Wanderlei Silva is set to face Rich Franklin in the main event this Saturday at UFC 147. The buzz meter for this fight card is at an all-time low as far as UFC pay-per-views go, and I’d say the majority of MMA fans aren’t too hyped about the Silva-Franklin rematch, either.
The Axe Murderer made his UFC debut nearly 14 years at UFC Brazil. He lost to Vitor Belfort that night, just 44 seconds into the fight. Silva would go on to lose just one of his next 25 fights.
With the recent announcement of Tito Ortiz’s being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, one begins to wonder if Silva will be rewarded with the same prestige.
Perhaps if fans knew what the criteria were for inclusion in the UFC Hall of Fame, we’d have a better idea of whether or not Silva falls in line with what the company is looking for. From my standpoint it appears that it’s a hall of fame that commends fighters for their contributions to the UFC, and not necessarily their win-loss record inside the Octagon—although success would certainly help.
I’ve long been a fan of Silva. His aggressiveness inside the Octagon, the way he appears to be thankful for each fight opportunity and his overall passion for the sport are some things I’d love to see in all fighters.
Silva gets into the UFC Hall of Fame if the organization takes into account his entire professional MMA career, and not just his performance inside of the Octagon. If consideration is only based on his fights within the UFC, he should not be included.
Silva’s UFC career has consisted of 10 fights. In those 10 fights he is 4-6. His wins have come against Tony Petarra, Keith Jardine, Michael Bisping and Cung Le. That’s not necessarily a who’s who of the MMA world.
While Silva has had a wonderful MMA career, that success hasn’t followed him to the UFC. He hasn’t been an influential figure for the organization in the same way the current members of the UFC Hall of Fame were.
His lack of influence coupled with an unimpressive record in the Octagon will leave the Axe Murderer out of the UFC Hall of Fame.
Joe Chacon is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a Staff Writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
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