He’s been fighting professionally for 17 years, but it seems that Wanderlei Silva’s lust for the title remains unabated. On Tuesday night’s UFC Tonight, he told reporter Ariel Helwani that he was looking for a fight that will get him a shot at the 185-pound belt.
Silva, who made a name for himself in PRIDE by winning a middleweight title there, has had a torrid time in the UFC. Since making his debut for the promotion in 2007, he’s gone 4-4 and was on the precipice of retirement until his Fight of the Night knockout of Brian Stann in March.
Since then, it’s Stann who’s chosen to retire, while Silva is back in the title hunt.
According to Helwani (h/t MMA Fighting), Silva is looking for a bout which will give him the fastest lane to the title.
The 37-year-old Brazilian is a deeply devout Christian who has plenty of options should he retire. He owns an MMA gym, is heavily involved with a church in Las Vegas, and could even open a franchise of a Christian book store, should he choose.
With that being said, he clearly feels he has more to give the sport.
Now that the title picture has opened up with Chris Weidman ending Anderson Silva’s long reign, The Axe Murderer has an opportunity to finally win a UFC belt.
He’s not the only one eyeing the 185-pound strap with fresh eyes, though. Chael Sonnen, who was twice beaten by Anderson Silva, is also returning to middleweight after his next fight against Mauricio Rua at light heavyweight.
He’s been involved in a long verbal back-and-forth with Silva and a clash between the two seems inevitable. However, Silva told Helwani that he expects Rua to retire Sonnen and that he is not a big enough name for him to fight.
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