GIFathon: Wanderlei Silva - The Birth of The Axe Murderer

The latest edition of Zombie Prophet's GIFathon focuses on the the early years of the The Axe Murderer.

By Zombie Prophet Oct 3, 2012, 8:00am EDT

Today we'll be switching gears a bit. Instead of looking at an up-and-coming fighter, we'll be looking at the birth of a legend and arguably one of the best 205ers to grace the ring. His name is Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva.

Born in Curitiba, Brazil, Wanderlei's fighting style is a bit different than what Brazilians are known for. Wanderlei isn't going to submit you from the guard (even though he's a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), or try any flashy Capoeira kicks. He's gonna come at you with a super aggressive style of punches. You'll try to fend him off with a few punches of your own and just when you think you've weathered the storm, he wraps you up in a Muay Thai plum and puts you to sleep with knees. If you're lucky, the referee will stop it before he gets any soccer kicks or foot stomps in but more than likely it will be too late.

From his beginnings in Brazilian vale tudo and IVC, to his record title run in Pride FC, and now in the UFC, Wanderlei has fought all over the world in different organizations. Holding a record of 34-12-1-1 with 24 of those wins coming by way of KO/TKO, this former Chute Boxe Academy fighter's accomplishment are nothing less than incredible:

Pride Middleweight Championship
2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Winner
2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix semi-finalist
2006 Pride Open-Weight Grand Prix semi-finalist
Longest undefeated winning streak in PRIDE FC history (20)
Most wins in PRIDE FC history (22)
Most consecutive wins in PRIDE FC history (18)
Most knockouts in PRIDE FC history (15)
Most successful title defenses in PRIDE FC history (4)
Most successful title defenses in the history of PRIDE FC Middleweight division (4)
Most consecutive successful titles defenses in PRIDE FC history (4)
Most consecutive successful title defenses in the history of PRIDE FC Middleweight division (4)
International Vale Tudo Championship
IVC Light Heavyweight Champion

You'd be hard pressed to find one person that dislikes Wanderlei, but it's not only because of his fighting style. The man is a sweetheart outside of the ring/cage. He's always willing to help his fellow fighter and he interacts with fans more than any fighter I've seen. Today we won't be looking at the nice side of this man, but the monster that's inside of him waiting for the bell to ring so he can do what he does best...entertain his fans.

Sit back, enjoy and try not to get any blood on you...

Wanderlei Silva vs Eduardo da Silva (Uknown Muay Thai)