10 MMA Fights That Were The Beginning Of The End For Legends

9. Anderson Silva Vs. Chris Weidman - UFC 162

UFC 162 was a monumental night in the history of the UFC and of MMA. The bloom was off the rose and the unstoppable Anderson Silva had well and truly been stopped in his tracks.

With a left hook, Chris Weidman had taken away the mystique of The Spider. For so many years, Silva had a psychological edge over so many of his opponents due to his brash fighting style that often saw him taunting the man stood opposite of him in the Octagon. Upon mocking Weidman, however, the Brazilian was met with a left hook that floored him and led to a brief flurry of Weidman punches that brought the fight to an end.

After a stunning seven years of dominance that saw Anderson notch up a ludicrous 17 consecutive wins, Anderson Silva's untouchable aura was no more.

Since that UFC 162 fight and losing the subsequent rematch with Chris Weidman, Silva has gone on to lose against Michael Bisping, Daniel Cormier, Israel Adesanya, and Jared Cannonier as The Spider's decline is clear for all to see.

He may be viewed by many as the greatest fighter in the history of the sport, but age catches up with even the very best of fighters. And at 44 years of age and still fighting, it's surely time for Anderson Silva to call time on his legendary career.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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.