Sherdog’s Top 10: Scariest Finishers

Patrick WymanMar 04, 2015

Wanderlei Silva pursued the finish at all costs. | Photo: Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com

2. Wanderlei Silva

A recent installment in the Sherdog Top 10 series labeled Silva as the most aggressive fighter of all-time by unanimous vote of the staff, and he came close to snagging the top spot as the scariest finisher of all-time, as well. Finishing fights in brutal and entertaining fashion is what made Silva a legend and brought him the Pride middleweight championship, along with a 16-fight unbeaten streak during his prime.

Like his Chute Boxe stablemate, Mauricio Rua, “The Axe Murderer” offered a wide variety of fight-ending violence. He knocked out Kazushi Sakuraba with a punch in their third meeting and knees and soccer kicks in their first; Quinton Jackson fell on two separate occasions to an ultra-vicious stream of knees from the double-collar tie, once sending him face-first through the ropes, completely unconscious; A hard knee in the clinch also ended the evening for Cung Le in their fantastic, back-and-forth matchup at UFC 139; Punches took care of Brian Stann in what eventually became Silva’s retirement fight; and a soccer kick put down Kazuyuki Fujita (GIF:). When he had an opponent hurt, Silva stopped at nothing to finish the fight.

While Silva’s move into retirement has been less than graceful, he should always be remembered as one of the sport’s most terrifying finishers.

Number 1 » His combination of skill, killer instinct and slightly insane approach to hunting for the finish means that his opponents often walk away from the fight -- or get carried out -- with a serious lower-limb injury and a healthy appreciation for the Brazilian’s strength and technique.