3. Wanderlei Silva | Pride Middleweight -- 1,939 Days
Next to Fedor Emelianenko, Silva was the most dominant fighter to ever set foot in a Pride ring. When “The Axe Murderer” was at the height of his power, he was virtually unstoppable. Violence was a guarantee in Silva fights, as he blended ferocious striking with frightening knockout power.
Silva locked horns with Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba for a second time at Pride 17 on Nov. 3, 2001 and forced a doctor stoppage in between rounds one and two. The Brazilian hoisted the Pride Fighting Championships middleweight title that night, touching off a run of destruction that had never before been seen. In the nearly 2,000 days that Silva spent as Pride’s 205-pound champion, he was all but untouchable. He scored memorable wins over Quinton Jackson and Ricardo Arona, among others, before surrendering the championship to Dan Henderson at Pride 33 in 2007.
Number 2 » Georges St. Pierre