Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo and more inducted into UFC Hall of Fame - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — Two of the fighters who helped build the popularity of MMA in Brazil have now been immortalized by the UFC.

Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena. They headlined a star-studded class that included fan favorite Donald «Cowboy» Cerrone, lighter weight MMA pioneer Jens Pulver, and a classic, knockdown, drag-out fight between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald from 2015.

Silva, 48, is on the short list of the best fighters who have ever lived. «The Spider» still holds the UFC record of 16 straight victories and has the second-most consecutive title defenses (10, behind Jon Jones and Demetrious Johnson at 11). Silva had the longest title reign in UFC history, holding the middleweight championship for 2,457 days. He did it all with flair, too. Silva, a flashy striker, has the most finishes (9), knockouts (7) and knockdowns (10) in UFC title fights.

Silva did not attend the ceremony Thursday due to «scheduling issues,» according to his son Kalyl, who accepted on his behalf. Silva posted an Instagram video in Portuguese thanking his team, family and fans.

«They're both icons,» Kalyl told ESPN of Aldo and his father. «Jose Aldo, 'The King of Rio,' and Anderson Silva in the same class is just perfect. It couldn't have been written any better.»

Aldo's accolades are nearly as impressive. He is the most decorated featherweight fighter in MMA history. Aldo, 36, had a combined nine successful title defenses in the UFC and WEC, which was eventually purchased and absorbed into the UFC. He was the youngest champion in WEC history at 23 years old. He even moved down to bantamweight late in his career and had a solid run there, too, falling to Petr Yan in a vacant