The Sprawl and Brawl Video Review - Wanderlei Silva's Greatest Hits
Posted by Randy Harrison on 11.13.2007
Wanderlei Silva is one of the most famous fighters in the history of Mixed Martial Arts. Where did it all begin and when did he get that trademark tattoo? How many more videos can I cram into one column? Step inside the Sprawl and Brawl office and find out all the answers..
Welcome in again everyone, grab a seat and get comfortable because it's time for the column that has an actual fighter as a fan (thanks for the support Tim), The Sprawl and Brawl Video Review! Before we get started on the review this week, I just want to thank everyone again both on the 411 staff and you the readers for allowing me to take a spot in the weekly news rotation. In case you all didn't see it, I'll link it again just to make sure. Five Rounds Of News. There, now that that's out of the way and I've whored myself out again for more readership (I really have no shame) let's get to this week's DVD.
The Axe Murderer. The nickname alone is enough to send a chill up the spine of the most seasoned of fighters. Wanderlei Silva exploded onto the MMA scene in 1996 and has cut a swath of destruction that spanned three continents and over a decade, leaving battered and broken opponents in its wake. With Silva preparing to re-debut in the UFC after years of fighting in Japan for Pride, I thought it would be great to take a look back at some of his earlier fights with this DVD release Wanderlei Silva's Greatest Hits. It's a compilation of some of his earliest bareknuckle Vale Tudo fights and shows the formative early years of the man who would ride an unbeaten streak to legendary heights in the Far East before recently suffering crushing defeats both in Japan and on US soil. So before we look forward to UFC 79 in December, let's look back to the very beginning of the career of one of MMA's most feared, most devastating and most popular fighters of all time, Wanderlei Silva.
Wanderlei Silva's Greatest Hits
Match One
Wanderlei Silva (1-0) vs. Marcelao Marcelao (0-0)
It's July 1, 1997 and this fight comes from the Brazilian Vale Tudo Fighting 10 event. This is a VERY young Wanderlei Silva here as he doesn't even have the trademark tattoo on the back of his head at this point. This is his second professional fight and Marcelao's first fight so there's a definite inexperience level for both men.
Round One
Despit only being his second professional fight Silva still takes the instructions with the crazy intimidating stare. The bell rings and Wanderlei throws a front kick and overhand right that land and another overhand right as Marcelao tries to initiate a clinch. Silva shrugs him off against the ropes and starts punishing with a kick to the face and two right hands that send Marcelao spilling through the ropes and out of the ring falling head and shoulder first to the concrete floor. Marcelao is immediately clutching at the shoulder that hit the floor and he seemingly can't continue as Wanderlei paces in the ring until the referee raises his hand and he's declared the winner.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva, TKO (shoulder injury) at 0:20 of Round One
Match Two
Wanderlei Silva (2-0) vs. Sean Bormet (0-0)
This time Wanderlei has the head tattoo so it's interesting to be able to put a time-frame on the origin of it. This is the fight directly after the preceeding one so it makes it his third professional fight. This is the first round of an eight man tournament and additionally this is an IVC event (IVC 2) so it's being held in a ring with netting around the ring between the bottom rope and the apron to try to keep the fighters from going out under the ropes, not unlike poor Marcelao last fight. It's an interesting adaptation of the usual ring and should keep the action from spilling to the floor.
Round One
Tentative start as they do nothing for ten or fifteen seconds before Bormet shoots in on Silva, trying for the double leg. Silva sprawls out of it very well and they scramble back to their feet with Silva just missing a short right uppercut. Bormet considers another shoot but Silva stops it seemingly just by eyeballing him and faking a right hand. Wanderlei stalking him down into the corner and Bormet thinks about a shot again but stops after seeing Silva load up the right. Bormet finally does shoot but gets stuffed and eats a knee for his attempt. Silva just misses with that short uppercut again and Bormet shoots on him again trying for the upper body but Silva is just too strong. Silva got caught with a punch somewhere and is acting like it was affecting his left eye, but he just keeps coming forward. Bormet looks to shoot again but Silva times it and kicks Bormet square in the face, putting him on queer street to the point that he staggers and falls into the referee who helps guide him gently to the mat and unconsciousness. Bormet immediately does the "I'm OK!! Nobody help me!!" thing where he gets up way too soon and still looks staggered. It was kind of funny to watch him end up teetering into the referee like a bowling pin though.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva, TKO at 1:19 of Round One
Match Three
Wanderlei Silva (3-0) vs. Egidio da Costa (2-4)
This is the second round of the tournament from the same night as the second fight on the DVD. Egidio de Costa comes to the ring in a boxing robe and holding what appears to be a painted human skull. Interesting visual there that's for sure and I'm left wondering how exactly Costa came into posession of the skull to begin with. Is it a former foe? Did he just borrow it from some long departed relative? Is it an actual human skull or just a prop type thing? Does he rub it and get to make wishes? So many questions, so little time.
Round One
Costa staying to the outside but Silva tries to corner him and does, stalking him down and landing a good kick to the body and a left hand before they clinch and Silva gets another right and Costa is pressing him into the corner with a body lock. They exchange knees and Silva gets low with the bodylock and flings Costa down to the mat, just missing with a kick to the head and a stomp to the body. In what amounts to Costa's guard, pressing him up against the netting under the rope as Costa controls his head and is looking almost like he's trying to choke him with the head control. Silva trying to gain seperation and does to land a short elbow before Costa grabs his head again. Silva seperates for another elbow and Costa strikes a little from the bottom.There's not much happening at this point and the ref is inching closer to them perhaps looking to stand them back up. Silva bullies Costa into the corner on his back and starts landing some hard right hands, posturing up to get full power behind them. Silva with three or four more hard right hands to the face and Costa is tapping against the ropes, himself, anything he can think of to avoid getting hit again and the ref steps in to stop the beating.
The doctors and the like come in and check on Costa while Silva just stands in his corner and puts on his warm-up jacket like he's Mr. Rogers coming home to put on his sweater or something. Replays show the vicious ground and pound from a few different angles as the fight comes to an end.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva, submission (strikes) at 2:27 of Round One
Match Four
Wanderlei Silva (4-0) vs. Artur Mariano (2-0)
This is the final of the IVC 2 tournament and Silva looks to have the advantage in terms of endurance as Mariano has been in the ring for closer to ten minutes in his two previous bouts, while Silva's ring time is closer to four. Mariano seems to be a powerful striker as both of his victories in the earlier rounds were KO/TKO's with strikes. Silva of course is a striking machine so I don't expect to see a lot of ground work in this one.
Round One
The rules call for a ten minute first round so we'll break it into a few segments to not overwhelm anyone. Silva pushes Mariano into the corner to start out with and they exchange a wild flurry of punches with both men just missing on any number of hard power shots. Leg kick and a jab from Mariano and Silva responds with a jab/straight right combination of his own that drives Mariano backwards into the corner. Silva works the Thai clinch and tries for some knees to the body and Mariano pushes him away as Silva gets the bodylock cinched in tight. Silva with another combination of hooks and a big knee up the middle that just misses. High kick that Mariano turns away from to shrug off and he looks much calmer in there than the other two Silva has faced tonight. He reaches with a jab that misses and Silva responds connecting with a left hook to the chin. Another leg kick from Mariano and Silva fakes one of his own. Leg kick from Mariano again and Silva comes over the top of it with a hard jab and a power combination, rushing Mariano back into the corner. Silva scores again with two more wicked jabs.
Coming forward with constant aggression, Silva throws another combination that mostly misses and Mariano tries a spinning back fist as Silva throws a body kick and neither can connect with much on them. Silva with another left hook and a right hand and he throws a headbutt that connects and an uppercut as well, pressing Mariano into the corner of the ring. Another hard couple of uppercuts and Silva is throwing wild combinations, overwhelming Mariano at this point. Silva moves back to throw another punch and that headbutt opened up a NASTY gash above his left eye. Wanderlei rushing forward with flurry after flurry of hooks and uppercuts and Mariano is trying to cover up and avoid as much as possible. Silva with another jab/straight right combo and the referee is going to step in and let the doctor's look at Silva's cut. He's cut under his left eyebrow and it's a DOOZY and Mariano is cut right on top of his right eyebrow. They've fought at a fairly furious pace so far in this fight with Silva pushing and Mariano weathering the storms and trying not to taste Silva's power too much.
Good timing from the doctors as they checked the cuts at almost the midway point of the round when I was going to start segment two. Thanks for helping me out, doctors from Brazil who did that ten years ago and in no way knew they'd be helping me. They circle and Mariano takes the center of the ring stalking down Silva now. Neither man is wanting to throw and get caught again and they start faking leg kicks. Leg kick lands from Mariano and Silva just shrugs it off. More circling and the stoppage has really dirupted the flow of the fight at this point. Another snapping leg kick from Mariano and Silva thinks about a kick of his own but pulls it back. They trade right hands and Silva's lands a little better allowing him to rush in and throw another couple of combinations with both guys trading and really swinging for the fences.
Silva grabs the Thai clinch and hits two more headbutts before settling in with a bodylock. Mariano with a hard right hook from the clinch and Silva tries nother head butt. Silva pushes away from the clinch and hits a hard shot to the face of Mariano. They're back to circling and Mariano tries the spinning back fist again and misses it. Silva looking a lot calmer now than in the early going dropping his hands and smirking occastionally at Mariano. Mariano hits a straight left but there's not much on it since he's leaning back to avoid Silva's powerful response. Mariano with another leg kick and he's landing well with those. Mariano throws another one and misses and hotsteps back into a defensive position. Silva now with leg kicks and a high kick that stuns Mariano a little and Silva flurries with hard rights and lefts, trying to grab a Thai clinch for some knees but ultimately settling for a vicious uppercut before Mariano manages to clinch against the ropes. Silva has the Thai clinch now and hits another couple of headbutts and Silva is bleeding from the nose now and complaining to the ref that Mariano is just holding him against the ropes to avoid being hurt anymore. Both guys look pretty banged up as Mariano is bruised, swelled and bloodied too.
A very ebb and flow contest so far and this is an ebb as they're back to cautiously circling until Silva throws out a jab that grazes Mariano and a leg kick that lands solidly and another and Silva throws a high kick and slips down into the corner on his butt. Mariano throws a mid kick that lands and a combination that misses, not taking advantage of the slip as Silva throws some shots of his own and pushes him away, regaining his feet. Silva loads up again with the right hand but misses and takes the Thai clinch in the corner and scores another couple of headbutts. Mariano has a bodylock and as the action slows you can see the MASSIVE cut that Silva has now as it's almost covering the entire gap between his eye and his eyebrow. Mariano lunges with a wild punch and Silva matadors him, sidestepping and avoiding before they go back to circling. Mariano hits a leg kick and Silva is now back to stalking Mariano down and taking the center of the ring.
A good minute's worth of tentative circling and Mariano throws a leg kick to break it up, responded by Silva with one of his own. Mariano with a jab that Silva slips but doesn't throw a counter off of instead preferring to wait and trade leg kicks with Mariano as they both seem to be a little winded and slowing down. Mariano doubles up on a jab and lands both with his mouthpiece hanging out of his mouth. I have to say that letting his mouthpiece hang like that is really not a good idea with the opponent he's facing and as I think that Silva sticks a HARD jab right in his face. Mariano misses with another couple of jab attempts and he's making the motion to Silva like he thinks that Silva is afraid to fight. Again I have to think that that's a REALLY poor choice dude. Silva still looking rather fresh or at least fresher than Mariano who is expending energy with those jabs that have nothing behind them. Silva rushes with a right hook and lands another head butt and as Mariano starts making his hand-motions again, Silva stalks him down and catches him with a nasty left hook that staggers Mariano back against the ropes. Silva's cut is GAPING and bleeding badly and the first ten minute round comes to an end.
The doctor is in to check on the cut between rounds and it looks ugly. Mariano has two black eyes, a mouse under each eye and that cut of his own on his eyebrow so both guys are taking some damage from their punches. Silva's corner is arguing with the doctor which leads me to believe that he was trying to stop the fight but they won't have any of it and we're ready for round two.
Round Two
Another twenty or thirty seconds of circling to start out and Silva slips another couple of jabs, even taking some time to finger-wag Mariano for having the GALL to think that he could land another strike on him. Silva looks PISSED now and slips another jab into a right cross and another huge left hook that pushes Mariano back against the ropes. Mariano lands a shot that re-opens the cut but Silva lands a HARDER shot against the ropes with what looks to be a straight left that knocks Mariano back to the center of the ring. Silva rushes with a big combination of hooks and JUUUUUUUST misses a wicked uppercut and Mariano motions for Silva to keep bringing it and coming forward. Artur Mariano ladies and gentlemen, quite possibly the dumbest man in the world. I heard after the fight he stuffed steaks in his pants and jumped into the cage of lions at the zoo in town, just to fuck around and tempt fate a little more. Mariano lands a leg kick and a big "Artur" chant starts up and I wonder if it's his hometown or something.
Silva slips another jab and they both miss with sloppy hooks. Silva rushes him again and hits him with three or four more punches before clinching into another headbutt. Mariano seems incredulous that Silva is continuing with that pussy-sized cut he's managed to open up but Silva just keeps pressing the pace. Silva's left eye is almost closed completely from the size of the cut and they slow to circle. Honestly that cut isn't going to need a bandage it's going to need a maxi pad...definitely with wings too it looks like. Silva throwing and landing a leg kick and a kick to the body as well. They both still look like they're just out for a stroll in the park looking plenty relaxed for being in a fight. Silva lands a good straight punch and the referee steps in again to let the doctor take a look at the cut. The doctor and the corner argue again as it looks like the doctor has gone ahead and stopped the fight.
The corner looks to be cursing out the ref in Portuguese and trying to plead his case but Silva understands and doesn't look to be holding it agianst the ref, despite his disappointment. We get a replay of the headbutt very early in the fight that caused the cut as well as a very poetic looking shot of the blood and sweat soaked leg of Silva and some of the action of the second round. Mariano gets a belt as the winner of the tournament and looks pleased although really it was Silva who beat himself with the cut and not Mariano somehow pummeling him, as he really only landed a few grazing shots on the cut, but I guess a win is a win.
Winner: Artur Mariano, doctor's stoppage (cut) at 3:10 of Round Two
Here's this great brawl in its entirety split into three parts for you all to enjoy. A great fight from the earlier days of MMA and a lengthy fight with action which was a rarity in those days as most fights of length were stall sessions on the mat or tentative circling for ten minutes at a time.
Match Five
Wanderlei Silva (5-2) vs. Adrian Serrano (13-4-2)
Starting off 1999 with a bang at IVC 9 for this next fight as Wanderlei comes down to either Kashmir or the Puff Daddy song that was made from the sampling of said Kashmir. He hops over the top rope and looks like he's ready to eat someone's babies . Serrano is in and is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and his style is listed as Wrestling/Phyllis Lee whatever the baker's fuck that is. If anyone reading has any insight or a clue as to what or who Phyllis Lee is I would LOVE to hear it. I wonder if she makes those tasty cheesecakes and pies and things like her sister Sara.
Round One
They shake hands to start out and Silva starts throwing landing a left-right combination and an uppercut and pretty well overwhelming Serrano from the start. Serrano looks to have no answer as he's just bent over at the waist and trying not to get killed as Silva peppers him with punch after punch to the dome. Serrano tries a desperation shoot but can't even get ahold of Silva and when they return to their feet Silva lands a BLISTERING one-two with a right cross that floors Serrano and Silva finishes him off with a good old Brazilian kick to the face Chute Boxe style. The crowd goes WILD for Silva and Serrano is getting checked on by the doctors before getting up and giving Silva his props and even kissing him on the cheek. I'd kiss him too after he'd made me his bitch like that just so he wouldn't hit me again.
According to an on-screen graphic, Serrano still fights as of the production of the DVD but has mainly focused on the training of new students. The graphic also tells us that Silva soon made his UFC debut with a brutal knee to the head KO of Tony Petarra a few months after this fight. This of course is completely ignoring the REAL debut he had at UFC Ultimate Brazil BEFORE this fight with Serrano,when he was turned into a crumpled heap of hopes and dreams in just 44 short, violent seconds by Vitor Belfort. Another replay from a different angle shows that the punch is what did all the damage as the kick essentially missed although lord knows the next one probably wouldn't have so thankfully the ref was there for the stoppage.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva, KO at 0:22 of Round One
Match Six
Wanderlei Silva vs. Mike Van Arsdale
It's August 23, 1998 and we're at IVC 6 and it's a little of a backwards trip as this fight actually took place before both the Belfort UFC fight and the Serrano beatdown previously shown on the DVD. We get highlight packages from both Silva and Van Arsdale to start out with and in the pre-fight interview we see how far Wanderlei has come in that Van Arsdale, who knows nothing about him, calls him "Vander-relly Silva". Tee hee. He will pay for such a transgression, oh LORD will he pay.
Round One
They shake and Silva tries to catch him with a right hook out of it and throws a combination that Van Arsdale ducks under and tries to shoot off of but Silva sprawls and avoids. Silva slips a Van Arsdale jab and lands one of his own before hitting a HARD left-right combination that stuns Van Arsdale, forcing him to run away to one side and then attempt another takedown that again gets stuffed by Silva. Silva with underhooks and a knee to the body and Van Arsdale gets a throw takedown with the overhooks and actually takes Silva's back for a moment in the ensuing scramble. Silva stands and Van Arsdale has some kind of standing side and back control and he looks to be bleeding from his right eye. They're back face to face and Silva tries to clinch, landing another knee before they push away and exchange furiously with Silva getting the better of it again. Van Arsdale throws a side kick that misses and another that Silva throws a head kick over that almost lands and dims Van Arsdale's running lights.
Silva pushes Van Arsdale into the corner and tries for a clinch but he gets the underhooks and actually takes Silva down immediately gaining side control before Silva slickly works him back into his full guard. Silva looks to be cut too and it looks to be in a similar spot as it was in his war against Mariano. Van Arsdale working from the top trying to seperate to strike and landing a couple of hard punches while Silva is striking from the bottom effectively and controlling the head. Silva lands some more strikes from the bottom and Van Arsdale hits a headbutt right on the cut above Silva's eye and another. Silva is still controlling well from the bottom and closing up the guard avoiding any real damage as Van Arsdale throws another headbutt. He stands up and Silva is throwing leg kicks at him from the ground and stands back up himself. Van Arsdale with the side kick again and there isn't much on it and as he throws another he slips and backpedals away from Silva, trying to turn it into a shoot but Wanderlei sprawls away and clinches, landing a HARD knee to the body of Van Arsdale. Van Arsdale runs again almost turning his back on Silva and Silva catches him with a vicious right to the chin that floors him and a kick to the back of the head that finishes him. The crowd just LOVES Silva and are cheering and chanting for him as Van Arsdale is bleeding badly from his mouth.
Replays show the kick that landed, hit Van Arsdale in the back of the head, near the base of the neck and we get a replay of the shot attempt off of the missed side kick and the crushing knee that Silva landed. The referee grabs the microphone from the ring announcer and puts over the effort of both guys getting the crowd to give Van Arsdale a nice round of applause for getting in there and fighting so well. This was for the championship as they strap the belt onto Silva and he poses for pictures as we get another replay of the end of the fight. We leave the fight with a HUGE Chute Boxe chant coming up from the crowd.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva, KO at 4:00 of Round One
Match Seven
Wanderlei Silva (6-2) vs. Eugene Jackson (9-1-1)
Round One
Silva throws the first strikes and glances a right hand before grabbing the Thai clinch and trying for knees, landing a couple up the middle. Jackson ends up on his back and monkey flips Silva over and Silva, not happy with being flipped, kicks him in the back of the head and rushes him. Jackson tries for the takedown and Silva isn't having it, working the clinch and landing another knee to the face before pushing away and catching Jackson with an uppercut and straight left that knock him down and force him to turtle. Silva takes his back and lands some more vicious uppercuts and hooks and Jackson taps out while trying to cover his head and it's all over.
Silva gets presented with the belt again and poses with the Chute Boxe team and we get replays of the knees that put Jackson down and the vicious ground and pound that ended the fight.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva, TKO at 0:32 of Round One
A video with written blurbs explains Silva's vaunted undefeated streak, his KO power (14 of 18 wins by KO) and that his nickname in Brazil is "Cachorro Louco" which translates to "Mad Dog". The video ends with another blurb stating that he'd like to fight Chuck Liddell in 2007. Little did they know huh?
That's all for the main portion of the DVD but not all for the review as we have some bonus match action!!!
Bonus Match One
Wanderlei Silva vs. Todd Medina
It's August 12, 2000 and we're in Brazil for Meca World Vale Tudo 2. Wanderlei comes into this one off of his loss to Tito Ortiz at UFC 25 and as usual looks PISSED going into this one. Medina already has a look like he's not entirely sure he should be here. This can't end well.
Round One
Tentative start for a few seconds and Silva then lands a high kick and a left-right followed by a Thai clinch with a wicked knee. Two more knees to the head and one to the body with the clinch as Medina tries to push Silva into the corner. Knees to the body and kidneys and more to the head as the crowd is chanting in time with the strikes and urging Silva on. A couple of more hard knees to the face of Medina and he's looking hurt. A short left cross and then a MASSIVE knee put Medina down face first and the referee steps in. Medina looks hurt laying on his back on the canvas and there's blood coming from the nose and we get replays of essentially the entire fight, with all of those punishing Thai knees and Silva just overwhelming and punishing Medina.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva, KO at 0:39 of Round One
Bonus Match Two
Wanderlei Silva (0-0) vs. Dilson Filho (0-1)
It's November of 1996 and we're at a Brazilian event called BVF 6: Campeonato Brasileiro de Vale Tudo. This is the history making moment that is Wanderlei's first competitive professional MMA fight ever and as a bonus for me it even has english commentary on it, the only fight on the DVD with that luxury. Silva, despite never having fought professionally before still has the same cool confidence and intensity we'd see from him during his unbeaten string in Pride.
Round One
Filho slams Silva right from the get-go, taking side control near the ropes. Silva has Filho's head and they transition into a north-south position with Silva landing some elbows from the bottom and Filho bullying Silva against the ropes with knees and kicks until he sends Silva out under the ropes. Silva back into the ring and they're standing and trading with Silva actually taking the worst of it as Filho lands a couple of good lefts and rights. Filho with a knee to the body and Silva is clinching with over/under hooks. Filho pushes off with a right and they're exchanging wildly, both throwing tons of power shots but nothing connecting flush. Silva works the Thai clinch and lands a hard knee to the face of Filho. Filho takes Silva by the head and shoulders and throws him to the mat, taking side control again before working and taking it into mount, landing some big lefts and rights. Silva takes half guard and then climbs up Filho while holding around his waist to regain his footing. Filho misses with a right and Silva connects with a right of his own. Another wild exchange with both guys landing rights and lefts and Silva catches Filho with a couple of extra hard right hands at the end of the flurry.
An uppercut for Silva misses but a straight right a couple of seconds later does not and Filho presses Silva up against the ropes and eats another straight right as Silva JUST misses with an uppercut that if it had connected would have put Filho into orbit. Silva connects with a lesser uppercut and Filho clinches against the ropes in the corner now. Filho throws three or four more punches that land to the head of Silva and Silva tries to take him down with a clinch but Filho holds onto the ropes to avoid it. Silva just misses again with that wild uppercut and is almost goading Filho into the fight, bouncing in the corner with his hands down at his sides, luring him into certain destruction. Silva with another hard right hand and Filho clinches and lands a clubbing overhand blow. Filho pushes Silva into the corner and they slow for a moment before Silva unleashes a couple of headbutts and takes the Thai clinch into a knee in the face. Silva pushes him away and hits three hard right hands and Filho is going down like a sack of potatoes and Silva, ever the courteous soul, catches him with a knee on the way down to put the exclamation point on it and that's the end of that.
Replay of the slam takedown by Filho at the beginning and the combination of punches and the wicked knee from Silva that ended it. Silva looked tentative starting out which is understandable given his inexperience, but once he turned it on he was really no match for Filho. From humble beginnings to the heights of the world in just a few short years and this is his humble beginning. A great fight to see from a historical perspective.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva, KO (punch) at 3:35 of Round One
As another bonus feature we get the infamous shaving commercial from Japan with Silva and Mark "The Hammer" Coleman as well. I can't deprive my fans of this kind of humor. Send all cards and letters and monetary showings of thanks to the address at the bottom of the column kids.
That ends the DVD proper, but at the Sprawl and Brawl it's all about value for the customer and there's a few more tidbits out there that you all might enjoy. This one's not on the DVD but I always find it particularly humorous as well so I'm going to throw this one in as well, another commercial featuring the cute and cuddly Axe Murderer.
I don't know what in the HELL he was saying but that was outstanding. I honestly have to wonder how anyone could have been intimidated by him after seeing him mug for the camera like that in what looks like eyeliner. I'm guessing that maybe a lot of his opponents failed to see that particular commercial. In all seriousness though it's fun to see a different side of him like that instead of the constantly glaring, always intense, ready to kill you Wanderlei. BAHHHHHH!!! You haven't lived until you've seen Wanderlei Silva bleat like a sheep, that's CLASSIC!!
As our last little treat, in honor of the upcoming fight at UFC 79 between Silva and Chuck Liddell, I give you the now famous "I want to fuck Chuck" speech.
Well, that's it for the most video intensive edition of the Sprawl and Brawl yet. Stay tuned next week as, if all goes well, we'll be taking a look at Cage Rage 16: Critical Condition, with one of the most famous one strike KO's in MMA history. If all doesn't go well, then I'm not really sure what to tell you, but there will be a review and it will rule all of you.
Thanks for joining me this week and as I always say, in the meantime and in between time that's all until next time when I deliver unto you a brand new Sprawl and Brawl Video Review!!
The 411: A great disc with a lot of history behind it. It's very interesting to see the glimpses into the world of bareknuckle Vale Tudo and to see the vast majority of Wanderlei's early fights. Some issues in the editing and fact-checking by the production team are a little off-putting, and the video and audio quality for some of the fights is suspect, but that is easily offset by the Silva/Mariano war that was Griffin/Bonnar ten years ahead of time. That fight, and the rest of the fights and features make this DVD an easy recommendation for Silva fans and new fans to the sport looking to gain some perspective as well.
