Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Pride FC Fighters

2. Wanderlei Silva

“The Axe Murderer” debuted in Pride in 1999, already having built a name for himself by winning brutal fights in Brazil and having just won via knockout against Tony Petarra at UFC 20. By the time the promotion folded in 2007, he was a living legend, one who finished No. 3 on Sherdog's list of greatest light heavyweights ever. His record in Pride was an amazing 22-4-1 with one no contest. This becomes even more impressive when one considers that two of his losses and his lone draw were against heavyweights Mirko Filipovic and Mark Hunt. Silva was undefeated from 1999 until New Year's Eve 2004 in Pride, when he dropped the split decision to Hunt, a string of 20 outings with 18 wins, an incredible 14 by stoppage, a draw against Filipovic, and an abbreviated no contest against Gilbert Yvel. Truly, a marvelous run. Silva's grappling during his prime has always been underrated, as he had good takedown defense and excellent BJJ for his time. However, his bread-and-butter was his seek-and-destroy muay thai striking, the ultimate proponent of Chute Boxe style. Silva eschewed jabs for vicious power punches, especially hooks and overhands, and was especially lethal inside the clinch. Pride's rules worked to his advantage too, as Silva loved to soccer-kick and head-stomp downed opponents. Highlights during that time include knockouts of Quinton Jackson twice, Guy Mezger, Yuki Kondo and all-time legend Kazushi Sakuraba three times, and garnering decisions over iron-chinned Dan Henderson and Olympic heavyweight judo gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida, then undefeated. Personally, despite his greatness, I had Silva fourth on my list, the reason being that it was clear Silva was in decline by the end of his run in Pride. He went 4-4 in his last eight outings for the promotion, and while losing to Hunt via split decision was understandable, Silva looked a little slower, his takedown defense was a little more porous, and his chin was more fragile as he was decisioned by Ricardo Arona in 2005 and then knocked out in 2007 by Henderson, the same fighter he had defeated seven years before. Filipovic's stand-up domination of Silva in 2006 wasn't a mere product of weight, as Silva was actually the heavier fighter that night. Still, for those 20 fights in Pride from 1999 until the end of 2004, Silva built a mighty legend indeed.

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