Wanderlei Silva: The Resurrection of the Axe Murderer?

Wanderlei Silva’s showing at UFC 139 is akin to a resurrection if only for one night. “The Axe Murderer” wielded his axe in decisive manner for the first time since he demolished Keith Jardine back at UFC 84.

At UFC 139 Silva survived an early onslaught from Cung “The Human Highlight Reel” Le to register his own brand of vicious punishment courtesy of ground and pound assault, add in a rearranged nose for good measure, and it was safe to say that The Axe Murderer was back.

Silva, whose record in the UFC reeked of embarrassing losses (two via devastating KO) in comparison to wins, was as I thought, one fight away from retirement or dismissal.

I honestly believed that Le would be the one to draw the final curtain on the storied and once inhumanely violent career of one Wanderlei César da Silva.

Needless to say, fate stepped in and dealt Silva a lucky hand, a hand which he gladly took, and with the other in unison, welcomed Le back into the MMA fold.

And with that second round TKO, he also took the honours for “Fight of the Night.”

Also, with that win, his record moves from 2-4 to 3-4 in the UFC.

One more victory and Silva will be evens in the company.

Though, the next time he steps into the Octagon, we’ll have a better idea of whether Silva is standing on the periphery of retirement or on the cusp of one last great run to crown off his illustrious career.

If it’s the latter, then he’ll more or less be firmly placed somewhere amongst the UFC’s top 10 middleweight assemblage.

Whether this is the re-birth of Silva or the resurrection of The Axe Murderer we’ll just have to wait and see.

I hope it’s his moniker.