Why Wanderlei Silva Is a Better Matchup for Cung Le than Vitor Belfort

Almost as quickly as the fight was announced, injury has already forced UFC 139 co-headliner Vitor Belfort off the card.

Belfort, whose ailment has yet to be disclosed, was set to face former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le in his UFC debut on November 19th.  Replacing the injured Belfort will be former Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva.

This is great news for Le for many reasons.

Belfort, a former UFC champion, is one of the hardest hitters in the middleweight division.  The power behind each and everyone one of his punches can put any man to sleep.

I'm not saying Le could not beat him, but the chance of a knockout loss was greater against Belfort.

The Wanderlei Silva we see today may still have the power, but his skills have dropped off immensely.  Based off pure knockout power, Belfort is a better striker than Silva and happens to own a brutal victory over "The Axe Murderer."

Technically speaking, Le is a better overall striker than both but Silva lacks the speed of Belfort.  "The Phenom" is known for his flurry of punches that has finished many top fighters in the past.

Although Silva may still hit hard, he lacks the speed to keep up with Le.  Just looking at his recent loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132, his attempt to rush in lacked the quickness and power of the Silva of old.

Many analysts believe that Silva is about ready to retire.  He has won only two of his last eight fights and has not finished an opponent since knocking out Keith Jardine in 2008.

For Le the game plan is simple—keep the distance and pick Silva apart.

The same plan would have been executed against Belfort, but due to Silva's lack of speed, will be easier to implement.  His hopping sidekick and spinning back kick will land much better against Silva than it would have against Belfort.

If Le wants to take the fight to the ground, he will also have an easier time against Silva.

Although a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt, Silva has not had a submission win since 2000 and is basically a one-dimensional fighter at this point in his career.

Against Belfort, Le would have to be weary of taking the fight to the mat since Belfort is quite an accomplished grappler.  Using his Sanshou and wrestling background, Le will find it much easier to take the fight to the ground against Silva.

Overall, the older Silva is on his way out as a fighter. Belfort still has a lot of fight left in him which would pose as a huge threat against Le, who has been inconsistent in the cage due to his acting career.

Silva is by far the easier opponent to deal with, which says a lot about Belfort's skills and Silva's soon-to-be-ending career.

Le should have an easier time fighting Silva, but don't count "The Axe Murderer" out.  As MMA has shown time and time again, one punch can change everything.

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