Sherdog’s Top 10: Undeserved Title Shots

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1. Hiromitsu Kanehara vs. Wanderlei Silva
Pride 23 “Championship Chaos 2” | Nov. 24, 2002 -- Tokyo

Silva entered the Tokyo Dome to defend his Pride middleweight crown against Kanehara in the midst of one of the most dominant reigns of terror in mixed martial arts history. From 1999 to 2004, the Brazilian went unbeaten in 20 bouts with the Japanese promotion, capturing the inaugural Pride middleweight title with a victory over Kazushi Sakuraba at Pride 17.

When examining the competition that the Silva buzzsaw was able to eliminate during that period -- Sakuraba (twice), Dan Henderson, Quinton Jackson (twice), etc. -- Kanehara registers as little more than a blip on the radar. The Rings veteran entered the bout having won just two of his past six bouts, and in his most recent outing, the Japanese fighter had dueled to a draw with Russian Mikhail Ilyukin.

It came as no great surprise that Kanehara served as little more than sacrificial fodder for Silva’s highlight reel of violence. Twice “The Axe Murderer” knocked his opponent to the canvas -- once with a head kick and once with a vicious left hook. As the bout progressed, it became apparent that Kanehara wanted no part of the champion on the feet, which left Silva no choice but to repeatedly beckon his overmatched foe to engage.

Kanehara learned the hard way that he was no better off on the mat than he was standing. Silva concluded the contest by kicking and stomping a prone Kanehara into oblivion, forcing the Japanese fighter’s corner to throw in the towel on his behalf. That loss marked the beginning of a stretch in which Kanehara would win just once in his next 13 appearances, cementing his status as the most unworthy of title hopefuls.