Today in MMA History: Anderson Silva, and the worst night of Forrest Griffin's career

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Photos: Anderson Silva through the years

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(NOTE: This story originally published Aug. 8, 2017)

By the time Aug. 8, 2009, rolled around, fans already knew Anderson Silva was a great fighter.

How could they not? He’d taken the UFC middleweight title from Rich Franklin some three years earlier, then won seven more fights after that, breaking the previous UFC record for most consecutive victories with a graceful destructiveness.