Anderson Silva: By The Numbers

Whenever Anderson Silva exits the mixed martial arts stage, he will do so as one of the most accomplished fighters in the sport’s history.

“The Spider” has compiled a 34-8 record during his stellar 20-year career, capturing titles in the Cage Rage, Shooto and Ultimate Fighting Championship organizations. Though wildly successful before arriving in the UFC, Silva reached new heights once he touched down inside the Octagon. His historic run began at UFC Fight Night 5, where he obliterated Chris Leben in just 49 seconds on June 28, 2006. Less than three months later, the Brazilian was the UFC middleweight champion. Silva remained on the 185-pound throne for a record 2,457 days and successfully defended the title on 10 different occasions. His list of victims included Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt, Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen (twice). Silva relinquished his hold on the middleweight crown in a knockout loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 on July 6, 2013. He has gone 1-3 with one no-contest across five appearances since. Worse yet, the 42-year-old appears to have soiled his reputation by failing two tests for performance-enhancing drugs.

As the MMA world awaits word of Silva’s next move, here are some of the numbers that have come to define him during a career that stretches all the way back to 1997:

2: Career losses by submission. Daiju Takase and Ryo Chonan did the honors under the Pride Fighting Championships banner in Japan.

4: Career victories by submission. Sonnen, Henderson, Raimundo Pinheiro and Travis Lutter were the victims.

5: Wins over former UFC champions. They came at the expense of Franklin (twice), Belfort, Forrest Griffin and Carlos Newton.

7: Countries in which Silva has competed as a professional mixed martial artist. They are the United States, England, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Japan and South Korea.

17: Victories inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship. That number ties him for sixth on the promotion’s all-time list with countryman Rafael dos Anjos and Jim Miller. Only Georges St. Pierre (20), Michael Bisping (20), Donald Cerrone (19), Demian Maia (19) and Matt Hughes (18) have more.

18: Knockdowns landed in UFC competition, more than any other fighter in the history of the organization. According to FightMetric, Silva ranks ahead of Jeremy Stephens (16), Chuck Liddell (14), Cerrone (14), Thiago Alves (13), Melvin Guillard (13), Anthony Johnson (13), Lyoto Machida (13), Mauricio Rua (13) and Junior dos Santos (12).

22: Wins by knockout or technical knockout. They account for 65 percent of his career total.

42: Years of age. Silva was born on April 14, 1975 in Sao Paulo Brazil.

146: Combined wins between the seven men who own victories against Silva. They are Bisping (30), Takase (12), Chonan (22), Weidman (14), Daniel Cormier (19), Yushin Okami (34) and Luiz Azeredo (15).

678: Significant strikes landed as a UFC middleweight, good for third on the all-time list at 185 pounds. Only Bisping (1,384) and Chris Camozzi (800) have connected with more.