During UFC 147‘s fight of the night, Wanderlei Silva proved he still has something left in the tank. But that doesn’t mean he should wait until he hits “empty” to retire.
Mad Dog must end his career while he still has a sufficient number of brain cells.
Despite the loss against Rich Franklin on Saturday night, Silva showed some of that impressive power that has helped him collect 24 knockouts in the past, including the knockout of the year in 2008.
But it wasn’t enough, and therein lies the problem: The absolute top of his game wasn’t enough and wasn’t even sustainable.
Yes, The Axe Murderer dropped Franklin in the second round and came very close to knocking him out, but when he failed to accomplish that, it was all but over. Via Brian Knapp of Sherdog.com:
“At the end of the second round, I really thought I was going to be able to knock him out,” he said. “I really wanted to, but I’m sorry I wasn’t able to. Yes, I did. I think [I punched myself out in round two]. I pushed it a bit too much, but I really wanted to knock him out. I just want to thank the crowd, because I fight for you. My fans are who I do this for.”
The fact that Silva ran out of steam in the second round is a sign that the 35-year-old might want to call it quits sooner rather than later.
Silva has lost seven of his last 10 fights and four of his last six. His only knockout in the last three years came against 39-year-old Cung Le.
The power potential is still there for Mad Dog, but he doesn’t have the explosiveness to continue to be the exciting force he was in the early- and mid-2000s.
For the record, I believe that Silva will take on one or two more opponents before Dana White finally pulls the plug on him.
But if he were smart, The Axe Murderer would simply shut it down right now.
He has proved all he needs to prove during his magnificent career, but after losing in his home country, it’s clear Silva isn’t the man he used to be.
When you continue fighting at less than full strength, that’s when injuries start to happen.
While Wanderlei Silva certainly can continue his UFC career, it wouldn’t be smart and it wouldn’t be necessary.
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