Anderson Silva added another feat to his long list of accomplishments.
The former UFC middleweight champion, and arguably the best mixed martial artist of all time, who returns to the Octagon on Jan. 31 against Nick Diaz after suffering a gruesome injury in 2013, was named the 27th-biggest Brazilian celebrity in 2014 by Forbes Brasil.
The top 100 list is based on criteria like media visibility, earnings numbers, online exposure, popularity, international prestige and number of followers on social media.
Silva is listed ahead of celebrities like Xuxa Meneghel (TV host), Luan Santana (singer), Fausto Silva (TV host), Silvio Santos (TV host, businessman), Emerson Sheik (soccer player) and Mauricio de Souza (cartoonist).
The other MMA fighter to join “The Spider” on the list is Vitor Belfort, ranked at No. 50. Belfort earned another shot at the UFC gold after scoring consecutive knockouts over Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson in Brazil in 2013. “The Phenom” is scheduled to face middleweight champion Chris Weidman on Feb. 28.
Neymar, captain of the Brazil national soccer team and one of the stars of Barcelona, is at No. 1 on the list. David Luiz (soccer player), Paulo Coelho (novelist), Ivete Sangalo (singer), Gisele Bundchen (model), Daniel Alves (soccer player), Pele (retired soccer player), Roberto Carlos (singer), Caetalo Veloso (singer) and Luciano Huck (TV host) complete the top 10.