There is probably no other one fighter that could be described as dangerous other than the man known as the "Axe Murderer". Wanderlei Silva reigned violently as the Pride Middleweight Champion (unified rules light heavyweight) for close to six years dominating for most of that time. Of his 35 wins only one was an actual submission, a rear naked choke.That being said there could be no other one dimensional legend in the sport of MMA. He had basic sprawl and brawl techniques that helped him. It was that same violent striking game that led to Silva's up and down latter part of his career. A low point in his career was his three fight loosing streak to Mirko Filipovic, Dan Henderson and Chuck Liddell. He then experienced checkered wins and losses towards the end of his career with his final win being against Brian Stann. After that came his fall from grace with his on set brawl against Chael Sonnen on The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 and his refusal to submit to a random drug test which led to his lifetime ban. Regardless of his end of career controversy, Silva wasn't afraid to stand and trade with fighters to entertain the crowd.
Matthew Salzer fell in love with Mixed Martial Arts when he watched Pride Fighting Championships on Japanese TV. He is a lifelong wrestler having earned a Bachelor of Science at Missouri Baptist University. Matthew is the Senior Editor at MMA Freak and has written for Funky Monkey MMA, H4 Entertainment, and MMA Fiends.
