UFC 139: Cung Le vs. Wanderlei Silva Fight Breakdown

Saturday night, fans will get to see an MMA great once again put on the gloves and do what he has done for so many years.

And those fans will also get to see him square off against one of MMA's more unproven fighters, though a great martial artist in his own right.

That is because at UFC 139 ,Wanderlei Silva will square off against Cung Le in a fight that might just be each man's last chance at climbing the middleweight division for a title shot. 

It is a strange way of looking at the co-main event of UFC 139, but that might exactly be what it is.

Who has the better chance of winning?

Who has a little more left in the tank?

Let's find out as we get to the fight breakdown.

Cung Le Is Older and Has Not Been as Active

Le has fought once a year for the last three years.  Unless he gets a fight in December this will be the fourth.

That kind of inactivity hurts fighters in the long run and it will be the same for Le now that he is in the UFC.  He can't get away with being a full-time actor and a part-time fighter if he wants to make it at the top level of the sport.

It just won't work.

He is also 39.  He might only be a few years older than Silva but those few years make all the difference. 

Between getting long in the tooth and the cage rust, it might just be what dooms his UFC career before it even starts.

He needs to have had an incredible training camp if he hopes to beat Silva, especially since he hasn't fought since June of last year.

And even then that might not be enough.

Wanderlei Silva Has Seen Better Days

Wanderlei Silva is going to be in the UFC Hall of Fame some day.  He is just that great and he has had that much of an impact on the sport.

With that said, it seems like his best days are behind him.  The man is 35 and though age is just a number, so is his record.

But those two numbers put Silva in a bad light.  He is now older and he has won two of his last eight.  He has also won one of his last three.

In those six defeats he has been knocked out four times, including his last fight in which he was knocked out by Chris Leben quickly in the first round.

Silva probably should have retired by now, but like most beloved fighters he just can't stay away from the cage.  Le represents a close fight on paper considering that both men are strikers and that both aren't exactly at the peak of where they might have been.

It might be the UFC giving Silva one last chance.

Cung Le Hasn't Fought the Same Level of Opposition and Was KO'd by Scott Smith

The slide's title might seem like it's trying to cram two points into one part, but it isn't.

Le hasn't fought the level of opposition that Silva has, which makes him a little less prepared for the highest level of MMA that he will have to face in the Octagon.

The man's two best wins are against Frank Shamrock, who was past his prime when they fought, and two fights with Scott Smith in which he was knocked out in one.

And that was against Smith who, though he has power in his hands, is not exactly a top fighter in the sport.  Smith has also earned his nickname of "hands of steel" but he doesn't come near to having the same power that Silva does.

The fact that he split two fights with him doesn't help his chances against someone like Silva, who gained the name "The Axe Murderer."  Le will have to withstand a lot more punishment than he did against Smith if he wants to see his hand raised in victory.

Wanderlei Silva Doesn't Really Use His Jiu-Jitsu Ability

Silva is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.  It seems hard to believe as fans haven't really seen him use it in his career.  It barely appeared when he fought in PRIDE.  It has never been used once to end a fight n the UFC.

Silva and Le both have some experience in ground fighting but it is a good bet that Silva is the better-trained ground fighter.  Since he is facing a former undefeated kickboxing champion, it might be a chance to dust off those skills and use them to get the victory.

It would be a first for Silva, but it also might prolong his career.  If fighters think that Silva now can use another tool in his arsenal to defeat them, they may have a bit more trouble preparing for him.

It might be too late to teach an old dog new tricks, but these are skills Silva has had for a while.  So while the old adage might be true, it may still be possible to get an old dog to use old tricks he never used before.

It Is Cung Le's First Time Fighting in the UFC

Even though Le is used to Hollywood and the bright lights, the UFC is completely different.

Plenty of fighters have frozen on the biggest stage and Le could do the same.  He may have done movies and fought in decent organizations like Strikeforce, but this will be the biggest platform of his career.  He might just choke.

If he does, it wouldn't be shameful as it has happened to some great fighters on their UFC debut.  

Le might do better than most because he has fought in San Jose, which was a major draw for Strikeforce, and a few of the fight cards he was in drew decent crowds.

With that said, the UFC is a different animal and the crowd is the same way.  Whereas small MMA shows seem to have a feeling akin to a college football game, the UFC is like Super Bowl Sunday.

On Saturday, fans will see how Le reacts to the added pressure from the crowd.

It Depends on If Silva Decides To Fight Smart

It isn't any secret that Silva likes to fight first and win second.  Only problem with that is it means he doesn't fight smart.

Case in point, he is fighting a former kickboxer.  His best bet would be to take the fight to the ground and use his Brazilian jiu-jitsu to win the fight.  He will most likely stand and trade.

It will probably give Silva a Fight of the Night award.  It will probably usher in the end of his storied career.  Silva may have had a great career, but it will be over if he can't show the fans, the UFC brass and his opponent that he can be versatile.

Silva needs for once in his career to be selfish and get himself a dominant win even if it means he loses some of the fans and hears a few boos for once—that is, if he wants to continue to step inside the Octagon and compete.

In the end, what he wants to do is up to him.  He might just have enough left in the tank to beat Le.

But on the other hand, fans might want to tune in on Saturday because it might just be the end of Silva's fantastic career.