract and a $100,000 sponsorship deal with Xyience.
Serra faced St. Pierre at UFC 69 on April 7th, 2007 and scored an upset by knocking out the champion at 3:25 of the first round. The following month, Serra married his girlfriend, Ann.
After the win, he was invited to serve as a coach on the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter. His rival coach would be Matt Hughes, a fighter who Serra doesn’t care for outside of the octagon.. According to Serra, “As a person, he’s so arrogant. Being a great fighter doesn’t give you an excuse to be an asshole.”
At the conclusion of the series in December, Serra will defend his title against Hughes at UFC 79.
Serra and his brother run a couple of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools in New York, and he also helps train fighters such as Pete Sell and Luke Cummo.
Matt Serra lists his childhood hero as his father. He was also a Bruce Lee fan after seeing Enter the Dragon, and he developed a love for Saturday afternoon kung fu films. He also admits to being a comic book fan back in the day and having a special admiration for Wolverine.
Keith Jardine
The King of Mean has a fascinating life story. Read our profile of Keith Jardine here.
Rashad Evans
Winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2.
Mirko Filipovic Cro Cop
Mirko Filipovic (often known as Mirko “Cro Cop”) is a former kickboxer and current mixed martial arts fighter. Filipovic has competed in K-1, PRIDE and the UFC, and is known for his devastating left high kicks. He has also served as a commando and a member of the Croatian Parliament.
Mirko Filipovic was born on September 10th, 1974. Sometime after graduating from high school, he began a career as a commando for the Croatian police anti-terrorist unit known as Alpha. This group was stationed in Lucko, Croatia. During this time, he earned the nickname “Cro Cop,” which is short for “Croatian Cop.”
Before entering the world of kickboxing, Cro Cop compiled an amateur boxing record of 40-5 (with 31 knockouts). He also fought under the nickname of “Tigar” during this time (which is Croatian for “tiger”).
While still serving with Alpha, rko Filipovic started his kickboxing career in 1996. He was partially inspired by fellow Croatian Branko Cikatic, who was the first K-1 Grand Prix winner.
At 21 years of age, Cro Cop made his professional kickboxing debut in the K-1 World Grand Prix tournament. He immediately made a splash by defeating the previous year’s finalist, Jerome Le Banner. He advanced to the next round of the tournament and was defeated by Ernesto Hoost.
In 1999, he returned to K-1 and scored a knockout win, but was later beaten in the tournament. He still moved on as a wildcard, where he beat his next three opponents before being stopped once again by Ernesto Hoost.
Over the next couple of years, Mirko Filipovic would gains wins over Mark Hunt, Remy Bonjasky, Bob Sapp and numerous others. He suffered a few losses, as well, but became a favorite among the Japanese fans for his heart and courage (fighting with obvious injuries on more than one occasion).
After suffering an upset at the hands of Michael McDonald (the fighter, not the singer), Cro Cop began appearing on PRIDE cards. He would fight (and win) four more K-1 bouts before fully moving on to the Japan-based MMA organization. He would later cite a dissatisfaction with K-1 salaries as a major reason for the move. His last kickboxing match would be against Bob Sapp on April 30th, 2003, and he would finish with a record of 16-7 (with 11 knockouts).
In 2002, Cro Cop would leave his job with the anti-terrorist unit to fully concentrate on his fighting career.
Cro Cop made his PRIDE debut at PRIDE 17, drawing with Nobuhiko Takada in a match with special stipulations (the match would be a draw if it went to a decision). He next took on Wanderlei Silva in PRIDE with the same stipulation in place. The fight also ended in a draw. In-between these two draws, he picked up a win over Yuji Nagata at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001 event.
At PRIDE Shockwave 2002, Cro Cop took on Japanese star Kazushi Sakuraba. Filipovic would fracture his opponent’s orbital bone and pick up the TKO victory.
Cro Cop’s MMA career kept right on rolling, as he picked up wins over Kazuyuki Fujita, Heath Herring, Igor Vovchanchyn and Dos Caras Jr.
His first PRIDE defeat would come at the hands of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on November 9th, 2003. In the second round, Nogueira took him to the ground, mounted him, and forced Cro Cop to submit to an armbar.
After the loss, Cro Cop began working on his ground fighting, even bringing aboard Fabricio Werdum to assist him in training. He would go on to win his next two fights against Ron Waterman and Yoshihisa Yamamoto by knockout.
At PRIDE Total Elimination 2004, Cro Cop suffered a shocking knockout defeat at the hands of Kevin Randleman. He would avenge this loss later in the year, submitting Randleman with a guillotine choke.
Filipovic won his next seven matches, defeating fighters such as Josh Barnett, Mark Coleman and Aleksander Emelianenko (which has become one of the most popular PRIDE knockouts). All the while, he petitioned PRIDE officials to give him a shot at heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.
He finally got his wish on August 28th, 2005 at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005. Emelianenko would win by unanimous decision and retain the title.
Less than two months later, Cro Cop picked up a unanimous decision victory over Josh Barnett. He would then turn around and lose a split decision to former K-1 fighter Mark Hunt.
Next up would be PRIDE’s 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix. Cro Cop first defeated Ikuhisa Minowa and then Hidehiko Yoshida to move to the semi-finals. He then faced Wanderlei Silva and knocked him out cold with a left high kick. He moved to the finals, where he would face Josh Barnett for the third time in his career.
Cro Cop would defeat Barnett for the third time after he submitted due to an eye injury. With this victory, Filipovic was crowned the PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix champion. It was the first major belt of his MMA career. And it just so happened that the win came on his birthday.
He pulled out of a December 12th, 2006 event in order to allow nagging injuries to heal. During this period, rumors began to circulate that Filipovic was entertaining offers from other MMA companies. The rumors became reality on December 30th of that year, when UFC president Dana White announced that the company had signed Cro Cop to a two-year, six-fight deal.
He made his UFC debut on February 3rd, 2007, winning by TKO against Eddie Sanchez in the first round. His next fight would come on April 21st, 2007 against Gabriel Gonzaga, and the winner of the bout would get a shot at Randy Couture’s heavyweight title.
At 4:51 of the first round, Gonzaga threw a high kick and knocked out Cro Cop. This loss stunned both Filipovic and the MMA world. Gonzaga would later lose his match against Couture.
Filipovic regrouped and fought again on September 8th, 2007 against French kickboxer Cheick Kongo. Surprisingly, Cro Cop lost again, this time by unanimous decision. He later stated that he had cracked a rib during the bout, and that two low blows had cost him some strength.
While some speculated that he might retire after the loss, Cro Cop has since publicly stated that he would fight five or six more times before he retired. After the Kongo loss, Cro Cop underwent surgery to repair his nose. According to Filipovic, one side of his nose was completely blocked, and the other side was only 30 percent open. This was a result of years of untreated damage, and his breathing is expected to be much improved.
On a personal note, Filipovic lives in Zagreb, Croatia with his wife, Klaudija, and son, Ivan. In 2003, he was elected to the Croatian Parliament, and he’s focused on issues regarding the nation’s police force. He has announced that he will return to his old anti-terrorist unit at the end of his term.
In addition to MMA, he is also an avid soccer player. In fact, he was signed by the Croatian football team, Cibalia.
In his spare time, he enjoys practical jokes and playing cards with friends. Mirko Filipovic also enjoys chess, but he admits to being awful at tennis. He also owns a coffee bar in Zagreb.