Daiju Takase upended “The Spider” at Pride 26. | Photo: Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com
7. Daiju Takase vs. Anderson Silva
Pride 26 “Bad to the Bone” -- June 8, 2003
Yokohama Arena | Yokohama, Japan
When one is known as the world’s greatest mixed martial artist, as Anderson Silva currently is, the potholes along the way -- because there are so few -- tend to stand out just a little bit more. “The Spider” has suffered defeat just four times in his career, with three of those -- Luiz Azeredo (Silva’s third professional bout), Ryo Chonan (flying scissor heel hook submission finish) and Yushin Okami (disqualification due to illegal upkick) -- having reasonable explanations.
On paper, it did not look like a competitive pairing, and it was not, but it was Takase who controlled the majority of the action. The Japanese fighter landed a takedown very early in the encounter and kept Silva planted on his back for the better part of seven minutes. Takase landed moderate ground-and-pound before threatening with an armlock, which allowed him to move to side control. As Silva attempted to escape the predicament, Takase rolled into a triangle choke, eliciting a tapout from the current UFC middleweight champion at the 8:23 mark of round one.
Beating a future legend did not, however, forecast better things for Takase, who would lose six of his next eight bouts.
Number 6 » Sokoudjou vs. Nogueira