Anderson “Braddock” Silva had no idea that he would be competing in the main card of ONE: LEGENDARY QUEST on 15 June at the Baoshan Arena in Shanghai.
From a kid watching Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Lee movies to facing a two-time SUPERKOMBAT Heavyweight World Champion in Tarik Khbabez, Silva has indeed come a long way.
“I came from a very humble family, and I could not train in martial arts because we could not afford to pay for training sessions,” Silva said.
“All I knew about martial arts was what I saw on TV as a kid, characters in Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Lee movies, that was all I knew about it. When a friend introduced me to martial arts, it was love at first sight. To this day, I have always trained.”
Over the course of time, “Braddock” competed and won against the best martial artists in various promotions. The 32-year-old also dabbled briefly in mixed martial arts for two years, winning three matches out of four with a 100% finishing rate.
Silva, though, is open to new challenges and also wants to dip his toes into mixed martial arts in ONE Championship.
“I would love to fight in ONE, and I believe that the best qualities in the world in kickboxing and in MMA are in ONE,” Silva said.
“I have already done some MMA fights, and I love it. It’s something that is new and quite motivating for me. My whole life has been dedicated to kickboxing, and when I was introduced to mixed martial arts, it was something new and I loved it, it was very good to be inside the cage.”
The Brazilian is welcome to any opportunities that may come along his way. After all, he owes it to his family to become the world’s best given the support they showed him when he began his martial arts career.
“My family is the inspiration that I have to dedicate myself to this sport and be one of the best in the world,” Silva concluded.
