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NGANNOU VS FERREIRA

Sherdog’s Top 10: Fighters Without UFC Gold

Tristen CritchfieldApr 03, 2014
Wanderlei Silva struck fear into his opponents. | Photo: D. Herbertson/Sherdog.com


2. Wanderlei Silva


During his Pride Fighting Championships heyday, “The Axe Murderer” was the most feared competitor in mixed martial arts, going unbeaten in 18 straight fights from 2000-2004. The Brazilian was not just squeaking by his opponents, either. He was finishing the majority of his fights in spectacular fashion.

A former Pride middleweight champion, Silva’s lone shot at UFC gold came on April 14, 2000, when he lost a unanimous decision to Tito Ortiz in Japan. It would be more than seven years before Silva returned to the Las-Vegas based promotion, and by then, the man who had bested the likes of Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, and Quinton Jackson had accrued plenty of wear-and-tear on his battle-hardened frame.

Silva suffered brutal knockouts against Henderson and Mirko Filipovic in his final two Pride appearances, which took some of the luster off his highly anticipated bout with Chuck Liddell at UFC 79. The result of that fight -- a highly entertaining decision defeat -- proved to be a microcosm of Silva’s UFC career. The Brazilian has fallen short in five of his nine Octagon outings, including the clash with Liddell. Still one of the sport’s most beloved figures, Silva remains capable of entertaining the masses: Witness his classic slugfest with Brian Stann at UFC on Fuel TV 8.

Pride fanatics saw that version of “The Axe Murderer” nearly all the time. When it comes to capturing a UFC belt, it appears that Silva arrived just a little too late.

Number 1 » Dan Henderson