Wanderlei Silva to Be Enshrined in UFC Hall of Fame Pioneer Wing

Silva will become the 19th member of the Pioneer Wing during a ceremony this summer in Las Vegas. The Pioneer Wing includes athletes who turned pro before Nov. 17, 2000, are at least 35 years old or who have been retired for at least one year.

“Wanderlei Silva is one of the true pioneers of the sport of MMA,” UFC CEO Dana White said. “Wanderlei was an absolute savage who left his mark by delivering some of the most memorable fights in combat sports history. He had legendary fights against Mirko Cro Crop, Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, Brian Stann, and his fights against Rich Franklin, as they were absolute wars. He was also one of the early superstars of Pride who helped grow the MMA fanbase on a global scale, and it will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”

Silva compiled a 35-14-1 record over the course of a professional career that began in 1996. He notably went unbeaten in 18 fights from 2000 to 2004, a period when he was regarded as one of the top mixed martial artists in the world. After a few UFC appearances earlier in his career, “The Axe Murderer” joined the UFC for a second stint in 2007 and earned wins over the likes of Keith Jardine, Brian Stann, Michael Bisping and Cung Le in the Octagon. He also owns victories against Ricardo Arona, Quinton Jackson (twice), Kazushi Sakuraba (three times) and Dan Henderson in Pride FC competition. Silva’s middleweight championship reign of 1,939 days is the longest in Pride history.

Silva holds a number of records, including most knockouts in Zuffa history (19), most knockdowns in Zuffa history (27), most wins in Pride history (22), most knockouts in Pride history (15) and most knockdowns in Pride history (18).

Reference: https://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Wanderlei-Silva-to-Be-Enshrined-in-UFC-Hall-of-Fame-Pioneer-Wing-192653