Sherdog's Top 10: Greatest UFC Debuts

1. Anderson Silva

Silva tops an unprecedented fourth Sherdog top 10, adding to his titles as greatest middleweight, greatest Brazilian fighter, and greatest striker ever. There were certainly high expectations for his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 5 against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 veteran Chris Leben. Silva had already attained a degree of fame and success in Pride and looked even better in Cage Rage, including devastating knockouts of UFC veterans in Curtis Stout, Jorge Rivera, and Tony Fryklund, the latter an elbow that is among the greatest knockouts I've ever seen, as well as a one-sided decision against Lee Murray. In fact, the Brazilian was a -200 favorite against Chris Leben, who was then a perfect 5-0 in the UFC. Still, Silva surpassed even those lofty expectations, leaving an indelible impression on all UFC fans. Effortlessly dancing around his opponent, Silva landed at will with his jab, while Leben's blows weren't even close. Even an attempt by Leben to rush at Silva ended with the Brazilian easily throwing the American to the canvas as he would a clumsy child. Soon after, Silva was all over Leben with punches and landed a huge head kick for good measure. As Leben fell to the canvas, badly hurt, Silva assumed John McCarthy would stop it, but when he didn't, Silva proceeded to pick apart his wounded prey with ground-and-pound, standing punches, and finally, a devastating knee that ended the fight. One of the most dominant ass-kickings the UFC has seen from 2000 onwards took just 49 seconds. Silva had ushered in a new standard of striking in the UFC in an awe-inspiring debut.