Wanderlei Silva
Active 2007–present · rated in 1 edition · peak overall 82.0
Scouting report
Wanderlei Silva started Muay Thai at 13 at Chute Boxe in Curitiba and became the first Pride middleweight champion, stopping Kazushi Sakuraba at Pride 17 on November 3, 2001. He won the 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix by beating Quinton Jackson in the final. His UFC career began with a 44-second loss to Vitor Belfort in 1998 and ended with a knockout of Brian Stann in Saitama on March 3, 2013. He retired on September 1, 2022.
Peak ratings
Wanderlei Silva: a Pride champion who brawled through the UFC
Silva defended the Pride title four times before Dan Henderson knocked him out in round three at Pride 33 in February 2007. He lost to Mirko Cro Cop's head kick in the 2006 open-weight Grand Prix. His UFC return came at UFC 79, where Chuck Liddell beat him on a decision in a Fight of the Night. He won five of his twelve UFC fights, and his bonuses came in both wins and losses.
Wanderlei Silva, attribute by attribute
Boxing. 86. He knocked out Keith Jardine in 36 seconds at UFC 84 in May 2008 and Stann in round two in Saitama.
Kickboxing. 84. Hooks, soccer kicks, stomps and clinch knees are the tools the record names. Cung Le was stopped by knees and punches at 4:49 of round two at UFC 139.
Wrestling. 70, well below the rest of his card. Wrestling was never his calling card. The record names hooks, soccer kicks, stomps, clinch knees and ground-and-pound as his tools.
BJJ. 72. The page describes a refined jiu-jitsu transition game, but none of his twelve UFC fights ended in a submission either way.
Strength. 82. He went three rounds with Chuck Liddell at UFC 79 in December 2007 in a Fight of the Night.
Durability. 80. Dan Henderson knocked him out in round three at Pride 33. Jackson did it with a punch at 3:21 of round one at UFC 92 in December 2008, and Chris Leben in 27 seconds at UFC 132.
Cardio. 78. Rich Franklin took him through three rounds at UFC 99 in Cologne and five rounds at UFC 147 in Belo Horizonte. Both won Fight of the Night.
Fight IQ. 78. He beat Michael Bisping on a unanimous decision at UFC 110 in Sydney in February 2010, his middleweight debut in the UFC. He had broken three ribs in training in June 2010, which forced him out of UFC 116, and he replaced Vitor Belfort at UFC 139 in November 2011.
Boxing at 86 delivered the knockouts
His UFC wins include Tony Petarra with a knee in 1999, Jardine, Le and Stann. The Jardine knockout won Knockout of the Night worth $75,000. At Pride he beat Jackson with knees in the 2003 final. He is the draft pick for a short, dangerous fight.
Wrestling at 70 and a long run of losses
Silva lost to Belfort, Ortiz, Liddell, Jackson, Franklin twice and Leben in the UFC. After the UFC he lost to Chael Sonnen on a decision at Bellator in June 2017, after a four-year absence, and to Jackson by TKO at Bellator 206 in September 2018.
Keep exploring
Closest middleweight profiles to Wanderlei Silva, measured by how near their peak attribute ratings sit across all eight categories.
- Alan Belcherbest kickboxing 82 · weakest wrestling 72
- Darren Tillbest boxing 87 · weakest bjj 72
- Brian Stannbest boxing 85 · weakest bjj 68
- Rich Franklinbest boxing 82 · weakest bjj 76
- Middleweight division guide: how the whole division rates and who to draft from it.
- Grappling vs striking in the draft: a guide that fits Wanderlei Silva's strongest attribute, Boxing.
Draft Wanderlei Silva into your build
Wanderlei Silva enters the pool on any spin landing on middleweight between 2010 and 2013. Spin, draft eight attributes, then simulate 25 fights.
Ratings shown are my own estimates, made with AI assistance and informed by how Wanderlei Silva is regarded by the MMA community. They are unofficial and do not constitute an assessment of Wanderlei Silva's real-world abilities. How the ratings are made. See the disclaimer below. Ratings and write-ups by Haaris A. Last reviewed 2026-09-30; spot an error? Tell us. Read our editorial standards.