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[dbader08]

Always a fighter
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports
January 5, 2008

Kevin Iole
Yahoo! Sports

LAS VEGAS – Both his eyes remain blackened, a week after one of the greatest fights in UFC history. A streak of blood covers the white of one of those eyes.

Wanderlei Silva is in pain.

But it's not the beating Chuck Liddell put on him at the Mandalay Bay Events Center exactly one week earlier that is hurting Silva on this chilly Southern Nevada Saturday night.

"Here," Silva says, pounding his chest. "This is where it hurts."

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Silva lost a unanimous decision to Liddell in a fiercely contested light heavyweight battle that was the equal of any held in the UFC. He couldn't speak for himself after that Dec. 29 bout because the effects of the bout forced him to take a post-fight trip to the hospital for a brief checkup.

But Silva sat down Saturday for his first interview since losing to Liddell and said he was disappointed by the outcome only because he so desperately wanted to win for his fans.

"I'm happy everyone was happy and I helped give them a good show," said Silva, who has lost three consecutive bouts. "I wish there was a way (to have won)."

Silva said he had no argument with the decision and said he felt Liddell clearly deserved to win the fight. He said he was amazed by the way Liddell fought with the same expression and said he was surprised by the power of Liddell's fists.

The difference, Silva said, turned out to be Liddell's reach.

Liddell had much longer arms and was able to keep the fight at a distance. Silva never could close the gap and fight at close range, where he could get Liddell in a clinch and use the devastating knees that helped make him one of the most feared men in the now-defunct Pride Fighting Championship.

They primarily exchanged blows – some of which might have been strong enough to have knocked out a small horse – from a distance. That favored Liddell, who not only repeatedly hurt Silva with his powerful right hand but also showed a strong chin himself.

A fight between men who are among the best light heavyweights in MMA history had been nearly seven years in the making. Silva conceded there were times he thought the bout never would occur.

A week after the rousing bout, he said he has more respect for Liddell than he ever did before.

"He's good, very, very good," Silva said. "People should realize how good, how strong Chuck is. I knew he was good, but he's better than I thought. He's big. These guys in the UFC, they're all so big."

As soon as Silva said that, though, he smiled. He anticipated the next question would be whether he'd consider a drop to middleweight, where the limit is 185 pounds and the fighters are much more his size.

But he quickly ruled that out.

"That's way too much weight for me to lose," Silva said. "I couldn't do it."

Silva, who bought a house in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, said he plans to return to his native Brazil next week to see his family. When he returns on Feb. 1, he'll resume training.

He said he's open to a rematch with Liddell but said he would fight anyone the UFC put in front of him. His goal, he said, simply is to deliver more of the same that he did Dec. 29.

"When you come down to it, that's what it's all about," Silva said.

He said he was amazed by the job the UFC did and said it clearly has grown into the world's finest mixed martial organization since he last competed in it, when he lost a decision to Tito Ortiz on April 14, 2000, at UFC 25.

He spent most of the next seven years as the face of Pride, where he became a near-mythical figure for some of his violent knockouts.

Despite all of the big wins against some of the best mixed martial artists ever, Silva said he never forgot about the UFC because he wanted to keep up on Liddell's progress.

"Everyone wanted to see us fight and he wanted the fight and I wanted the fight, but it just would never happen," Silva said. "It was hard sometimes. You would think, 'I could put on a good show with this guy, but I won't get the chance.' But then (UFC president) Dana (White) told me he would do it and he did."

Silva said he could feel the electricity in the crowd when he left his locker room and walked to the cage for the fight. It only built as the two swapped knockout blows for the entire five minutes in each of the three rounds.

A week after the epic battle, Silva looked back on it and pronounced himself ready to do it all over again.

"I'm a fighter and that's what I do," he said, beaming. "It's my job to do that."

[kc56]

Originally Posted by dbader08

Silva said he had no argument with the decision and said he felt Liddell clearly deserved to win the fight. He said he was amazed by the way Liddell fought with the same expression and said he was surprised by the power of Liddell's fists.

Way to man up and accept the loss. Much respect to Wandy.

Originally Posted by dbader08

The difference, Silva said, turned out to be Liddell's reach.

Liddell had much longer arms and was able to keep the fight at a distance. Silva never could close the gap and fight at close range, where he could get Liddell in a clinch and use the devastating knees that helped make him one of the most feared men in the now-defunct Pride Fighting Championship.

I know I argued this with someone else (I think it was The Hunchback Lemur) and I am glad to see other people noticed it too. The UFC had them listed at a 2 inch reach advantage, but it seemed like more than that to me. I have seen it listed as much as 5 inches, which seems a little more like it.

Originally Posted by dbader08

They primarily exchanged blows – some of which might have been strong enough to have knocked out a small horse – from a distance. That favored Liddell, who not only repeatedly hurt Silva with his powerful right hand but also showed a strong chin himself.

Very true. Wandy caught Chuck with some shots, but I was also impressed with his chin.

Originally Posted by dbader08

"He's good, very, very good," Silva said. "People should realize how good, how strong Chuck is. I knew he was good, but he's better than I thought. He's big. These guys in the UFC, they're all so big."

That is also true. Most of the Pride stars do look small in the UFC. Wandy especially.

All in all, good article. Rep'd

[jlruthven84]

Yeah, very good piece. I had said it before on numerous occasions, Liddell's reach was going to be a huge problem for Wandy. And he's right, Chuck looked freakin' huge next to him.

[Texasboyballin]

Good read. Wandy gonna be a Monster when he come back, sum1 gonna get dat Ass Whopped when dey fight Wandy.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by kc56

I know I argued this with someone else (I think it was The Hunchback Lemur) and I am glad to see other people noticed it too. The UFC had them listed at a 2 inch reach advantage, but it seemed like more than that to me. I have seen it listed as much as 5 inches, which seems a little more like it.

i dont think we argued about it but i did mention that in the "tale of the tape" before teh fight that chuck only had a 2 inch reach advantage. after thinking aobut it and viewing some old matches i realized that Wand is just wider shoulder to shoulder and since the reach is measured from fist to fist, that could mean that chucks arm are longer w/ his shoulder to shoulder distance being more narrow.

Chuck definately has a reach advantage in the arms, however, i now realize that they dont make that apparent when they give the stats.

Dont hate me KC, you know I love you.

[kc56]

Originally Posted by Hunchbacked Lemur

i dont think we argued about it but i did mention that in the "tale of the tape" before teh fight that chuck only had a 2 inch reach advantage. after thinking aobut it and viewing some old matches i realized that Wand is just wider shoulder to shoulder and since the reach is measured from fist to fist, that could mean that chucks arm are longer w/ his shoulder to shoulder distance being more narrow.

Chuck definately has a reach advantage in the arms, however, i now realize that they dont make that apparent when they give the stats.

Dont hate me KC, you know I love you.

Sorry, to all those reading the thread, it was not an argument. I too have love for the Lemur!

Sorry man, bad choice of words. We were discussing the fact, very civilly I might add, and we were both perplexed with there only being a 2 inch difference between the 2.
It was apparent that the reach was the defining factor to me at least.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by kc56

Sorry, to all those reading the thread, it was not an argument. I too have love for the Lemur!

Sorry man, bad choice of words. We were discussing the fact, very civilly I might add, and we were both perplexed with there only being a 2 inch difference between the 2.
It was apparent that the reach was the defining factor to me at least.

i 100% agree, i just watched it again and it was apparent that Wand had a difficult time getting in on chuck. i also noticed that chuck used some inside leg kicks, much more than he had in the past 4, 5, 6 fights. people say they are surprised that wand didnt clinch more but he really never got a good shot at locking chuck up.

[CHUCKtheCHAMP]

good article...i like how wandy took the loss...really classy...and yeah thats wat ive always said about this fight...chucks couter punching. reach and great power will help him geta win over wandy...

and shit yeah chuck looked way bigger then wandy did...chucks just a big lhw...i dont buy into the whole pride fighters look small because rampage isnt a small guy, nither is anderson in his respective wheight class...

[rivethead]

I am so glad Wandi's not dropping to MW.

I'd love to see him fight Jardine.

rh

[Quintessential Studmuffin]

Id like a fight with Wand/Jardine too,i think itd be one hell of a slugfest.

Also great interview,all class by Silva.