Read about the children of famous fighters who followed in their footsteps and are fighting in the world's strongest leagues. For example, Frank Mir believes that his daughter will soon become a champion of the UFC.
Gabriel, Kalyl and Anderson Silva
Anderson Silva is an outstanding fighter from Brazil, a middleweight champion with ten belt defenses and the record holder for most consecutive wins in the UFC (16). It's even strange that "The Spider" hasn't yet been included in the UFC Hall of Fame, although the Brazilian has somewhat tarnished his legacy by losing seven of his last eight fights in MMA. Now Silva fights in the boxing ring and makes money.
The renowned champion has five children: two daughters and three sons. Gabriel, 25, and Kalyl, 23, are the older sons of the legendary champion. The boys have been playing football since they were young, but they never forgot to check out their father's gym. Although Anderson never insisted that his children follow in his footsteps. When Silva broke his leg in the fight against Chris Weidman, Kalyl insisted that his father end his career.
We were tired of dad training all the time and then going off somewhere for a couple of months. Now he broke his leg. But to me, you have been and will always be a champion dad. Chris, congratulations on the win.
Gabriel Silva placed his focus on Muay Thai. On June 15, 2019, the fighter had his first amateur Thai boxing bout in Burbank and defeated Nick Navarro by technical knockout in the second round. The elder Silva proudly congratulated his son after the fight.
On September 21, 2019, Gabriel made his debut at the FightersRep 8 kickboxing tournament, where he defeated Denis Kovalev by split decision. On February 28, 2020, Silva recorded another win, the Brazilian knocked out Christian Williams and won the IKF Southern California and FightersRep middleweight championships.
But on November 5, 2021, Gabriel's luck changed. In the second minute of the first round Vincent Familiar knocked the Brazilian down cold. Gabriel hasn't fought since that defeat. Or maybe he's just getting ready to enter MMA and wants to conquer the UFC?
Anderson Silva's middle son Kalyl continued the tradition of glorious punching technique. On August 13, 2021, the fighter made his debut at the FightersRep 10 tournament and performed by kickboxing rules. Kalyl's debut turned out to be perfect: he knocked out Anthony Reynaga in eight seconds with a gorgeous head kick. There was still a question about the level of his rival, but you don't usually get a titled and experienced opponent in your first fight.
Kalyl then made two more appearances on the octagon. On November 5, 2021, he beat Melo Pamuk by a judge's decision, and on September 3, 2022, he lost to Michael Mitchell Jr. by decision. Considering that Kalyl is only 23 years old and has such an experienced and powerful father, he has every chance to prove his worth not only in kickboxing, but also in MMA.
Khonry, Neiman, and Royce Gracie
The Gracie family is a fascinating case. The clan was at the origins of BJJ, and the Gracies can be called the pioneers of this martial art. Hélio Gracie, along with his brothers Oswaldo, Gastao Jr., George and Carlos Gracie developed his Gracie self-defense system, which later became known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Royce Gracie is the son of the great master who brought the art of BJJ into the masses. Hélio gave his son a black belt at the age of 17.
Royce Gracie is considered one of the most influential figures in the mixed martial arts world, a participant and winner of the first UFC event. On November 12, 1993, Gracie got into a fight at an eight-man tournament - three times in one night. Royce choked out all of his opponents and became the organization's champion.
On March 14, 1994, Gracie repeated his success and won his second UFC tournament in Denver. On September 9, 1994, the UFC master also competed at the league's third event, but withdrew due to injury after the quarterfinals. Royce Gracie is also known for his trilogy with Ken Shamrock, his hour and a half marathon with Kazushi Sakuraba (best fight of 2000), and his controversial fight with Hidehiko Yoshida at Pride Shockwave in 2002.
Royce Gracie's son, Khonry, had little choice but to follow in the footsteps of his eminent father and grandfather. Although Royce himself never forced his son to take up BJJ, Khonry chose to do it himself.
I didn't show him the UFC 1 tape until he was 13, and I was just his beloved dad.
However, Khonry Gracie also decided to go pro in the mixed martial arts world. The 25-year-old American made his professional MMA debut in 2018 and immediately signed with Bellator. So far, Gracie has performed unsteadily, with two wins and two losses. On November 12, 2020, at Bellator 252, Khonry lost to Trevor Gudde by TKO in the third round and hasn't entered the cage again.
But Royce Gracie's nephew, Neiman, is doing much better in MMA. The fighter hadn't lost until 2018 and was going with a 9-0 record, including eight wins at Bellator. But things have gotten worse for Neiman as the level of his opponents was rising, and he has lost four of his last six fights. It's worth noting that the 33-year-old Brazilian has only lost to some tough: Rory MacDonald, Logan Storley and Goichi Yamauchi. Neiman ranks seventh in Bellator's welterweight rankings, and nine of his eleven wins have been by submission, continuing the glorious legacy of the Gracie clan.
A.J. and Antonio McKee
On July 31, 2021, A.J. McKee first knocked out and then choked out Patricio Freire to become the new Bellator lightweight champion. However, "Pitbull" took the belt away from the American in the rematch, and inflicted the first defeat of his career.
A.J. didn't become a fighter by accident, his father Antonio McKee also fought under MMA rules. But the elder of the McKee family has never been a star unlike his son. Antonio had been fighting since 1999, but mostly in local promotions. From 2003 to 2010, Antonio won 14 fights and once had a draw, and caught the attention of UFC matchmakers because of that. However, Antonio had only one fight under Dana White, when he lost to Jacob Volkmann by split decision, never getting another chance. After that, McKee appeared in WSOF 4, CFC, EFWC and other smaller organizations with mixed success.
On September 28, 2019, Antonio and A.J. McKee fought at the same Bellator 228 tournament. In the prelims, the father knocked out William Sriyapai in the second round, and the son sent Georgi Karakhanyan into a knockout as early as in the eighth second of the fight in the main card. A fabulous performance from a McKee fighter.
Antonio McKee doesn't retire: he trains his son and is always in the corner when A.J. fights at Bellator.
Bella and Frank Mir
Frank Mir is a true MMA legend, he still holds the record for most wins by submission in the heavyweight division, and that's saying a lot. Mir was UFC heavyweight champion, fighting famous athletes like Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, Mirko Filipović, Junior dos Santos, Daniel Cormier and many other legends of the past.
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Frank has three children, sons Kage and Ronin Maximus, and daughter Isabella. There should be no doubt that it was Bella who was the macho father's favorite. Under Frank's keen guidance, Bella began training in mixed martial arts and has already made her pro debut. The girl is only 19 years old and already has three wins under her belt, two of them by early decision. The "Lady" didn't compete in 2021 because she wanted to sharpen her skills to win on a regular basis. There's no doubt that Frank was actively helping his beloved daughter hone her BJJ. The brutal heavyweight has no doubt that Bella will be a UFC champion in the near future.
Mir is already 43 years old, although that's not that much for a heavyweight. The former UFC champion dreams of having his farewell fight at the same tournament with his daughter in 2023, and then retire from the fighting sport to pursue a coaching career. And Bella will continue the legacy of her celebrated father.
