Sherdog’s Top 10Sherdog’s Top 10: Memorable UFC Debuts
Number 1
Anderson Silva made a sudden impact in the UFC. | Josh
Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
1. Anderson
Silva
UFC Fight Night 5
June 28, 2006 | Las Vegas
“The Spider” crawled into the Octagon for the first time with a fair amount of hardcore hype behind him. With a resume that included bouts against Yushin Okami, Carlos Newton and Hayato Sakurai in promotions like Pride Fighting Championships and Shooto, Silva was not exactly flying under anyone’s radar.
Heading into the UFC Fight Night 5 matchup, Chris Leben spewed plenty of self-promotion, making it clear he intended to remain undefeated inside the Octagon at Silva’s expense. When it was finally go time, it became vividly clear that “The Crippler” was not on Silva’s level. The scrap lasted all of 49 seconds. Silva threw two jabs that landed flush and followed up with a toss to the mat. The debuting fighter followed Leben to the floor, where tried to end the fight. Once Leben returned to his feet, Silva finished it with a nasty knee to the head.
Silva captured the middleweight crown from Rich Franklin in his next appearance and held the title for nearly seven years, leading many to call him the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time.
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