In recent years, Anderson “The Spider” Silva has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the history of MMA. Long recognized as one of the elite Muay Thai and standup fighters in the game, Silva increasingly complemented his early striking dominance with a sophisticated and dangerous submission and guard game, which freed up his pinpoint attacks on the feet and vaulted him into the game’s elite levels. Though Silva has peppered his entire MMA career with notable knockout victories, his signature moments did not come until his 2006 entrance into the UFC’s middleweight division, where standup decimations of Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt and others began a multi-year championship reign of terror that effectively (and in Franklin’s case, literally) cleaned out his division. Silva's clear superiority over the rest of the division also led to increasing calls for “superfights” between him and other MMA pound-for-pound greats.

Though Silva fights comfortably at 185 and carries his weight well at 205, some fans believe his technical superiority is so great on the feet that he could even contend for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, which would require him to beat fighters more than fifty pounds heavier than him. Whether Silva could in fact do so remains speculation.

Hailing from Curitiba, Brazil, “The Spider” began training in Tae kwon Do at the age of 14 and went on to earn black belts in that discipline as well as in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. However, it has always been his Muay Thai and kickboxing prowess, once honed at Brazil’s legendarily brutal Chute Boxe Academy, that has continued to define the Black House team fighter. Silva has victories over a number of the world’s greatest fighters, including his two standout wins over Franklin, a rear naked choke victory over Dan Henderson, and a lopsided, mismatch victory over Forest Griffin at light heavyweight, which ended via first round knockout.

Silva has also garnered his share of criticism for a series of disinterested and careless Octagon performances against obviously overmatched foes, such as Thales Leites and, in particular, Demian Maia, whom Silva elected to taunt more than engage as the fights progressed into the championship rounds. Despite such lackluster performances, which have incensed UFC point man Dana White on more than one occasion, Silva is universally recognized as one of the game’s greatest fighters.