10 MMA Fights That Created Instant Legends

3. Anderson Silva Vs. Dan Henderson- UFC 82

Some may point to his UFC 64 win over then-Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin as the biggest moment of Anderson Silva’s MMA career. Others may highlight Silva’s stunning comeback against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117. But the real fight that put The Spider in that top tier of all-time greats was his UFC 82 contest against Dan Henderson.

Going into that fight, it was generally felt that Hendo’s mat skills, his granite chin, and his famed H-Bombs would prove too much for Silva. And undoubtedly, Dan Henderson was to prove the greatest test of Anderson's career up to that point.

This fight produced a special performance from Anderson Silva, with him managing to hold off Henderson’s takedown attacks, while also outstriking him when the two stood and went toe-to-toe.

After some elbow strikes and punches opened up Hendo's guard, Anderson would put his opponent away with a rear naked choke towards the end of the second round. Following this fight, the Brazilian would remain undefeated for the next five years, making sure that he was right in the conversation when it came to talk of the greatest ever.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.