By the Numbers: Anderson Silva

Not many have reached the heights Anderson Silva once enjoyed.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder rewrote the record book during his historic stay atop the 185-pound weight class, turning away one contender after another, often in devastating fashion. From Oct. 14, 2006 until July 6, 2013, Silva held sway over a division that included Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt, Demian Maia, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami. All failed to unseat him. “The Spider” captured the middleweight crown by rearranging Franklin’s face at UFC 64 and did not relinquish his hold on the throne until he ran into Chris Weidman at UFC 162 nearly seven years later. Still active into his 40s, Silva last appeared at UFC 208 on Feb. 11, when he took a controversial decision from Derek Brunson and closed the book on a five-fight drought that saw him go 0-4 with one no-contest. He has been booked opposite Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 122 on Nov. 25 in Shanghai, China, where he figures to be an underdog in the minds of most observers.

During his long and successful career, Silva has compiled his share of intriguing statistical data:

2,457: Days spent as UFC middleweight champion. It ranks as the longest title reign in Ultimate Fighting Championship history at any weight.

61: Percentage of significant strikes landed, the third best mark in UFC history. According to FightMetric, only Alistair Overeem (73.2) and Josh Barnett (61.5) have connected at a better rate.

18: Knockdowns landed in UFC competition, the most all-time.

18: First-round finishes on his resume. His list of victims includes Belfort, Marquardt, Franklin, Forrest Griffin and Carlos Newton.

17: Victories in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, tying him with Jon Jones and Jim Miller for sixth on the all-time list. He trails only Michael Bisping (20), Georges St. Pierre (19), Donald Cerrone (19), Demian Maia (19) and Matt Hughes (18).

16: Consecutive wins in the UFC, the longest such streak in the promotion’s 24-year history.

49: Seconds Silva needed to dispose of Chris Leben in his UFC debut on June 28, 2006. It remains the fastest finish of his career.

9: Fights against current or former UFC champions. Silva has compiled a 5-4 record in those bouts.

4: Submissions to his credit: two by rear-naked choke, one by triangle armbar and one by triangle choke.

22: Wins by knockout. They account for 65 percent of his career victories.

13: Post-fight performance bonuses earned, tying him with Cerrone for third most in UFC history. Only Joe Lauzon and Nate Diaz, both with 15, have more.

25:14: Time it took for Silva to defeat Fabricio Camoes on June 25, 1997 in the longest fight of his career.

.718: The cumulative winning percentage of the seven men -- Bisping, Weidman, Okami, Daniel Cormier, Ryo Chonan, Daiju Takase and Luiz Azeredo -- who own victories over Silva.

10: Consecutive title defenses as middleweight champion, the most by any titleholder in UFC history. Demetrious Johnson equaled his mark with his submission of Wilson Reis at UFC on Fox 24. “Mighty Mouse” can surpass it with a victory over Ray Borg at UFC 215 on Sept. 9.