UFC 132: Chris Leben Could Be the Best Return Fight for Wanderlei Silva

Calling out Wanderlei Silva has become a trend as of late.

Since his fight against Michael Bisping at UFC 110, Silva has potentially had five possible opponents for his next fight.

Silva had to drop out of his fight with Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116 due to breaking three ribs during training.

His replacement, Chris Leben went on to win the fight and call Silva out afterwards. Unfortunately, Silva had to undergo knee surgery soon after.

While recovering, Silva got into a war of words with Chael Sonnen. This led to rumors that both men would coach the Ultimate Fighter.

Although that never came to fruition, Silva was called out once again at UFC 125 by Brian Stann.

Stann, along with many fans, were excited about the fight, but Silva refused it, stating he did not want to seem like the bad guy against Stann, who’s a former marine.

There was some talk that Silva could possibly have a rematch against Vitor Belfort when the UFC goes back to Brazil. While the fight is not out of the question as of yet, Silva will have to get past his next opponent. Chris “The Crippler” Leben.

Even though Wanderlei isn’t the fighter he used to be in PRIDE FC, I expect nothing less than a war when he fights. The same can be said for Leben who is known for taking a lot of punishment. Both fighters like to stand and bang, and both have had some impressive fights in their careers.

Silva will look to prove he’s healthy and can still go, while Leben will look to get back on track after being knocked out for only the second time in his career, by Brian Stann.

While beating Leben may not move him up the rankings, Silva has often stated that whether he wins or loses, he wants to entertain the fans. What better way to do that than with a guy who takes so many hits that he turns into a zombie.

Leben will finally get a match with the man he called out almost a year ago, and get the stand up war he craves. No matter who wins or loses, I only see this fight ending two ways; KO or Fight of the Night.