Wanderlei Silva

Silva-Akiyama Rumored For UFC 111 in Australia

Former PRIDE light heavyweight champion Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva will make his first appearance at middleweight in February when he takes on top contender and K-1 veteran Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama.

The report comes of USA Today who states the bout is rumoured for UFC 111 on February 21 when the UFC makes its first appearance in Sydney, Australia.

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Quick Hits: Evans vs. Silva Possible, Sylvia Withdraws from DREAM Debut & More

— Rashad Evans says that a light heavyweight clash against fellow contender Thiago Silva could be possible for a UFC event in December or early next year. “Thiago Silva is a good fighter, I’d like to fight him and I think he wants to fight me,” Evans said. “When I saw him after he fought Keith Jardine, he kind of gave me a nasty look that I interpreted like he wanted to take me on, and I’d like that.” [MMA FanHouse]

— Two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled debut with Japan-based DREAM after suffering a broken hand during his first-round TKO of Jason Riley at Adrenaline MMA IV last weekend. According to Sylvia’s manager, Monte Cox, the Miletich Fighting Systems product will now attempt to land a spot on the DREAM and K-1 co-promoted “Dynamite!!” show on New Year’s Eve. [Sherdog.com]

Continue reading "Quick Hits: Evans vs. Silva Possible, Sylvia Withdraws from DREAM Debut & More"

Video: Wanderlei Silva Explains Recent Surgery

In his latest video blog above, longtime PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva, who looks quite different after undergoing recent facial surgery to remove a large amount of scar tissue, elaborates on the surgery and a variety of other topics concerning his career.

Report: Bisping-Silva at UFC 105 in England

MMAFrenzy.com is reporting that middleweight contenders Michael Bisping and Wanderlei Silva will clash at UFC 105 which is scheduled for November 14 in Manchester, England.

Silva, former PRIDE middleweight champion, has gone 1-4 since re-joining the UFC ranks in 2007. Silva’s sole victory came over Keith Jardine while he’s dropped exciting decisions to Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin.

Continue reading "Report: Bisping-Silva at UFC 105 in England"

UFC 99 Results

Rich Franklin def. Wanderlei Silva - Unanimous Decision
Cain Velasquez def. Cheick Kongo - Unanimous Decision
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic def. Mustapha Al-Turk - TKO Round 1 3:08
Mike Swick def. Ben Saunders - TKO Round 2 2:47
Spencer Fisher def. Caol Uno - Unanimous Decision
Dan Hardy def. Marcus Davis - Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Terry Etim def. Justin Buchholz - Submission (D’Arce Choke) Round 2
Dennis Siver def. Dale Hartt - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 1
Paul Taylor def. Peter Sobotta - Unanimous Decision
Paul Kelly def. Roli Delgado - Unanimous Decision
Stefan Struve def. Denis Stojnic - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 2
John Hathaway def. Rick Story - Unanimous Decision

Thanks to Sherdog, MMA Weekly and Yahoo! for filling in the results and some details of the earlier bouts.

Quote of the Day: Wanderlei Silva Wants to Bet Anderson on Franklin Fight

“I go to knock him out. I have trained so much and Rich won’t last two rounds. I think it is good Anderson has been preparing him. I hope he is also on the corner. I want to dare him to bet $50,000. I put these amount and Anderson or his sponsors, Ed Soares or Joinha, bet another part. Who wins takes the money.”

Longtime PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva tells Fighters Only Magazine that would be willing to bet former training partner Anderson Silva that he will be victorious within two rounds in his catch-weight bout against Rich Franklin at UFC 99 on June 13.

It looks like the war of words between the two Brazilians isn’t going to be ending anytime soon.

White Lays Out Futures for Franklin and Silva

The respective careers of Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva are at a crossroads, and their scheduled meeting at UFC 99 in June couldn’t come at a better time for the fighters themselves and fans alike. But with the bout taking place at a catch-weight of 195 lbs, almost no one knows where either Franklin or Silva go from here, except for Dana White:

“I met Rich in the middle,” UFC president Dana White said of the decision for the catchweight. “Rich didn’t want to cut weight. He didn’t want to go back to 85, and Wanderlei hasn’t been to 85 yet.

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“I think it’s a fun fight and it will be a fun fight to watch,” said White.

Regardless of the outcome, Franklin will continue to compete at light heavyweight while Silva is expected to debut as a middleweight in his next scheduled bout following the Franklin fight.

The decision to go their separate ways is the best idea for both fighters. At middleweight, Franklin would just be knocking off potential title contenders, but at light heavyweight, he can challenge for a belt in a division he’s yet to conquer. No longer a real threat at light heavyweight, Silva will also find new territory at 185 lbs. It’s a win-win situation for all parties involved.

Video: Silva Signs Contract to Fight at UFC 99

In the above video courtesy of Fighters Only Magazine, Wanderlei Silva signs the paperwork that makes his much-anticipated catch-weight bout against former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin official.

Report: Franklin vs. Silva Booked for UFC 99

In a battle of stars in career limbo, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will reportedly take on former longtime PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva at UFC 99, which is scheduled to take place on June 13 in Cologne, Germany.

The news comes from MMA Weekly, which reports that both fighters have agreed to the fight. Bout agreements have not been issued, and won’t likely be for the next few weeks, but the matchup is said to possibly be happening at a catch-weight of 195 lbs.

After losing his UFC middleweight title to Anderson Silva and failing to regain it in a subsequent rematch, Franklin moved to the light heavyweight division where he previous found success early in his career, and went on to score a third-round TKO of Matt Hamill at UFC 88 before losing a razor-close split decision to Dan Henderson this past January at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland.

Silva was mired in the longest losing streak of his storied career, dropping three straight fights, before he bounced back to score an impressive first-round knockout of Keith Jardine at UFC 84 last May. Despite defeating Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in their two prior fights over in Japan years ago, SIlva was recently knocked out in the first round of their third meeting at UFC 92 in December.

Silva Admits Interest in Move to Middleweight

After months of speculation regarding a potential move to middleweight for former longtime PRIDE standout Wanderlei Silva, the Brazilian has finally revealed that he intends to drop down to 185 lbs after a possible rematch with Chuck Liddell later this year:

“It’s my normal weight,” Silva 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.”

While a move down to middleweight might not work out for Silva after all, it does seem pretty practical at this point. The UFC’s 185 lb. weight class features far fewer fighters with knockout power and a shorter route to a title shot compared to the light heavyweight division. While Silva’s popularity and exciting style won’t likely see him being released from the UFC anytime soon, continued losses, especially by knockout, aren’t going help his cause.