Former Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva will be part of the 2024 Hall of Fame class as a Pioneer, the UFC announced Saturday.
“Wanderlei Silva is one of the true pioneers of the sport of MMA,” UFC CEO Dana White said in a statement. “Wanderlei was an absolute savage who left his mark by delivering some of the most memorable fights in combat sports history. He had legendary fights against Mirko Cro Crop, Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, Brian Stann, and his fights against Rich Franklin, as they were absolute wars! He was also one of the early superstars of PRIDE who helped grow the MMA fanbase on a global scale, and it will be an honour to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”
Silva becomes the 19th member of the UFC Hall of Fame to join the Pioneer class. The Pioneers Era category includes athletes who turned professional before November 17, 2000, are a minimum age of 35 or who have been retired for one year or more.
In his 22-year MMA career, Silva finished with an overall record of 35-14-1 that included victories over UFC Hall of Famers Kazushi Sakuraba, Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson.
He is the second member of the 2024 class to be announced, joining Frankie "The Answer" Edgar.
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