We’ve all gotten a little interested in some of our favorite MMA stars, especially when we’re looking at the UFC picks. Come with us as we take a look at a few interesting, fun facts about some of our favorite MMA stars.
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Anderson Silva
If you’ve been watching the MMA for some time, then you’ll know of Anderson Silva. Anderson Silva, born Anderson da Silva, is a famous MMA turned boxing fighter who was born in 1975 in Brazil, Sao Paulo. Anderson’s martial arts training began in Curitiba with his training in jiu-jitsu with other neighborhood children.
When Silva became a teen, he expanded his martial arts training through taekwondo, muay thai, and capoeira. In his many years of training, Silva won many black belts in martial arts, such as taekwondo, judo, muay thai, and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.
Sila’s career began in Brazil in the welterweight category, but in 1997, he made his professional debut making a pair of wins. In 2000, Silva made his first loss to Luiz Azeredo through a decision; however, after this fight, Silva seemed to be on a roll making a nine-fight winning streak.
Six of the matches Silva won were by submission or TKO, which is amazing.Silva has had a total of 46 MMA matches, making a win of 34, with 23 of those being by knockout.
Before becoming an MMA fighter, Silva worked as a file clerk and also had employment at a McDonald’s.
Georges St-Pierre
Georges St-Pierre was born in 1981 in Canada to Roland and Pauline St- Pierre. St-Pierre played various sports, including hockey and skating, and at the tender age of seven, he began learning Kyokushin Karate due to constant bullying at school. Later St-Pieree took an interest in wrestling, boxing, and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu after his Karate had tragically passed on.
At around this time, St-Pieree began high school at Ecole Pierre-Bedard, where he later broke the record for the number of chin-ups done within the high school. After high school, Pierre sought to further his education by studying kinesiology at Cegep Edouard-Montpetit.
Prior to forging his career as an MMA fighter, Pierre worked as a bouncer in a nightclub and also worked as a garageman for six months. All of this was done in an effort to pay for his tertiary education. Pierre’s first professional fight was held at age 20.
In Pierre’s career as an MMA fighter, he fought in 28 fights, winning a whopping 26. One of St-Pierre’s most memorable moments is when he lost to Hughes in the first round of a fight after finding himself caught up in an armbar. He has gone on to say that that was one of the best losses of his career.
Another memorable moment for fans was when St-Pierre defeated Michael Bisping and won the UFC Middleweight Championship, but the success was short-lived as 34 days after winning, Pierre vacated the title. This was due to his ulcerative colitis diagnosis and his disinterest in trying to hold up the title and division.
St-Pierre would go on to star in his first film called Never Surrender. He played a role in 2009 where he played a character that was named after him.
Jon Jones
An amazing man who stops and apprehends criminals with his bare hands. Let’s take you back to the afternoon of UFC 128, where Jones, along with Greg Jackson and his trainer Mike Winkeljohn spotted a criminal making his catch of the day.
The unidentified man was taking valuables from a vehicle he had recently broken into. Jones saw the incident and started off by shouting at the man, and when he saw that the man wasn’t listening, he swiftly approached the man and apprehended him in a bid to control the situation.
The police were later informed of the situation, and the criminal was taken into police custody.
Jones currently holds two records which include being the youngest UFC champion in history and being the first MMA Fighter to be sponsored by Nike international.
