Video | Wanderlei Silva’s son Thor wins MMA debut via first round TKO

Wanderlei Silva’s son Thor Silva made his amateur MMA debut on Sunday at Fight Music Show 2 in Brazil, winning his bout via first round TKO.

The 19-year-old showed no hesitation in the cage as he attacked Gabriel Bonfim early, hitting a single-leg takedown and escaping an armbar attempt. He then punished his opponent with relentless ground and pound before securing mount. Bonfim did his best to try and cling to Thor, but couldn’t escape the damage he was taking and gave up his back. The ref stepped in at 2:13 of the first round to wave things off.

This win is just the latest for Silva, who has competed successfully in jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, boxing, and now MMA. In 2019 he won his kickboxing debut via 30-second KO, following that up in 2020 with an amateur boxing decision. Thor was back in action after pandemic restrictions allowed combat sports to resume in Brazil, winning another kickboxing bout via decision in May of 2022. Now he’s competing in the sport that made his father famous and back to earning finishes.

https://twitter.com/FiteTV/status/1574150718956752896

thor silva (wanderlei’s son) wins his ameteur mma debut by first round tko #FMS2 pic.twitter.com/MJjjzbGhKg

— jake (@jakeshreds420) September 25, 2022

Wanderlei Silva is one of the early legends of mixed martial arts. Dubbed ‘The Axe Murderer,’ he was one of the most feared fighters in the sport, and his early vale tudo fights are still shocking to watch. He ravaged the competition in Japan’s PRIDE FC, where he holds the record for most wins, knockouts, and title defenses in the promotion’s history.

Silva made his retirement from MMA official in August, and part of that decision involved his desire to concentrate on coaching his son Thor through his budding combat sports career.

“I know where he can go, I’ve been through it all, and I know that what really counts is hard work,” he told MMA Fighting’s Trocacao Franca podcast. “You may be the son of [someone important] or have as much money as you have, but hard work and training is what counts in there, and thank God he has behaved like a professional already.”

 

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“There are many great promotions today like Bellator, RIZIN, and UFC, great promotions that give opportunity for the athlete to show their work and fight the best,” Silva said. “We’ll see how his career progresses and the opportunities that will present themselves, and we’ll choose the best path.”

In the same interview, Thor shared a desire to follow his father’s footsteps to Japan.

“I like the UFC, they pay real well,” Thor said, “But RIZIN is also very interesting because I like the rule set, right? If you go to the ground, there are soccer kicks and I like that idea.”