Speaking in a new interview, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva revealed the most important fight of his MMA career.

Silva, who is currently competing in boxing, is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. For over 20 years, Silva was competing at the top of the food chain in MMA. He has fought and defeated many of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, and he has also been in a number of memorable fights. But if you ask Silva, there is one fight that stands out above.

Speaking to AG Fight, Silva revealed that the most important fight of his MMA career came way back in 2001 at Shooto 7 when he fought Hayato “Mach” Sakurai. At the time, Sakurai was undefeated with an 18-0-2 record in MMA and he was the Shooto welterweight champion (168lbs). So when Silva went in there and beat him, it was a really big deal.

“The most important fight in my career was my first world title in Japan, with Hayato Sakurai, when I won Shooto. I think this is the most important fight in my career, because without it I wouldn’t have the opportunity to have fought in Pride, to have fought in England and gone to the UFC. So I consider it more important,” Silva said.

Considering Silva has been in the cage and the ring with many of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, the fact that he pointed out this fight against Sakurai in Shooto is a huge compliment for Sakurai. Although Sakurai never gained the popularity in the United States that he had in Japan, anyone who saw him fight in his prime in PRIDE knows that he was one of the best fighters in the world, and when Silva beat him, it was a massive deal.

Were you surprised that Anderson Silva said his fight against Hayato Sakurai was the most important fight of his MMA career?