On July 6, 2013, at UFC 162, newly crowned middleweight champion Chris Weidman knocked out Anderson Silva. In doing so, the New York native all but ruined a possible super fight between Silva and the current light heavyweight king, Jon Jones.
Previous to UFC 162, however, Silva was the company’s longest reigning champion, holding the middleweight title for seven years. Despite his devastating loss to Weidman, many still consider the Brazilian to be the greatest mixed martial artist to ever grace the Octagon.
Silva’s loss at UFC 162 took nothing away from his legacy. His accomplishments and feats are testaments to the man who made winning look easy for nearly a decade. His ability to make other professional fighters appear amateurish in the Octagon was astounding. In that, he has undoubtedly staked his claim as a future UFC hall of famer.
However, due to time, Jones’ anticipated move to the heavyweight division and Silva’s admission of his inability to defeat the current light heavyweight champion, it is more than evident that Jones will one day surpass Silva as the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time.