Ex-Middleweight Champ Anderson Silva to Be Inducted Into UFC Hall of Fame

Anderson Silva , regarded by many as the greatest middleweight in the history of the sport, will be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

“The Spider” will be inducted into the Hall of Fame’s “Pioneer Era Wing” during a ceremony this July as part of UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas. The Pioneer Wing includes fighters who turned professional before Nov. 17, 2000, are at least 35 years old and have been retired for a minimum of a year.

“Anderson Silva is one of the greatest athletes of all time,” UFC president Dana White said. “Anderson’s 16-fight winning streak in the UFC, 10 successful title defenses and almost seven years as middleweight champion were one of the most remarkable things we’ve ever seen in professional sports. He was an absolute artist inside the Octagon, and it will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”

A native of Curitiba, Brazil, Silva compiled a 34-11 mark over the course of a professional tenure that began in 1997. He was UFC middleweight champion from 2006 to 20013, a title reign that spanned 2,457 days. “The Spider” owns promotional records for longest winning streak (16), most middleweight wins (11) and most middleweight knockdowns (13). His resume includes notable triumphs over the likes of Rich Franklin, Jeremy Horn, Chris Leben, Nate Marquardt, Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen, Demian Maia, Vitor Belfort and Stephan Bonnar.

Silva last appeared for the promotion at UFC Fight Night 181, where he suffered a fourth-round technical knockout loss to Uriah Hall in October 2020. He has since continued to compete in boxing, notably earning wins over the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz while losing to Jake Paul in the squared circle.