Wanderlei Silva Looking for Another Shot at Chuck Liddell
by Cannon Jacques on Jan 5, 2009 4:57 PM EST
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Wanderlei Silva isn't terribly excited about potentially moving to middleweight. In fact, he would rather score a rematch with Chuck Liddell in the near future. From MMA Weekly:
"It’s my normal weight," he says of the light heavyweight class. "I never cut down too much weight for a fight. Maybe I go to fight one more time at light heavyweight, and after I go down."
To Silva, the fight that makes the most sense is a rematch with Chuck Liddell, who gave him a three-round slugfest at UFC 79. He lost the decision, but feels they put on another fight of the year.
"I am thinking I want to fight Chuck again," says Silva. "I want to fight with him again because I had a good match with him, and his style is a good style for me, and my style is good for him. It’s good for the show. Maybe it’s good for Dana."
However, Silva also stated that he's willing to do what Dana White deems best. The first fight between Silva and Liddell was amazing. I'm sure that White and the UFC would be more than willing to make a rematch down the road. The fact is that both men, while legends of MMA, were each brutally knocked out in their most recent outings. Maybe, the UFC will give the two fighters a chance to bounce back, and build some positive momentum toward a rematch. That would seem to be a better sale.
I wouldn't be surprised to see "The Axe Murderer" move down to middleweight in the interim. The cut would open up the opportunity for him to fight smaller guys that don't possess the same knockout power as a number of the elite light heavyweights.
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More rematches?
Well, at least this one makes more sense than Chuck vs Randy 4. I guess this means the UFC event in Columbus could get a hell of a lot better.
That’s exactly what I was thinking another rematch. I’d be much more interested if Wanderlei moved to 185 and they find a new opponent for Chuck. Maybe the Coleman / Shogun winner.
They're both too washed up...
Wanderlei has abandoned his kicking game entirely in favor of a left-hook/right-hook/left-hook combination. That’s all he did in his fight against Chuck, while Liddell resorted to his bread and butter of throwing overhand rights.
I hate to admit it but the fight sucked from a technical viewpoint.
by KneeToTheFace on Jan 5, 2009 4:23 PM EST up reply actions
To be fair,
the fight wasn’t that long…he could have easily fit in another couple of hooks before transitioning to the knees….
Chuck has lost 3 of 4. Silva has lost 4 of 5. If this fight is happening then the loser should be dropped by the UFC and it should be on the deep undercard.
...no
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 5, 2009 1:24 PM EST up reply actions
If this fight is happening then the loser should be dropped by the UFC and it should be on the deep undercard.
Tremendous comedy here.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
Ha!
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
Heh… Wanderlei Silva is still a certifiable TUF alum crusher even if he loses a third bout with Chuck. He isn’t going to lose to guys from TUF, and he’s been facing top competition for the last year or two.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Jan 5, 2009 3:32 PM EST up reply actions
No, I’m saying that there is no way the UFC cuts him anytime soon. He can still bonecrush half the damn division in either LHW or MW.
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
by Leland Roling on Jan 6, 2009 12:18 PM EST up reply actions
Ok to clear up....
That is definitely not what I would do. I’m just saying, all marketing and popularity aside, this fight is of no significance other than keeping the winner from falling into a deeper hole that would mean the end of almost anyone else’s UFC career.
Whatever though. Keep nut hugging guys that are probably never going to be real factors again.
mm hmm.
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Jan 6, 2009 7:42 AM EST up reply actions
Not every fight has to result in a massive shift in the landscape, or be do decide the next contender. Some fights are just fun. Some fights are just interesting because of the backstory behind them. I’m not honestly at all excited to see Chuck and Wand fight again, because the first one – while a “lay it on the line” slugfest – was enough wild brawling to hold me over for another year or so. But these are two very popular fighters with a long-standing grudge who went 3 full rounds last time out in a very popular fight. What’s wrong with a good fight that people want to see?
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
by AJB on Jan 6, 2009 1:55 PM EST up reply actions
You’re right because the sport, at the end of the day, is all just about making the most profit. This fight will add PPV power hardcore to any card. But in that case the Bob Sapp vs cartoon character was DREAMs most watched fight on NYE. We could just have fights like that all day, but when its all said and done I’d rather see them fight guys on win streaks so the fight has more value in moving forward.
by EazyEismydad on Jan 6, 2009 10:07 PM EST up reply actions
Hell yeah!
I want to see this rematch. Wandy dropped Chuck and didn’t go in for the kill on their last fight. That still annoys me to this day.
Anyway, yeah, LETS GET IT ON!
No more rematches!
What about Wandy vs. Couture?
"It's like a flying knuckle sandwich." --Rogan
"And many men have eaten it." -- Goldy
they train together
If Silva won’t fight Griffin, he won’t fight Couture.
The mix atop of the LHW divvision is starting to feel sort of inbred
with all the rematch this and same names coming up over and over.
Take any of those names Wand, Chuck, Forrest, Rampage and match them against Machida for freshness and to either inflate or deflate the Machida hype and get it over with.
Still liking Rome's suggestion
Throw Silva into The Ultimate Fighter matchup with Bisping for…
A.) I hate Bisping
B.) I hate Bisping
Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com
10-4 on that one!
Bisping needs to face some serious competition so we can stop listening to him run his mouth, mate.
I like Bisping...
and I’d still like to see it.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 5, 2009 4:16 PM EST up reply actions
Same here.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
Bisping is like Machida
In that I would like to see him fight someone serious to either give some valid support to his hype, or deflate it completely.
I don’t mind the guy, but I HATE the way he fights. The Leben fight only supported it.
Five of his seven wins in the UFC are by first or second round TKO. One of his decision wins is against Leben who has only been TKO’d by Anderson Silva.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
Getting back to Silva, I feel this fight is pointless for him.
And if the UFC aren’t cutting Vera, they shure as HELL better not be even thinking of cutting Wand. One is a legend of the sport, the other is ummm yeah!
The UFC keeps and cuts people based on more than just wins and losses. Look at Houston Alexander. Look at Soku (lost to two top guys) destroyed the other guy he faced. Then look at Vera.
Vera stays because UFC is gunning for the Philippines. Alexander stays because some find him entertaining, and he’s got a cool back story. Soku didn’t because he had high expectations, not a lot of charisma or story to speak of. Put Soku against Vera or Alexander and I think Soku would mop the floor with them.
I don’t want to see Hendo / Wanderlei 3 or a rematch with Chuck. It would be better to see Wanderlei / Bisping, Wand / Maia or even Wand vs. McFedries.
Agreed (sort-of). I’m tired of rematches.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
He won’t fight Maia and the McFedries fight doesn’t interest me. I do want to see Silva/Bisping, though. Hence the “sort-of.”
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
I’d like to see Wanderlei at middleweight first. I’m sort of intrigued by a possible bout with Bisping. Technical striking versus power and aggression. While I don’t believe Wand/Liddell is good matchup for the UFC in the near future, it’s something that can’t be put off for a long while if it’s something they want to do. I just can’t imagine both guys hanging in there against the top fighters at light heavyweight, and even middleweight to some extent, for all that much longer.
Weight cutting is a major issue for Pride guys and has been since arrival. They don’t have the kind of American wrestling weight cutting tradition. Wand walks at 215, but by fight week he is 203 or so. This is about where Anderson cuts from as well, and if he dieted to stay lower it would be an easier cut. He’s so unused to it though that he may not be able to handle it.
I think they need to re-evaluate matchmaking. They gain maybe 100k buys by doing Chuck-Wand, but at what cost? If Chuck loses hes lost 4 of 5 and is considered washed up, same goes for Wand but it becomes 5 of 6. It is only worth potentially crushing one draw when it is for a title or there is a title shot at stake. Otherwise it’s a match between two non-contenders, and only career damage can come from it.
Wand and Chuck both need to be rehabbed with comeback matches at this point before jumping into elite competition again. It’s better for them and better for the UFC. American culture is too unforgiving of losses to subject losers to this kind of murderer’s row.
by Michael Rome on Jan 5, 2009 5:53 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
And yeah, I’d do Wanderlei Silva vs. Brandon Vera and Chuck Liddell vs. Houston Alexander. At least then the rematch can actually mean something for the division if they both win, as opposed to a novelty match between two old guys beating the shit out of each other in fights with no rankings consequence.
I don't like the thought of Wand going down to 185 but...
I agree a Vera vs Wand fight would be nice…
now imagine if houston was able to catch chuck.. Everybody would surely clamor for his retirement by then.
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Jan 5, 2009 10:25 PM EST up reply actions
blah this doesn’t make any sense.
Dropping Wand down to MW brings back the excitement that is basically gone from Wand now. It makes people think (right or wrong) that he is a contender again.
He’s still not going to use his Muay Thai or jiujitsu. He’s just going to go out there senselessly throwing bombs like he always does…and that is why he’s probably going to get KO’d by the first person he fights.
by KneeToTheFace on Jan 5, 2009 7:33 PM EST up reply actions
that IS why he needs to move down away from the heavy hitters at 205
As I mentioned in another thread… I still don’t think he is top 5 at MW either.
What is interesting though… people were hootin and hollerin about Wand being at Xtreme Couture while Rampage was at Wolfslair…a nd what as Xtreme Coture done for Wand at all? He is the same he as always was… with a worse china nd won’t use knees or kicks. I guess you can’t teach an old dog new tricks
It has him in good shape and he trains with good guys all the time. We really didn’t learn a lot from that fight. Amazing how the same people who thought wand was a god 2 weeks ago now think he’s dog shit.
What we learned: A counterpuncher that can wade through his strikes and has huge power can put him out. We always knew that.
I like that idea better than moving down to MW. Like he would really do better against Franklin, Henderson and Silva. Also, he has everything to lose if Bisping and Marquardt finish him off. FYI: All those guys mentioned could fight at LHW so Silva isn’t gaining a size advantage.
He wasn’t getting beat at LHW because of size, he was getting beat off poor technique. Chuck is showing the same holes in his game, so the fight should be competitive.
Bisping can and has fought at light heavyweight, but he is undersized for that division. I also don’t see him as a big knockout threat like Rampage or Rashad.
by Cannon Jacques on Jan 5, 2009 10:09 PM EST up reply actions
To be quite honest..
I don’t think either of these guys can compete at 205 anymore. Move Chuck up to heavyweight and give him a few more big money matches (but NOT against Couture) and move Wand down to 185 and see if he can compete with some guys who don’t have as much KO power.
Let’s say they do match these guys up at 205 and the winner happens to win his next match against Shogun or Jardine or whoever, does a title shot for one of these two against a Rashad Evans or Rampage Jackson really excite anyone? I for one don’t think they would win more than once out of every 10 times against the elite in the deepest division in the sport, they just aren’t that good anymore. Big draws yes, exciting sure, but elite-level top-3 fighters? Absolutely not, they are past their prime as their last half-dozen or so combined fights have shown and they are now to the point of gate-keeper status fighting at 205. Maybe if they both changed divisions there would at least be some level of excitement for their last few fights, as it stands now none of the rumored matchups for these two really do much for me, including the rumored rematch.
I just love how everybody is throwing dirt on fighters like Nog, Wand and Chuck, please save the eulogys for guys who actually deserve it like Gomi all of these guys have something left and in ’09 they will prove it.
Gomi probably has more left than all the guys you mentioned above.
Gomi nubbed out cus he took the fight to the ground where he should have stayed away. Gomi has never been KOed and he is younger than the above.
Having said that I think none of the 4 will be top three material anymore.
Sadly.
yes gomi is still young, but he’s the most overrated of the 4 that you mentioned.. He didnt deserve the ranking he’s had for the past couple of years..
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Jan 6, 2009 4:42 AM EST up reply actions
Why???
What has Brandon Vera done recently to earn a fight with Wanderlai Silva?
That’s like BJPenn fighting Junie Browning.
No, not really, Wand has lost 4 of 5. What did Fujita, Nakamura, Yoshida, Kondo, or Minowa ever do to earn a shot? Nothing. They were there to boost his record.
Wanderlei is now like a guy who has lost all his money playing roulette and keeps going to the ATM to bet it all on red, hoping the odds finally pay out. Someone needs to intervene and find him a game with better odds. You can’t just keep looking for the homerun comeback, it just drives you deeper into the hole. Chuck pulled it off against Wand last year, and he’ll try again in March, but at Silva’s age he is a knockout or two away from being seriously done. Given his popularity there’s no reason to risk such insanity.
Also, this idea that he never has a chance to be a factor again is ridiculous. Majorities thought he would beat Quinton, and if he did he would have been a shoe in for the first title shot against Rashad Evans. Instead he gets clocked by a left hook and now he’ll never be a factor again. Thank god the general public doesn’t react as emotionally to losses as hardcore fans do.
i agree. people should relax already... one day you proclaim wand is back now he's being crucified and being asked to retire. wtf right??
and rob, you have a really weak analogy. its not the same cause its not like vera is getting a title shot against a marquee fighter and someone who has dominated his division… yes, vera has lost 3 out of 4, but Its vera fighting someone who has lost 4 out of 5.. and to say that Browning vs BJ is the same? psh. cmon man.
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Jan 6, 2009 7:56 AM EST up reply actions
Weoweoweo (Great name by the way :o/)
Of course it’s not the same, but if you are going to be pedantic and start comparing the fighters I mentioned that’s fine. My post was merely being sarcastic to the point that Vera has done fck all to warrant such a marquee fight.
Hope that clears up my “weak analogy” for you. Christ ….
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