What was to be his original first title defence turned into a three round, non-title fight as Travis Lutter failed to make the Middleweight cut-off of 185 lbs at the weigh-ins.  The Spider won the fight against his opponent with what was considered to be Lutter’s strongest skill – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, finishing him with a Triangle choke at 2 minutes and 11 seconds in the second round.

Silva had, previous to his fight with Lutter, received some flack from MMA fans (obviously not his), that his strength was only in his stand-up game, and upon being taken down, he’d stand little to no chance against his opponent.  Even after beating Lutter on the ground, there was much criticism about the weakness of his ground game and the time it took the champ to finish Lutter.

Soon after, word got out that Nate “The Great” Marquardt was to have his shot at the title; If anyone had thought that an opponent would stand a good chance against Anderson Silva, Nate would be that man.  I had called Silva for that fight, but figured Marquardt would give him a real run for his money and go for two rounds at least.  However, Anderson Silva emerged victorious at 4 minutes and 50 seconds in the first round by TKO, and really showed those naysayers that he’s just as versatile and comfortable on the ground as he is formidable on his feet. 

Let’s get to know the champ a little.  Here are a few fast facts for the MMA fans just warming up to the man:

- Anderson da Silva was born on April 14, 1975 in Curitiba, Brazil.

- He started training in Tae Kwon Do at age 14.

- His current MMA record stands at 19-4 (11 knockouts, 3 submissions).

- He is efficient in Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and boxing

- Silva actually holds a boxing record, having made his first professional boxing debut in 2005, at a gym in Brazil, where he KO’d his opponent in the 2nd round.

- Anderson Silva is the current Cage Rage Champion in the Middleweight division, holding the current longest reign.

- Anderson Silva has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu which he earned under Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, who recently made his UFC debut at Silva’s first title defence.

- He is currently working towards a degree in Physical Education

- Previously a relative unknown in North America, Silva made his debut at Ultimate Fight Night 5 on June 28, 2006. His opponent was Chris Leben, who had been undefeated with a 5-win streak.  The Spider walked away victorious 49 seconds into the first round.

- Following his victory over Chris Leben, the UFC tallied a poll on their main page, asking participants to select Silva's next opponent; the majority of the voters selected UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin.

- Silva was given his chance at the title at UFC 64 on October 14th 2006, defeating Rich Franklin by TKO (Strikes) in 2 minutes and 59 seconds in the first round.

- Silva is the only fighter to have beat Rich Franklin, aside from Lyoto Machida in 2003.

- He has won 3 of his 4 fights within the UFC by knockouts in the first round.

- Number of times Anderson Silva has treated UFC fans to his saucy little victory dance: 2  (Once after his knockout victory over Chris Leben, and the other after submitting Travis Lutter by Triangle Choke.)

Serene Thio is a freelance writer who has trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kali and Muay Thai, and has been a fan of mixed martial arts since she watched the first UFC event in 1993. She has also attended and trained at seminars hosted by Renzo Gracie, Sylvio Behring and BJ Penn.