The Lowdown 06.13.09: Wanderlei Silva

Posted by Frank Fedele on 06.13.2009

Last week we looked at the once and present king of the Featherweight division, Mike Brown. His five round victory over Urijah Faber kept the belt around his waist. This week we are going to look at a veteran of MMA and one of the headliners for this weekends UFC 99 Wanderlei Silva. Join us as we look at the Axe Murderer in this weeks Lowdown.

Last Week Roundup

Mike Brown continues to prove to the world that he is legit and a worthy champion in the WEC Featherweight division. Urijah Faber fought hard with a broken hand, but in the end the fight belonged to Brown. There will be a number of young fighters coming up to challenge him in the near future with Brazilian Jose Aldo making a statement that he should be at the front of the line with a vicious eight second win over Cub Swanson. Aldo's flying knee practically took Swanson's head off and had me jumping off the couch. Just a great event overall in the WEC and whets our appetite for the UFCs latest card, UFC 99. The headline fight has Rich Franklin facing the subject of this weeks Lowdown, Wanderlei Silva.

Background

Wanderlei Silva was one of the first fighters whose fights I followed religiously. In the early days of MMA, I leaned more toward the fights out of Japan in Pride rather than the UFC in the US. I started initially watching Pride to see the Gracie's fight, but a young Brazilian with a deadly stare got my attention quickly. The first fight that got my attention was a vicious knockout of Guy Metzger in Pride 10 in 2000. Pride was beginning to add a Middleweight title to their ranks and Silva and a Japanese fighter, Kazushi Sakuraba would battle for it.

Sakuraba was another favorite. Nicknamed the Gracie hunter for his ability to take out members of the Gracie clan with his unorthodox style. Sakuraba was a Professional Wrestler in Japan and would strike from odd angles and always played up to the crowd that was rabid to see a Japanese fighter do well. Silva would first face Sakuraba in Pride 13, ending the fight with a TKO to claim the Middleweight crown. This would begin a six year reign that ended in 2007 with a loss to Dan Henderson.


Silva versus Sakuraba

Previous Fights

Silva's run through Pride during that time was legendary. Opponents such as Dan Henderson, Hidehiko Yoshida, Kiyoshi Tamura, Quinton Jackson and a number of fights with rival Sakuraba. Silva was always exciting and always looked to knock his opponent out. Silva though started showing his age in late 2006, losing to Croatian kickboxer Mirko Cro Cop in Pride Final Conflict Absolute. This would start a run of three straight losses for Silva and also mark his entry in the octagon of the UFC.


Silva versus Jackson

Silva had spent some time in the UFC Early in his career with a win versus Tony Petarra in UFC 20, a loss to Vitor Belfort in UFC: Ultimate Brazil and a loss to Tito Ortiz in UFC 25. In 2003, Dana White and Chuck Liddell came to Pride to participate in the Middleweight Grand Prix. White's hope was for Liddell to make it to the finals and face off against Silva. A win against Silva on his home turf would help show that the UFC had the dominant fighters, not Pride. Alas, this was not to be as Liddell lost early in the Grand Prix to Alistair Overeem. White still wanted that fight to occur though and jumped at the chance to bring Silva into the UFC in 2007. There in UFC 79 Liddell would finally beat Silva in a great fight. Silva would get a win back against Keith Jardine, but would then lose to Quinton Jackson in UFC 92 by knockout in the 1st round. This helped Jackson avenge his earlier loss to Silva in Pride.

Wanderlei Silva's MMA Record
Middleweight and Light Heavyweight
1998
UFC: Ultimate Brazil – Loss to Vitor Belfort by TKO
1999
UFC 20 – Win versus Tony Petarra by KO
Pride 7 – Win versus Carl Malenko by Decision
Pride 8 – Win versus Daijiro Matsui by Decision
2000
Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round – Win versus Bob Schrijber by submission (rear naked choke)
UFC 25 – Loss to Tito Ortiz by Decision
Pride 10 - Win versus Guy Metzger by KO
Pride 11 – No contest versus Gilbert Yvel
Pride 12 – Win versus Dan Henderson by Decision
2001
Pride 13 – Win versus Kazushi Sakuraba by TKO
Pride 14 – Win versus Shungo Oyama by TKO
Pride 17 – Win versus Kazushi Sakuraba by TKO
Pride 18 - Win versus Alexander Otsuka by TKO
2002
Pride 19 – Win versus Kiyoski Tamura by KO
Pride 20 – Draw with Mirko Cro Cop
Pride Shockwave – Win versus Tatsuya Iwasaki by TKO
Pride 23 – Win versus Hiromitsu Kanchara by TKO
2003
Pride Total Elimination 2003 – Win versus Kazushi Sakuraba by KO
Pride Final Conflict 2003 – Win versus Hidehiko Yoshida by Decision
Pride Final Conflict 2003 – Win versus Quinton Jackson by TKO
2004
Pride Bushido 2 – Win versus Ikuhisa Minowa by KO
Pride Final Conflict 2004 – Win versus Yuki Kondo by KO
Pride 28 – Win versus Quinton Jackson by KO
Pride Shockwave 2004 – Loss to Mark Hunt by Decision
2005
Pride Total Elimination 2005 – Win versus Hidehiko Yoshida by Decision
Pride Critical Countdown 2005 – Win versus Kazuhiro Nakamura by TKO
Pride Final Conflict 2005 – Loss to Ricardo Arona by Decision
2006
Pride Critical Countdown Absolute – Win versus Kazuyuki Fujita by TKO
Pride Final Conflict Absolute – Loss to Mirko Cro Cop by KO
2007
Pride 33 – Loss to Dan Henderson by KO
UFC 79 – Loss to Chuck Liddell by Decision
2008
UFC 84 – Win versus Keith Jardine by KO
UFC 92 – Loss to Quinton Jackson by KO

People wonder how much Silva has left in the tank. He is still capable of great and exciting fights; he is just coming out on the losing side more often now. Age will do that to you.


Wanderlei Silva


Final Thoughts

Silva's next fight will decide how much fight he has left in the UFC. Franklin is a smaller fighter than he has been fighting and might be a better fit for him. I think Silva will come out on top, but that just may be the echoes I still see of a dominant fighter in Japan.


Wanderlei Silva versus Rich Franklin in UFC 99


That is all for this week, please come back next week where we will get the lowdown on another MMA fighter that will be fighting soon and a look at the fight over the weekend. Please take the time to bookmark 411mania.com. One quick step and all the news you need is but a click away.