About Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the most wins, knockouts, title defenses and longest winning streak in PRIDE history. He is the former PRIDE Middleweight Champion and the 2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion. He most recently competed for Bellator MMA in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. In February 2024, Silva was announced as the next inductee in the "pioneer wing" of the UFC Hall of Fame. Silva's first professional match was on 1 November 1996, in the bare-knuckle organization Brazilian Vale Tudo Fighting (BVF). Silva won his next UFC match on 7 May 1999, at UFC 20, in which he knocked out Tony Petarra with knees. Silva's reputation as a formidable MMA fighter grew as he developed a successful 5-year win record in the middle weight division (205 lb) of Pride.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.