As I stated a few months ago, the legends of the defunct Pride FC have fallen at an alarming rate in the UFC. Most recently Shogun Rua, possibly the most violent fighter I've ever seen, was on the receiving end of a massacre at the hands of Jon Jones. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira went from being an iron chinned submission master to a punching bag that has a better than 60% chance of losing to Brendan Schaub, the type of fighter that would have been destroyed by Big Nog five years ago. I've discussed the rapid decline of Mirko Cro Cop, the man at one time considered the most feared kickboxer in all of MMA. This weekend, Wanderlei Silva returns to the Octagon for the first time in fifteen months to take on Chris Leben. Unlike a lot of his fellow PRIDE legends, Silva is coming in after winning his most recent fight, a unanimous decision over Michael Bisping. Despite that win however, Silva has lost five of his last seven fights.
This Saturday should be a telling sign to how much gas is left on Wanderlei's tank and whether his chin can still hold up. It will be his second fight at 185 lbs. and Leben is known for having very heavy hands. Prior to the move to 185, he had been thrice knocked out in his last four fights at his original weight of 205 lbs. It was a sad end to his time at light heavyweight, since from 2001-2006 he was the most feared 205 lbs. fighter in the world.
PRIDE-era Wanderlei Silva was a monster, plain and simple. He had nasty muay thai knees and soccer kicks that he used to great effect, going 18-1 at in his weight class over the aforementioned five year span. His two knockout victories over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson were legendary and cringe inducing for their brutality. His trilogy of knockout wins over Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba also famed for their violence.
The most noted part of Wanderlei's fighting technique, besides the most intimidating pre-fight staredown in history, was his sheer aggression and zeal with which he went at an opponent. It made perfect sense for a man dubbed "the Axe Murderer" to fight like he was going to rip someone limb from limb. It's what made him so exciting and so beloved amongst the fans. To this day, Silva brings up that he fights this way out of his own instinct and to entertain the fans. An interview doesn't pass without him mentioning that he likes to have exciting fights that pump up the crowd.
Of course, this aggression has managed to take its toll on him over the past five years. First, he was headkicked into the next year by Mirko Cro Cop in the 2006 PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix. Then, he was brutally knocked out by Dan Henderson at PRIDE 33. He followed this up with an entertaining brawl against fellow legend Chuck Liddell, but he was on the receiving end of a decision loss. He bounced back from these losses by beating the starch out of Keith Jardine in 36 seconds, and it appeared that the Axe Murderer of old was back.
His next opponent was his old nemesis Quinton Jackson. Like their prior fights it would end in a knockout. This time, it would be Wanderlei getting scraped off the canvas after Rampage levelled him with a picture perfect hook. At this point, it seemed that Silva was essentially done. His inability to take a punch while combined with a chin that was looking increasingly fragile had made him a shell of the man that electrified Japan for years.
February of 2010 marked his debut in the UFC Middleweight Division, where he won a decision over Michael Bisping. In what was a good fight, Silva managed to show his jiu jitsu skills by locking in a nasty guillotine that nearly ended the fight in the second round and he floored Bisping with a flurry of punches to end the third round. It was his first victory in two years and looked to be the start of a rebirth in his career. His next opponent was slated to be Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116, but Silva broke three ribs during training and had knee surgery as well and hs been out of action since. His replacement for that fight was Chris Leben, who beat Akiyama by submission with twenty seconds left in the final round in what was one of the best fights of the year. Following that fight, Leben called out Silva as an opponent, which brings things to UFC 132.
This is the type of fight that both men live for - a wild brawl that should feature no grappling whatsoever. If Silva wins, it sets him up for fights with Chael Sonnen and/or Vitor Belfort and potentially a shot at Anderson Silva's Middleweight Title further down the line. Recently, he stated that he wants to continue to fight for five more years and a total of ten fights. If he gets crushed by Leben, he should seriously consider retirement. On another note it would be yet another PRIDE legend losing a fight that years ago wouldn't have been much of a challenge. Regardless of a decline in skill, everyone can still expect Silva to come out the same way he always has: forward and punches flying.
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