Midnight Mania! Wanderlei Has Concussion Symptoms, No Plans to Retire

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After a 51-fight, 29-year career, Wanderlei Silva said he’s showing many of the symptoms associated with concussion, including mood swings and difficulty sleeping. Via MMAFighting.com:

“I was in a lecture about concussion and of the 10 symptoms the guy mentioned, I had eight,” Silva said. “The symptoms would be, for example, mood swings, getting angry very fast, forgetting some things, having difficulty sleeping.”

In fact, the 42-year-old fighter plans to donate his brain for research on concussions after he dies.

“I thought a lot about it and even tried to contact people to make this donation,” Silva said. “I have the most interested in donating, since I won’t be using it anyway [laughs]. This area is very important.”

The former Pride middleweight champion, known as the Axe Murderer, was known for his stand-and-bang style, standing in front of opponents no matter the consequences. He revealed that his early understanding of brain trauma was severely lacking, perhaps influencing his decisions in the ring and cage.

“I, for example, believed that the the more you got punched, the more you could take it. And it’s the opposite: the more you get, the less you can take in a fight,” Silva said. “If I could leave a tip for the young guys, it would be don’t hit yourselves every day. If you have a young student, don’t let him take too many punches to the head. There’s the right moment to do a hard training, but it can’t be every day. A good coach takes care of your student.”

He now only spars hard once a week, and is part of an experiment with a Canadian company. But he has no plans to retire. He still wants to get a rematch with Vitor Belfort, who beat him very early in his career. He is hoping Vitor signs with Bellator so Wanderlei can have his revenge.

“I can fight him twice if he wants, no problem at all,” Silva said. “I’m fine, I’m healthy, I’m training, and at this point of (our) careers would be great for everyone. … I can’t end my career without this fight.”

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