Sherdog’s Top 10: Mismatches

1. Wanderlei Silva vs. Tatsuya Iwasaki
Pride Shockwave
Aug. 28, 2002 | Tokyo
While no one can deny Silva’s place as an all-time great, perhaps no fighter benefitted more from favorable Pride Fighting Championships matchmaking than he did.

Beloved by his Japanese brethren, Iwasaki was an MMA rookie entering his matchup with “The Axe Murderer” at Tokyo National Stadium. Defeat seemed to be a forgone conclusion against the violent, free-swinging Silva. Indeed, Iwasaki was in over his head, and it showed immediately.

Silva leveled his counterpart with a head kick and mopped up what was left with punches. The mugging was over in just 76 seconds, as “The Axe Murderer” posted his ninth win in Pride and went on to dominate the light heavyweight division for the better part of a decade. Iwasaki never again fought in MMA. Who can blame him?