Wanderlei Silva was one of the most dangerous mixed martial artists in the world. His frantic style in the cage combined with his unreal power earned him the nickname of “The Axe Murderer.” But lately it seems that he only wants to do things based on how he will be perceived by the fans.
It’s no secret that Silva backed out of a proposed fight with Brian Stann at UFC 130 because Stann was going to be the fan favorite as a former U.S. Marine on Memorial Day weekend. And he wanted a fight with Leben because he is guaranteed to be the biggest star in the cage at the time, and the fans are going to cheer him like crazy because of who he is.
But if Silva has any aspirations of getting into contention in the middleweight division, he needs to stop focusing on how much he is going to be cheered and pay attention to what he does in the octagon.
The fans and the love that they have for Silva is the biggest reason that he still has a job in UFC, but that love should not dictate who he fights.
Silva is not entirely at fault here because UFC and Dana White have given him the freedom to pick and choose who he fights and when he fights.
We all love the way that he fights because he goes out there and just starts swinging. It’s practically a guarantee that whenever he fights there is going to be a knockout, whether it’s him getting knocked out or his opponent, it doesn’t matter.
That style is hurting him more than it is helping him as he approaches his 35th birthday, but because his psyche is so frail, and he wants the fans to cheer him, he can’t help himself but to go in with all guns blazing.
It’s time that Silva got past his need to hear the fans stand up and cheer for him whenever he steps in the octagon. He needs to do what is best for his career and get victories while he still can. He doesn’t have a lot of time left, so he needs to make the most of it while he is still around. Fortunately, he is going up against a guy whose fighting style mirrors his own so he knows what to expect.
I think Leben will win this fight, but I want to see how Silva looks following his knee surgery and if he is more comfortable at 185 pounds.