- Brazilian-American boxer Anderson Silva(born April 14, 1975;49 years) grew up in Curitia where he stayed with his aunt and uncle
- The $ 8-million-worth boxer has a boxing record of 4-3-1, 2KOs, and is currently regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of all time
- The São Paulo native has been married to Dayane Silva and they share five children
Anderson Silva is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer who was born in São Paulo but spent most of his childhood in Curitiba. The $8 million-worth boxer started training in taekwondo, capoeira, and muay Thai as a teenager. With a boxing record of 4-3-1, KOs-2, and martial arts record of 46-34-11, KOs-23, the former UFC Middleweight Champion had the record of the longest title in UFC history.
The UFC champion is currently married to Dayane and they share three sons and two daughters.
Who is Anderson Silva?
Anderson Silva was born on April 14, 1975, in São Paulo, Brazil. He comes from a very poor family he had to spend most of his childhood in Curitiba with his aunt and uncle, who was an officer with the Curitiba police force.
While growing up in the streets, Silva learned jiu-jitsu by practicing with other children in his neighborhood, this was because he could not afford to pay for the lessons as it was seen as an elite thing. By the time he was 12, he started training in taekwondo with the support of his family. After he moved to Capoeira at the age of 16, he settled on Muay Thai.
Anderson Silva’s Professional Career
Early MMA Career
According to reports, Anderson Silva lost his first bout to Fabricio Marango however, his first official fight was his bout with Luiz Azeredo in a Meca World Vale Tudo.
Moving forward, he joined Brazil’s Chute Box Academy where he impressed many with his raw talent. He continued to train at the camp until he became one of the fiercest fighters.
From 2000 to 2003, his MMA career skyrocketed after he won nine fights consecutively. He soon became the Shooto Middleweight Champion after he defeated Hayato Sakurai, who was undefeated in his first 20 fights.
In 2002, he signed a contract and started fighting for PRIDE Fighting Championships. His first fight with the promotion was against Alex Stiebling. He was later made to face former UFC welterweight champion, Carlos Newton, which he won by technical knockout.
Sadly, Silva got demotivated and almost gave up his career after he lost his fight with Daiju Takase. He soon left Chute Boxe and joined the Brazilian Top Team and started fighting in other promotions around the world.
In 2006 UFC announced in late April that they had signed Anderson Silva to a multi-fight contract. He made his debut at Ultimate Fight Night 5 on June 28 2006 in a fight against the Ultimate Fighter 1 contestant Chris Leben. Luckily for Silva, he knocked out Leben, who was earlier confident he would win. Silva took Leben out with pinpoint strikes and knee strikes. His striking accuracy was 85%.
After his historic win against Leben, fans voted that his next opponent should be the UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin. The first fight between the two took place at UFC 64 on 14 October 2006 where Silva defeated Franklin by TKO in the first round. At the end of the fight, Silva became the new UFC Middleweight Champion and also the second man ever to defeat Franklin.
His first title defense was on February 3, 2007, at UFC 67 in a scheduled fight against the Ultimate Fighter 4 winner, Travis Lutter. However, the match was later changed to a non-title bout after Lutter failed to make the 84kg weight limit. He later defended his titled successful in his fight against Nate Marquardt.
Before he ended his MMA career, he became widely known for his pinpoint and powerful strikes. In addition to his wins against Leben and Franklin, one of his most memorable knockouts was against James Irvin at Fight Night 14 on July 19, 2008.
He continued to win most of the fights from 2008 to 2012. However, his rematch against Chris Weidman went badly for him. He suffered serious fractures on his left leg after his opponent checked his leg kick. The injury reportedly needed surgery and it took months for him to heal.
Upon his return in 2015, he won his first fight but he later tested positive for numerous illegal substances and was suspended. After losing to Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier in 2019, many thought his career would end. He went ahead to face Uriah Hall on 31 October 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Hall vs Silva but he lost via technical knockout in round four.
Although it was not made official, Silva hinted to his fans on Instagram that his career in MMA had come to an end. It was not long before the UFC officially announced he was released from his contract.
Boxing Career
After he switched to boxing, Silva was made to face Julio César Chávez Jr. in a boxing match on June 19, 2021. While he threw a total of 392 punches, his opponent only threw 153 punches.
On September 11, 2021, he faced former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz in a pro boxing bout and he won the fight via knockout in the first round. He also fought an eight-round exhibition bout against Brazilian MMA veteran Bruno Machado in Abu Dhabi. However, no winner was declared at the end of the fight.
His most recent fight would be on October 29, 2022, against YouTuber and undefeated boxer Jake Paul at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. While Silva has a boxing record of 3-1(2KOs), Paul has a record of 5-0(4 KOs).
https://t.co/uadTQANZMj pic.twitter.com/ISXyu2sdYW
— Anderson Silva (@SpiderAnderson) October 15, 2022
The Brazilian-American Boxer Has Been Married to Dayane Silva Since 2017
View this post on Instagram
Besides his stellar career as a martial artist and boxer, Silva has been married to digital creator and former Brazilian gymnast, Dayane since 2017. There are reports that claim the couple has known each since they were teenagers. They were together for 20 years before they tied the knot.
The pair had their first child Kaory when Dayane was 17 and Silva was 21. Their other children are Gabriel, Kaly and Kauana, and Joaovittir.
Anderson Silva’s son Gabriel is also an athlete. He is a 3x kickboxing champion.
Read Also: Shakur Stevenson: 10 Things No One Told You About The Fighter
What is Anderson Silva’s Net Worth?
At the moment, it is speculated that Anderson Silva’s net worth is about $8 million. While his primary source of wealth is his earnings from his career as a martial arts and also a boxer, Silva has also made a fortune out of his endorsement and sponsorship deals. Before Nike left the UFC, the boxer was sponsored by the brand. He has also worked with several brands and organizations such as the sports marketing company 9INE, the Corinthians soccer team, and Burger King.
Quick Facts about Anderson Silva
- Anderson Silva holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history and also a UFC record of 16 consecutive victories in a span.
- He has been named one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.
- The 49-year-old boxer became a US citizen in 2019.
- Besides boxing, Silva has a passion for comic books.
- Before he became a professional fighter, Anderson worked as a file clerk and also as a file clerk.
