VidProps: KahL1One
Once upon a time, you were terrified of Wanderlei Silva. He did scary things to people. He did it a lot. You kind of wondered if he was legitimately crazy. He intimidated opponents during his walk to the ring while the un-toughest techno you’ve ever heard played in the background — to the point that “Sandstorm” is now universally recognized as Badass. We didn’t even know that Badass had a transitive property, so we thank Wanderlei for teaching us that, as well.
The Axe Murderer returns to action this weekend, perhaps on the downside of his career. The Octagon has never been kind to Wandy — he’s got a 3-5 career record for the UFC– and he’s not getting any younger. If MMA does have a nine-year rule, then this 15+ year veteran should be ready to hang it up.
But he’s not. After sixteen months away from fighting to mend a boo boo and have an ouchie taken care of, Wanderlei Silva is ready to fight. He’s surgically repaired, rested, and, to hear him tell it, has a compulsion to get in the cage and fight somebody so powerful it borders on a physical need. ”I’ve been out. I had a hard year for me,” he told MMAFighting. “I’m a competitive guy. I like to be in the octagon and fight my whole life. I had a really tough year.” Never one to back down from a brawl, Wandy asked for, and got, a bout with Christian Cyrus Leben.
Now, you can’t throw a mini-recorder through a local MMA show in Parkville, Missouri without it recording some talk about “going to war” and “expect fireworks”, and yeah, sometimes we get a little jaded about it. Can we at least agree that it’s safe to believe it coming from these two? I, for one, am willing to believe that Silva just wants to go out there and throw hands. Unless the Athletic Commission is cool with stomps and soccer kicks; he’d totally be down for that, too.
Anyways, as your Lead Writer at the CagePotato Fanboyism Desk, i present this video of the nicest, sweetest explosively-violent man you could ever hope to meet. Enjoy.
[RX]