Anderson Silva: The Rise of 'The Spider' and His 13-Win Streak in the UFC

Anderson “The Spider” Silva is on a 13-fight winning streak in the UFC:

8 coming by way of KO/TKO.

3 by way of Submission.

2 by Unanimous Decision.

To date he has successfully defended his UFC middleweight title a record eight times. The only fighter to even come close to that record is current UFC welterweight champion George St. Pierre; who has successfully defended his title six times.

“The Spider” has won eight Fight Bonuses, more than any other fighter in the UFC, save for Chris “Lights Out” Lytle, with whom he shares the record.

Silva's UFC Fight Bonuses: Knockout of the night; Rich Franklin, Fight and Submission of the night; Dan Henderson, Fight and Knockout of the night; Forrest Griffin, Fight and Submission of the night; Chael Sonnen and Knockout of the night; Vitor Belfort.

“The Spider” is set to defend his title for a record ninth time when he throws down with Yushin “Thunder” Okami on Aug. 27 at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Okami is the same fighter who defeated Anderson Silva via disqualification.

That was more than five years ago at Rumble on the Rock 8. Yushin Okami won the fight by default; whilst Okami secured top position, Silva struck Okami with an up kick to his chin (temporarily rendering him unconscious) that was deemed to be illegal. And that was the reason for his disqualification.

For Anderson “The Spider” Silva; UFC 134 is all about Revenge, Resolution, but most of all; Redemption.

The indomitable Anderson Silva is indubitably, pound for pound the greatest mixed martial artist of his aeon.

He has dominated his contemporaries and destroyed his peers, and in doing so, has achieved both an iconic and venerated status amongst the aforementioned.

His pre-eminence is admired by the fans as well, whether they love him or despise him.

Since his debut in the UFC, no fighter yet has deciphered the enigma that is Anderson “The Spider” Silva.

Let’s take a look at his 13 hits:

Ultimate Fight Night 5: Chris “The Crippler” Leben

This was “The Spider's” debut in the Octagon and his first fight as an employee of the Zuffa-run company UFC.

Prior to the fight; fans and analyst alike had questioned whether Anderson was the real deal or not. Chris Leben went one step further by stating he would knock out the Spiderman. The fans and pundits had no reason to disbelieve him.

This was Chris Leben, who had attained notoriety on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter reality series. The same Chris Leben who was on a roll with a five-fight win streak in the UFC. The Chris Leben who had an aggressive and heavy handed, striking style and a cast iron chin to boot.

All that didn’t matter come fight night.”The Spider” easily dissected “The Crippler,” and he did it in devastating fashion. Anderson landed several crisp punches to soften Leben up before he unleashed a hellish knee to the head of Leben. And that was the end of proceedings.

And because of the one-sided manner of Leben’s destruction by “The Spider”, Dana White instantaneously gave Anderson a shot at Rich Franklin and the UFC middleweight title.

Final Result: KO at 0:49 of the first round.

UFC 64: Unstoppable: Rich Franklin for the UFC Middleweight Championship

Rich Franklin, the UFC middleweight champion was on an eight-fight winning streak, with four of those victories having taken place in the UFC. The only loss in his career thus far had been to Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida via TKO due to strikes.

Franklin had acquired the title after defeating Evan Tanner via TKO due to doctor stoppage. And he went on to successfully defend his championship belt twice. He then came face to face with Silva for the third defense of his title, and was completely and utterly annihilated.

Some might say that what happened to Franklin was a travesty of justice. But if the truth be told, he was outclassed, and suffered the consequences. Silva attacked him with horrendous knees to the body via his Muay Thai clinch.

Unable to weather the storm, Franklin chose to protect his torso, leaving his head fully exposed.

“The Spider” took full advantage; with crushing knees to Franklin’s head. It was those incessant knee attacks that broke Franklin’s nose. He slumped to the floor and the fight was called off.

Anderson “The Spider” Silva was crowned the new UFC middleweight champion.

Final Result: KO at 2:49 of the first round.

UFC 67: All or Nothing: Travis Lutter; Non-Title Fight

UFC 67; was supposed to be “The Spider's” first defense of his middleweight crown. But because Travis Lutter: The Ultimate Fighter season 4 winner had failed to make the obligatory weight, the bout was changed to a non-title bout.

To Lutter, this was a missed opportunity, to Anderson it was just another day at the office.

Most of the MMA world thought that the best chance Lutter had against Silva was to take the fight to the ground, given that he was an accomplished Jiu-jitsu black belt.

They were wrong. After a see-saw first round with a slight advantage in favor of Lutter, the second round saw Anderson Silva lock in a triangle choke and he followed through with some vicious elbows to the head. Lutter was compelled to tap out.

Final Result: Submission (Triangle choke) at 2:11 of the second round.

UFC 73: Stacked: Nate Marquardt; for the UFC Middleweight Championship

This was Anderson Silva’s first official defense of his middleweight title. Nate Marquardt came into the fight with six victories; four of those being in the UFC.

“The Spider” dictated the pace from the outset; a flying knee that miraculously missed Nate, and an arm-triangle which brought no fruition.

Finally, Silva connected with a straight left that wobbled Marquardt. The finish was nigh and Anderson connected with several more punches before the fight was halted.

Anderson “The Spider” Silva had made the first successful defense of his title.

Final Result: TKO due to strikes at 4:50 of the first round.

UFC 77: Hostile Territory: Rich Franklin; Rematch for the UFC Middleweight Champ

This was the highly anticipated rematch that MMA world had been waiting for. “The Spider” was there to defend his title for a second time, but Franklin had come into the match to redeem himself, and to take back what he thought was rightfully his: the UFC middleweight championship belt.

But there was a problem; “The Spider” wasn’t going to give up his belt without a fight, in fact he wasn’t going give it up, period.

As with their first encounter, Silva dominated proceedings; showcasing his versatility with an array of sickening strikes in the opening round that sent Franklin reeling. And if it hadn’t have been for the bell, it would’ve been over.

Anderson finished the job in the second round, after he connected with a monstrous knee to Franklin’s head.  That ended Franklin’s title aspirations.

Kudos to Franklin for a gallant effort but he was no match for “The Spider”. This fight proved that Anderson was the classier fighter, it also laid to rest, any doubts as to whether he was the real deal. Since that eventful night, Rich Franklin has never quite been the same fighter.

Final Result: TKO via strikes at 1:07 of the second round.

UFC 82: Pride of a Champion; Dan “The H-Bomb” Henderson; Unification Match

This was the fight that would cement “The Spiders” position as indisputably, the pound for pound best fighter in the UFC and arguably in the world.

Why? Because in Dan Henderson, here was a guy who was not only an established MMA practitioner but was also at the time the reigning Pride welterweight champion. And if that weren’t enough to whet the appetites of the MMA purists; he was also a two time Olympic competing Greco-Roman wrestler; with wrestling being one of Anderson’s weaknesses.

But his most dangerous asset was a looping right hand; “The H-Bomb” that once it had found its target, would often detonate on impact and send his opponents into an unconscious stupor.

This was the UFC vs. Pride. Not only was there a huge amount of pride at stake (no pun intended), but Anderson Silva’s UFC middleweight belt and Henderson’s Pride welterweight belt were also on the line in this unification bout.

Whoever came out victorious would not only have the bragging rights to being associated with the best organization in the world, but also the bragging rights to being the arguably best fighter in the world.

The first round saw both fighters feel each other out before Henderson moved in for a clinch and then a takedown, he followed up with hammer fists but Silva managed to avert any major damage. That round belonged to Henderson.

In the second round, both fighters really began to mix it up with furious exchanges. Anderson finally got the better of Henderson when he unleashed a vicious knee followed by a punch to Henderson’s head.

Seeing that Henderson was hurt, Anderson jumped on Henderson and went in for the kill and landed a savage elbow to his head. Anderson continued his assault with a combination of elbows and punches before applying a rear naked choke. Henderson tapped out.

In beating Henderson, not only had “The Spider” defended his belt for a third consecutive time, he had also unified the UFC and Pride championship belts.

Final Result: Submission via rear naked choke at 4:50 of the second round.

UFC Fight Night 14: James Irvin; Light Heavyweight Bout

Anderson Silva had decided to move up a weight and test the waters at light heavyweight. This would be his first of only two forays in that division.

His opponent, James Irvin, had competed at both light heavy weight and heavyweight and was a former WEC heavyweight champion.

Anderson Silva was heading into unfamiliar territory at light heavyweight, but it didn’t show, as he demolished Irvin with a straight right before he assaulted the Irvin with a blitzkrieg of punches.

Final Result: KO via punches at 1:01 of the first round.

UFC 90: Patrick Cote; for the UFC Middleweight Championship

“The Spider was making his fourth title defense against French-Canadian and former TKO middleweight title holder Patrick Cote.

Cote was a game fighter and for the first two rounds gave Silva as good as he got. But it became apparent that by the end of the second round, Cote had a problem with his right leg.

And by Round 3, it became overtly obvious that he had seriously damaged his knee, as he collapsed to the ground whilst moving forward to resume proceedings with Anderson.

Cote wasn’t able to continue and the fight was called off.

Final Result: TKO via knee injury at 0:39 of the third round.

UFC 97: Redemption: Thales Leites; for the UFC Middleweight Championship

The fight against Thales Leites was a sorry state of affairs and one that Anderson Silva and the viewing public would rather forget.

This was one of the low points in “The Spiders” UFC career as he resorted to dancing, taunting and slapping his opponent with impunity, rather than engaging in battle. The crowd booed him for his lacklustre performance. And Dana White went on record to say he was “embarrassed” by Anderson’s performance.

Nevertheless, Leites was credited for being the first fighter to take Silva the distance. For Silva, it was a record fifth defense of his title (tying with Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz) and a record ninth consecutive win for him; breaking the UFC record of eight consecutive wins held by the legendary UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wizard: Royce Gracie.

Final Result:  Anderson Silva via unanimous decision.

UFC 101: Declaration: Forrest Griffin; Light Heavyweight Bout

Anderson Silva made his return to the light heavyweight division one last time. This time his opponent was Forrest Griffin: who was nearly eight months removed from losing his UFC light heavyweight crown to Rashad Evans via KO.

Forrest Griffin started the fight with pugnacity; he missed a head kick which Anderson punished him for; several punches that sent him to the canvas not once but twice.

Forrest quickly recovered and moved forwards with his aggressive style. He paid dearly as “The Spider” connected with a solid right that put Griffin to sleep for several seconds.

That was a supreme display of devastating and precision striking by Silva. He had proven that he could hold his own in the light heavyweight division and against an elite fighter such as Griffith, and in doing so recorded his 10th straight victory in the Octagon.

Final Result: KO via punch at 3:23 of the first round.

UFC 112: Invincible: Demian Maia; for the UFC Middleweight Championship

This was the second low point of Anderson’s career and an uneventful one at that, as he coasted his way to a unanimous points decision. Early on in the fight he exacted some clean crisp strikes with ease and seemed to be in control.

But during the latter rounds, he seemed to be disinterested in the fight. And he was warned for his inactivity by referee; Dan Miragliotta.

For the remainder of the bout, Anderson taunted Maia and it was claimed that he had also verbally abused him.

Dana White for the second time expressed his disgust by saying that this was the most embarrassed he had been since becoming UFC president.

This prompted White to hand the belt to Anderson’s manager: Ed Soares, stating that he was so exasperated by Silva’ performance that he couldn’t bring himself to place the championship belt around his waist.

Nonetheless, Anderson Silva defended his title for the sixth consecutive time (breaking the record set by Tito Ortiz) with an incredible record of being 11-0 in the UFC.

Final Result: Anderson Silva via unanimous decision.

UFC 117: Chael “The American Gangster” Sonnen; for the UFC Middleweight Champion

Anderson Silva’s next title defense would be against the incomparable trash talking, smack talking and magniloquent rhetorician that was and still is Chael Sonnen.

During the build up to the fight, Sonnen told anyone who would give him an audience that he was the man to end Silva’s winning streak in the UFC and doing so capture the UFC middleweight title. At interviews, he incessantly antagonized Silva with his abrasive vituperation of phrases.

Come fight night, it seemed his prediction would bare fruition; several seconds into round one Sonnen rocked Silva with a punch and took him to the ground. And that’s where most of the fight took place.

For more than 20 minutes, Sonnen schooled Silva; out striking him, and taking him down at will. It had to be seen to be believed. The most dominant champion in UFC history was being thoroughly manhandled by the self-styled “American Gangster.”

By the fifth round, the fight was Sonnen's to win, but he didn’t. But for a rush of blood to the head or a temporary lapse of judgment, he had missed a golden opportunity to wrench the UFC middleweight title from Anderson and end his strangle hold on the division.

In the end, Silva proved that he indeed had the heart of a champion; his sheer persistence and perseverance ensured he remained UFC middleweight champion.

Less than two minutes to the end of the last and final round “The Spider” locked in a triangle choke.  Sonnen tried to break free but in the end was forced to tap.

That was the closest “The Spider” had ever come to being defeated in the Octagon. He had now successfully defended his title for a seventh time. “The Spider” also was now undefeated in 12 fights, thus breaking the record for wins in the UFC.

It was alleged that Anderson Silva had sustained injuries to his ribs going into the fight. And following the end of the fight it was discovered that Chael Sonnen tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PED's), and was subsequently suspended.

He has served his ban and is now back in the mix with his upcoming bout at UFC: 136 with ex-Marine Brian Stann.

Final Result: Submission via triangle choke at 3:10 of the fifth round.

UFC 126: Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort; for the UFC Middleweight Championship

In some respects, this was billed as a grudge match.

During the build up to the fight, Silva’s demeanor towards Vitor was one of utter contempt. What manifested itself to the public was that Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort; a former member of Team Nogueira of which Anderson Silva was a part of, had a code; that none of their team members could fight one another. Vitor broke that code by accepting a fight with Silva.

Regardless of the catharsis festering itself amongst the former team mates, analysts thought that this would be Anderson’s toughest test to date. And they were right to think so.

Vitor ”The Phenom” Belfort was the former UFC light heavyweight champion with lightning-fast hands, solid punching power and the ability to take out an opponent within a blink of an eye. He had knocked out the likes Rich Franklin, Wanderlei Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama but to name a few. And regardless of his UFC hiatus was still a force to be reckoned with.

The mixed martial arts world waited with bated breath as the bell rang. Neither man wanted to make the first move. Eventually it was Vitor who made the initial attack. Silva responded with a head kick which missed the mark.

Then Vitor followed up with a right hand which missed Anderson by a whisker. Vitor then took Silva to the canvas where he failed to land a single punch of note. They finally got back to their feet, and in a matter of seconds all hell had broken lose.

Anderson “The Spider” Silva conjured up an audaciously insane front kick to the jaw of Vitor Belfort. Vitor collapsed to the canvas, he was partly rendered unconscious but several blows later “The Spider” put him to sleep.

The front kick was as result of his training with the actor Steven Seagal.

Anderson “The Spider” Silva had again defended his title and doing so had made a record eighth defense of it as well as his thirteenth consecutive win in the UFC.

Final Result: TKO via strikes at 3:25 of the first round.

Anderson "The Spider" Silva

Unlike boxing where a fighter may defend his title several times and more, it’s a totally different ball game when it comes to MMA. And that’s what makes Anderson’s Silva’s feat even more astoundingly remarkable.

I hope you enjoyed going down memory lane with me, with one of the greatest MMA fighters ever.

Follow the link below for more of my articles:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/808261-chael-sonnen-established-mma-practitioner-or-pr-guru-in-the-making

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/805713-the-outlaw-rides-again-as-chris-lytle-turns-out-the-lights-in-brew-city

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/805202-dan-hardy-vs-chris-lytle-so-who-gets-left-high-and-dry-in-brew-city

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/804241-dana-white-should-he-quietly-fade-into-the-background

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/803346-david-beckham-fat-or-fiction-middle-age-spread-or-bad-camera-angle