If you’re a regular reader here at Fix, then you know we’ve ‘waxed on’ in the past (think talking, not Karate Kid) about how Chris Leben versus Wanderlei Silva would be a pretty damn sweet fight to catch. Both dudes like to bring the thunder standing, both men have been involved in some epic wars over the years and when Leben asked for the fight after taking out Yoshihiro Akiyama, Wandy seemed down with it.
Well, since then, a certain Mr. Brian Stann derailed Leben’s win streak with a first round ‘how ya like me now’ stoppage at UFC 125. Despite the loss, however, “The Crippler” continues to campaign for a fight with one of the UFC’s biggest stars in “The Axe Murderer.” Why stop now right? Speaking to MMA Weekly this week, Leben’s manager Gary Ibarra informed the outlet that:
“Chris is eager to fight again after his loss to Brian Stann,” Ibarra told MMAWeekly.com. “(He) would like to reiterate his desire to compete against a legend of the sport and personal hero of his in Wanderlei Silva.”
Yes, anyone who can stomp like Mr. Silva is a hero of ours too. It looked for a while like Silva might return from his layoff against the aforementioned Stann, but the former Pride champ apparently isn’t really in to facing an “All American.” Other rumored opponents have included Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen (until heel #1 called out the promotion’s heel #1A), either of which would be fantastic, but you could do a lot worse than Leben vs. Silva. Stay tuned.