10 Toughest Bastards In UFC History

7. Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva Mma
David Becker/AP/Press Association Images

The Spider is a freak of nature when it comes to MMA. As in, Anderson Silva is the best to ever compete in the sport.

That's certainly a bold statement, but it's also a very true statement.

Silva is a true icon of UFC and MMA, and his UFC Middleweight Championship reign lasted a jaw-dropping 2,457 days. But while the Brazilian is known for his showboating and for even offering up free shots to opponents, he's also one tough ol' bastard.

For the casual UFC fan, it's hard to really determine just how tough Anderson Silva is due to the fact that he won so many fights with such ease. In his first seven years with UFC, Silva went on a ridiculous 16-fight win streak before Chris Weidman knocked him at in 2007.

When Silva's has been called to show his toughness, though, he's more than proven just how tough he is - a perfect example being the utter beating he took from Chael Sonnen for four rounds, before turning the tide and getting a tap-out victory in the final moments of Round 5 back at UFC 117.

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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.