UFC 139 Results: Wanderlei Silva Proves He's Back and Better Than Ever

Wanderlei Silva just defied some serious odds last night, folks.

Even though he was four years younger than Cung Le and it was the debut of Le against what could have possibly been the final UFC bout of Silva's career, Silva came out with the stamina and the spirit of everything that the phrase "UFC Hall of Famer" is supposed to define.

He took kicks of all sorts from Le, including a few kicks to the body akin to the one that avenged Le's loss to Scott Smith, and one to the supposedly still-suspect chin, and he kept moving forward, albeit often allowing Le to close the distance and appear as the momentary aggressor.

When Round 2 came by, Wanderlei rocked Le, sent him back with a big knee, followed by a series of short elbows, and his signature knees from the Muay Thai Clinch, followed by a few swift shots that halted Le's attempts at a single-leg takedown.

Le had no answer and the referee had to step in.

Wanderlei may not have much left to prove to the MMA world, but he did prove that he knows how to keep the fight technical before he goes in for the kill, and, most of all, he proved that he is indeed back and better than ever.

All he needed to do was show that he could set up his kill-shots by picking his shots and not brawling from the get-go, and now his only key to one of MMA's biggest comebacks is to be consistent with his performances.

If he can keep consistent, the talks of an early retirement may die down for the time being. For right now, Wanderlei can take solace in the fact that he did defeat the doubters that said Le would knock him out.

If he could do that to a man who was arguably a more dangerous threat than a Chris Leben-type, it's a thought to ponder what he might do against someone better than even Le.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 139. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the November 19 fight card , from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis.