MMA News Forums » MMA Forums » General MMA Forum

[Ramma]

For Those That Didn't Get to Read Part I - http://forums.mmanews.com/showthread...219#post307219

After dropping a five round decision to Tito Ortiz at UFC 25 in April of 2000, the then-23 year old Wanderlei Silva was at a crossroads in his mixed martial arts career. He had left Japan’s PRIDE organization (where he was 3-0) to take a world title shot in the UFC, but having lost, he was a man without a venue to fight in.

But after a 39 second knockout of Todd Medina in a Meca Vale Tudo show in his hometown of Curitiba, Brazil less than four months after the Ortiz fight, Silva was welcomed back into PRIDE, where he began a reign of terror that saw him go on a 17 fight unbeaten streak with the only hiccups being a draw with Mirko Cro Cop and a no contest with Gilbert Yvel.

It was as if a new fighter was born in the Land of the Rising Sun, but for Silva, the explanation for his MMA rebirth was a simple one.

“In PRIDE, I went step by step,” he said. “In UFC, they gave me the big names to fight and there was a lot of pressure. And before, I was also working another job and training. I didn’t have the money only to train. Now I was a professional fighter.”

In other words, fights against the Dan Hendersons and Kazushi Sakurabas of the world were mixed with bouts against lesser names like Shungo Oyama and Tatsuya Iwasaki, allowing Silva to build his confidence and his game at a pace that was hectic but wise for the time as he became a superstar in Japan, something helped by his three stoppages of national icon Sakuraba.

And at the same time, Silva – known for his aggression and Muay Thai attack – slowly added more wrinkles to his fight game, making him even more dangerous.

“I changed my style,” said Silva. “Before I didn’t train in wrestling, I didn’t train in a lot of jiu-jitsu. I trained only in Muay Thai. Now I’m a more complete fighter. I’m very experienced, I’ve fought many times, and I’m more confident.”

Silva’s confidence was at its peak when he battled current UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson in 2003 and 2004, walking away with a TKO win in the first bout and a devastating knee-induced knockout in the rematch.

That second win over Jackson may have been Silva’s finest moment in PRIDE, but over the next two and a half years, the pace of fighting constantly against some of the best fighters in the world started to catch up to him. He would lose to heavyweight Mark Hunt in his next fight, and also get decisioned by Ricardo Arona (a loss later avenged). The key defeats though would be knockouts in 2006 and February of 2007 to Cro Cop and Henderson. After the losses, some have questioned whether Silva’s best days are behind him. But to the fighter, he admits that all he really needed was some time off.

“I was fighting a lot,” said Silva. “The last six years I was fighting every two or three months. Now I stopped to stay with my family, I relaxed, traveled, made the decision to move here, and it’s good because I cleared my head, I have motivation again, and I’m hungry to win. I need to win.”

Earlier this year, Silva made the decision to move to the United States to live and train, and shortly thereafter, he signed with the UFC, with his first fight back expected to take place in December. The break has apparently done him good, as he looks ready to fight tomorrow thanks to a daily training regimen with conditioning coach Rafael Alejarra.

“I never trained like I’m training now,” said Silva. “I’m training every day. When you wait, you come back more intense.”

But there’s more than just training to deal with now that he’s settling here in the United States. There are expectations from the fans, a switch from his long time team in Brazil -Chute Boxe, cultural differences (though Silva’s English is vastly improved), and the change in rules from when he was fighting in Japan. But unlike some PRIDE imports who have struggled with the switch in organizations, Silva has enlisted a fellow legend to help him adjust.

“It’s a problem, but no problem,” he laughed when asked about a full-time adjustment to the unified MMA rules used in the United States. “I need to play with the rules and not change them. So I’ll just change my style and I’ll go talk to the best teacher, (UFC heavyweight champion Randy) Couture. Couture will give me the lessons about fighting in the cage. He’s a very smart guy.”

Couture has also earned Silva’s admiration for being able to compete at the elite level at the age of 44, something the 31-year old Brazilian marvels at.

“He’s 44 years old, and after seeing the last fight (with Gabriel Gonzaga), it was incredible,” said Silva. “I’m thinking of a 44 year old fighting with a guy who’s 28 years old, is bigger, has very good jiu-jitsu, good boxing, very good kicks, and the guy (Couture) wins? Incredible.”

So, does ‘The Axe Murderer’ envision sticking around for another 13 years?

“Maybe if I fought someone the same age and the rounds were one or two minutes,” he laughs, “but five minutes as a professional, I think only he could do it. He’s Superman.”

If Couture is Superman, then Silva would at least have to qualify as Batman or Daredevil as far as legacy goes, but he has no intentions on living off his past during his second stay in the UFC. He has a new beginning here in a sport that has changed by leaps and bounds since his last Octagon appearance.

“I look at the UFC now and it’s incredible,” said Silva. “Yesterday (this interview was conducted on September 22nd) when they were checking weights, there were so many people there, I never saw anything like that. It was incredible. When the Fertittas and Dana White bought the UFC, it changed a lot. If you saw the events before, they didn’t have the big names. No TV, no promotion, nothing. These guys came and changed not only the UFC, but the sport in the world. Everyone knows the events, everyone sees it on TV, and it’s everywhere. In four or five years, maybe we won’t have no boxing, or Tae Kwon Do, nothing, only MMA.”

And in that time, Silva plans on wearing the UFC light heavyweight championship belt which is currently held by his old nemesis Jackson. And though much has happened in the three years since they last fought, there is still heat between the two, at least from Silva’s point of view.

“No change, I don’t like him,” said Silva of Jackson. “I’m a professional, but for me, fighting with him is not business, it’s pleasure.”

He smiles when he says it, and outside of a fight with Liddell, fight fans would most likely put Silva vs Jackson III on their 2008 wish lists. Even Juanito Ibarra, Jackson’s manager and trainer, told UFC.com on the day of the UFC 76 weigh-ins that if he could play matchmaker for a day, the fight he would want for his charge is against Silva. ‘The Axe Murderer’ agrees.

“It’s a good match,” said Silva of a fight with ‘Rampage’. “I fought two matches with him and now he’s stronger, he’s a good fighter, and he’s the champion. But I want the belt and every time I want to fight with the best, so of course I want to fight with him.”

One fight that won’t be happening though is one with his former Chute Boxe teammate (and another new UFC recruit), Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, even if his countryman was able to win the belt first.

“I’ll wait, no problem,” said Silva. “He’s a great guy, I respect him a lot and he’s my friend. I trained with him for ten years and I don’t want to fight with him. I was champion for five, six years in Japan, and he waited and didn’t want to fight me. He didn’t talk about anything and he respected me a lot. I feel the same way. If he’s champion, there are many fighters around to fight, and I don’t want to fight him.”

Silva is right; there are plenty of fighters around for him at 205 pounds, and practically every match that could be made right now (Liddell, Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, Ortiz, Houston Alexander) is an intriguing one. So it goes without saying that it’s a good time to be a fight fan, but an even better time to be Wanderlei Silva,

“It’s a great moment for me,” he said. I’m changing events after fighting in PRIDE for eight years and the UFC is the best in the world and has all the big names. It’s a great opportunity for me.”

Source - http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=8087

[Noob]

“No change, I don’t like him,” said Silva of Jackson. “I’m a professional, but for me, fighting with him is not business, it’s pleasure.”

That just sounds like a Wandy quote. I would love to see those two go at it again.



Thanks for the post Ramma. Good read.

[b0sH]

Nice little interview, I'm really struggling to work out which Wandy is going to walk into the Octagon, the one we saw vs Heno or the one we saw vs Rampage, cause to me they weren't the same fighter.

Next question is how successful will his transition be back to the cage. Though he has chosen the best possible teacher to help with the job in Randy.

Lastly..... the opponent. I really hope they don't just throw him to the wolves, like he said he had with Pride he needs those "warm up" fights to get his confidence going. Give one of the "little guys" a chance to make a name for himself with a massive upset win or it'll be Wandy notching up a nice first win in the UFC for himself and a stop to the losing streak.

[Ramma]

I added a link for anyone who didn't get to read part one.

[Afro]

Wandys first fight whould be Chuck, David Heath, Jardine, or Forrest

[Noob]

Originally Posted by Afro

Wandys first fight whould be Chuck, David Heath, Jardine, or Forrest

I've actually changed my thinking on this a bit. I now think they should just put Wand and Chuck together.


As much of a risk as it might be for both fighters, and as awkward at it may be having them both come into this fight on a 2-fight losing streak, I think it just has to happen now. No one wants to take the risk of either guy losing another fight to someone else, as that would completely kill any anticipation for this matchup.


If they're going to do it, they need to do it now. Otherwise, let their careers go their separate ways. Ease Wandy in slowly, and see if Chuck can't be built back up.

[Ramma]

Originally Posted by Noob

I've actually changed my thinking on this a bit. I now think they should just put Wand and Chuck together.


As much of a risk as it might be for both fighters, and as awkward at it may be having them both come into this fight on a 2-fight losing streak, I think it just has to happen now. No one wants to take the risk of either guy losing another fight to someone else, as that would completely kill any anticipation for this matchup.


If they're going to do it, they need to do it now. Otherwise, let their careers go their separate ways. Ease Wandy in slowly, and see if Chuck can't be built back up.

I can almost guarantee that Chuck and Wandy will both fight one more time before they fight. UFC is going to want both of them to come off of a win... not back to back losses.

I agree, the fight should just happen already. 3 losses for one fighter or not, they can still continue to fight and get somewhere.

[liddell316]

They should give Wand either Jardine or Forrest.

The way things have gone this year, why risk giving Wanderlei a no name opponent that he POSSIBLY could overlook and end up like Chuc/Cro Cop, etc?

I want to see him fight Forrest, but Jardine would be just as good.

[Ubermensch]

Couture is Captin' America not Superman .... Geesh!!! hahaha

[twankydawg]

Good Job Ramma, thanks for posting part II!

I said it before that no one has fought the schedule he has and he needs this break to have some rest and come back strong. It doesn't matter who they put him in there with, he's going to try to murder'em. Chuck needs a win for a confidence boost before they fight IMO. Let him fight Jason Lambert or Tito again. Let Wandy fight a semi can and then let them go at it when Randy fights Fedor!! I know I'm dreamin but it could happen! :grinsmile26: