10 Most Memorable Championship Shockers: Part 1

Pride Middleweight Championship
Dan Henderson def. Wanderlei Silva -- KO (Punches) 2:08 R3
Pride 33 “Second Coming,” Feb. 24, 2007

The Setting: At his peak, “The Axe Murderer” pieced together a streak of 18 consecutive fights without a loss and produced a highlight-reel series of destructions. In fact, given MMA’s ascent since 2005 and increasing mainstream media attention, it might have been for the best that Silva’s Pride bouts happened mostly away from view. They contained eye-popping amounts of violence, helped in no small part by perfectly legal kicks to the head of a downed opponent, and Silva had the style to maximize their effect.

In this rematch, Silva squared off with Henderson in the Pride 33 main event, as the promotion returned to Las Vegas. Silva had looked increasingly vulnerable in recent bouts, dropping decisions to Mark Hunt and Ricardo Arona before he was blitzed by Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in the semi-finals of the Pride open weight grand prix.

The Swing Moment: Henderson, beloved by hardcore fans for his durability and size-does-not-matter outlook, always had good hands, even if he usually seemed to end up winning by grinding down opponents with his potent grappling. After setting the tone in the opening moments with punches and winning exchanges, Henderson landed a gorgeous right hand-left hook combination that sent Silva to the canvas in the third round.

The Aftermath: Both men surfaced in the UFC in wake of Zuffa LLC’s acquisition of Pride. Silva has had middling success, and Henderson eventually lost two title fights against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Anderson Silva. Strikeforce recently plucked Henderson, a viable contender in two divisions, from the UFC vine, while Silva’s series of wars have clearly caught up with him.