Wanderlei Silva: Legend ... the "True" People's Champion

November 1, 1996 was the beginning of one of the greatest fight careers MMA has ever seen. A young 20 year old from Curitiba, Brazil stepped in the ring in a small arena in a no holds barred Vale Tudo event in front of no more than 300 people. The bell rings and 3 minutes 35 seconds later this young man’s hand was raised in victory after scoring a knockout against his opponent. For the next 15 years this man would take the MMA world by storm, whether it be by vicious knock outs, classy submissions, legendary stare downs, and an overall fan sensation. This man is known as “The Axe Murderer.”

After starting his career 5-1, with that one loss being due to a cut even though he was winning the fight, Wanderlei was given the call and he was set to face Vitor Belfort at UFC: Ultimate Brazil. Wanderlei had some hype surrounding him, but so did Belfort. The bout started and next thing you know Belfort attacked with a flurry of punches chasing and landing these punches as Wanderlei hit the fence and went down and this bout was stopped giving Belfort the TKO victory.

After winning six straight fights including one in the UFC and three in Pride and also becoming the IVC Light Heavyweight Champion, Wanderlei was given an opportunity to face UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz in a five round war at UFC 25: Ultimate Japan. Wanderlei gave it all he had but came up short losing by way of decision.

After that fight, Wanderlei went 16-0-1 1NC. In that span he defeated Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba three times, Quinton Jackson two times, and Dan Henderson. He went to a draw with the dangerous striker Mirko Cro Cop, and was crowned the first Pride Middleweight Champion, and also won the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix. At this point Wanderlei was on top of the world and deemed unbeatable.

In his next fight he fought Super-Heavyweight Samoan and K-1 kick boxer Mark Hunt. He lost this fight by way of split-decision. He also had no clue who his opponent was until four days before the fight. Seeing Wanderlei lose was an awkward moment for many, but he went on to win four of his next five fights. His lone loss was to fellow Brazilian Ricardo Arona in the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix semifinals. They rematched soon after giving Arona a chance at Wanderlei’s Middleweight Championship, but Wanderlei retained winning the fight by way of split-decision.

Wanderlei was the replacement for Fedor Emelianenko in the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix, he defeated Kazuyuki Fujita in the quarterfinals, and was set to rematch Mirko Cro Cop in the semifinals.

This fight with Mirko Cro Cop was the beginning of the end for Wanderlei. He lost this fight by KO after receiving one of Cro Cop’s famous high kicks. After this fight Cro Cop went on to defeat Josh Barnett to win the Grand Prix title, while Wanderlei’s career was headed downhill. His next bout he faced Dan Henderson at Pride 33: The Second Coming, losing this bout by way of KO and also losing his Middleweight Championship.

Wanderlei Silva made his return to the UFC and in his first bout back he fought Chuck Liddell which was a fight that the UFC had tried to sign a few years prior. Wanderlei went on to lose this fight by way of decision, and had lost three in a row for the first time in his career. He defeats Jardine and Bisping, but loses to Jackson, Franklin, and most recently to Chris Leben. At this current moment, he has lost six of his last eight fights.

Wanderlei is a special, once in a lifetime fighter. He gave it all he had in every fight and win lose or draw, he did it for the fans. He was a fan favorite in Japan, and when he came to America he was accepted with open arms. He is the fighter that many of these younger fighters look up too.

Recently Wanderlei’s coach stated that Wanderlei is still young and has a title run left in him. That is a nice thing to say, but facts are facts. Wanderlei has already accomplished as much as he is going to accomplish. His skillset is great, but his body is slowing down. At this point in all reality Wanderlei should truly hang his gloves up. He is easily in the top five to ten of greatest fighters of all time, and was the most feared man in MMA for seven years.

When Wanderlei Silva’s name is said, there can only be respectful things said about him, because he has done and accomplished so much in the sport. 16 years, from small arenas bare knuckle fighting in Brazil, to over 70,000 people in Japan and then the close of his career in the UFC, there is only one word that you can use to describe “The Axe Murderer” and that is……..Legend.

Many look up to you, and many emulate you but no one will ever compare to you. You were one of a kind, truly one of the greats. Thanks for the memories, they were “Legendary.”