Wanderlei Silva is without a doubt one of the scariest fighters in UFC history.
‘The Axe Murderer’ lived up to his wild nickname by unleashing bloody carnage every time he stepped foot inside the Octagon – but his reputation as MMA’s boogeyman was truly earned during his years fighting in Japan under the PRIDE banner.
UFC legend Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson openly admits that everyone was scared of Wanderlei Silva.
One look at his fight with Yuki Kundo shows why the undrafted GFL fighter struck fear into rivals at the peak of his career.
Wanderlei Silva smiled during vicious stomp KO
Silva scored knockouts in 27 of his 35 wins, so there’s plenty of competition for his best KO.
However, the 48-year-old’s victory over Kundo is undoubtedly the most violent of his 51-fight MMA career.
The Japanese fighter was knocked onto his heels by Silva’s right hand during the first round of their famous fight at PRIDE Final Conflict 2004.
Kundo never got the chance to recover as his opponent smelled blood and went headhunting.
Silva chased ‘Sora’ around the ring until he dropped him with a sneaky left hook to the jaw. Once Kundo hit the ground things only got worse as the MMA icon began mercilessly stomping on his head until he lost consciousness.
The UFC has just legalized 12-6 elbows, but soccer kicks will almost certainly never be allowed in the Octagon ever again.
Unfortunately, Kundo ate a couple of extra kicks to the head when he was out cold. Eventually, the referee managed to pull off Silva, who was grinning with glee from ear to ear after rendering his opponent motionless on the canvas.
More than two decades after their fight, fans are still blown away by Silva’s ruthless KO of Kundo.
They continue to express their shock every time a clip of the frightening finish goes viral on social media.
Joe Rogan educates podcast guest on Wanderlei Silva
Last year, Joe Rogan sat down for a three-hour conversation with podcaster, YouTuber, and club promoter, Chris Williamson, who got an unrequested education about Wanderlei Silva.
“You ever see Wanderlei Silva fight? the UFC commentator asked. “His nickname was ‘The Axe Murderer’.”
Rogan added: “When he was a young man, he was an animal. He was so scary.
“And he had a cool tattoo on the back of his head. He was an animal, dude.
“He becomes a champion in PRIDE, but he was f***ing people up. Here he is against Guy Mezger, who is a very good fighter, and Wanderlei just overwhelmed him with headbutts, knees, and everything.
“Monster! He was a monster in his prime. He had to get his face reconstructed because his nose was so flat that he couldn’t breathe out of it at all.
“So, they took a big chunk of cartilage out of his rib and reconstructed his face, and he had a totally new face. They made it big, he got a big nose so he could really breathe. Yeah, he looked like a different human.
“After the surgery, he showed up one day and I was like, ‘What is going on?’”