No.9: Anderson Silva
When Anderson Silva was KO’d by Chris Weidman and then badly broke his leg in their immediate rematch in 2013 there were fears that the all-time great’s decorated career may have come to an end, but ‘The Spider’ had other plans.
Instead, Silva has continued to make the walk to the Octagon well into his 40’s, even after a string of defeats and setbacks that all seemed a far cry from the years when the Brazilian ruled the UFC’s middleweight division with an iron fist.
Undeterred by his losing streak, Silva even offered to fight light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier at 205lbs on just 24 hours notice at UFC 200 in 2017, losing out by unanimous decision.
Five years since his last win in the Octagon, Silva then faced Derek Brunson at UFC 208 in February of 2017 and emerged victorious via decision.
“I know I’m too old for fighting,” An emotional Silva told his fans after the fight. “The guys in here are too fast for me, [too] strong. But I put my heart [into it] because fighting is my life.”
Now 43, Silva is set to take another daunting challenge next, going up against one of the sport’s most hotly tipped prospects, Israel Adesanya in 2019, with Dana White claiming that the winner will get a title shot at 185lbs.
