Tag: Wanderlei Silva

Brian Stann on Facing Santiago Instead of Silva: ‘I Got a Better Fight’

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsBrian Stann said he wanted to fight Wanderlei Silva after his win over Chris Leben at UFC 125.

The UFC liked that idea and booked the fight for UFC 130 in May.

One problem: Silva didn’t want to take the fight…

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Brian Stann said he wanted to fight Wanderlei Silva after his win over Chris Leben at UFC 125.

The UFC liked that idea and booked the fight for UFC 130 in May.

One problem: Silva didn’t want to take the fight.

Whether it was because Silva had still not healed up from knee surgery or didn’t want to fight Stann because, as he tweeted, “I respect so much … army guys,” remains unclear. What we do know is Stann (10-3) is now fighting Jorge Santiago (23-8) at UFC 130, while Silva got his original wish of fighting Leben at UFC 132.

“I buy his reason because I don’t see Wanderlei ever having to lie to anybody about anything,” Stann said when asked on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour if he believed Silva didn’t want to fight simply because he didn’t want to get booed. “He’s got nothing to prove for the rest of his life, as far as I’m concerned, especially in this sport.

Vitor Belfort Warns Wanderlei Silva to “Talk Less and Fight More”

There’s no shortage of ‘this I gotta see’ fights on Wanderlei Silva’s horizon right now, which any true fan of caged violence understands is pretty sweet. Not only is Silva scheduled to fight Chris Leben on July 2nd, which of course should be fantastic, things are getting nastier between him and Vitor Belfort.
Now, if you’ve been following […]

belfort hitting franklin

There’s no shortage of ‘this I gotta see’ fights on Wanderlei Silva’s horizon right now, which any true fan of caged violence understands is pretty sweet. Not only is Silva scheduled to fight Chris Leben on July 2nd, which of course should be fantastic, things are getting nastier between him and Vitor Belfort.

Now, if you’ve been following the drama between Silva and Belfort, then you know they aren’t exactly bestest buddies, and that both have apparently agreed to a rematch. That said, Silva reportedly wanted to throw down with Leben first, a desire which, while Dana White obviously got over his initial disapproval, isn’t sitting too well with Mr. Belfort. Speaking to Tatame recently, Belfort directed this ‘advice’ in Wandy’s direction, when asked for his thoughts about Silva’s decision to fight Leben.

“Well, my friend, what can I do? The thong is a men’s whip and he needs to learn to talk less and fight more. But, what I can do, right? That’s life, bro, I don’t care about it, I’m focused for my next challenge. I don’t care about names, I don’t pick my opponents, and I always focus 100% in my next fight, independently of who I’ll fight with.”

Okay…not sure where the thong thing is coming from in this particular instance, but Vitor must think Silva is ducking him. In a way, Silva is, but just for the time being, as clearly he must view Leben as somewhat of a needed tune-up fight. Regardless, things are looking up for “Axe Murderer” fans, although, is anyone else wondering if Leben could play the spoiler here?

Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva Set; Carlos Condit Waiting to Hear on BJ Penn

Any regular reader of MMA Fix knows that we’ve been on board the Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben train for some time, so now that the UFC has officially confirmed the bout for July 2nd, we’re pretty stoked. Yes, yes, a rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wandy would be amazing, but it seems pretty clear […]

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Any regular reader of MMA Fix knows that we’ve been on board the Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben train for some time, so now that the UFC has officially confirmed the bout for July 2nd, we’re pretty stoked. Yes, yes, a rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wandy would be amazing, but it seems pretty clear that because Silva’s coming off a lengthy layoff due to knee surgery, he’d like to fight once before facing his Brazilian foe. Not sure if fighting a guy like Leben constitutes as a warm-up though, considering his left hand could double as a sledgehammer when he’s doing odd and ends around the yard.

Last week we credited Carlos Condit for stepping up to the plate and offering to fight BJ Penn, in response to the news that Jon Fitch is injured and will no longer face Penn as scheduled. It was a ballsy move by Condit, and although most fans should be down with that fight, questions remain as to whether BJ is interested. Condit’s manager Malki Kawa informed MMA Weekly that they’ve formally approached the UFC about the fight, however, they’re still waiting to hear back.

“I’m not really sure what’s holding it up right now. Hopefully Condit’s the guy they call to do it,” Kawa stated. “I don’t know if there’s a better fight than Condit for him, but we’re excited about the opportunity and hopefully, if Joe Silva, B.J. Penn, and the UFC feel like it’s something they want to do, Carlos is itching. He texts me every day ‘any word on B.J.?’ I’m hoping that’s what happens for him.”

Maybe the delay on this means it’s a no go….

Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben Agree to Meet at UFC 132 in July

Filed under: UFC, NewsWanderlei Silva’s campaign for a fight with Chris Leben has hit paydirt.

The UFC middleweight star has apparently convinced the UFC to let him fight Leben, rather than the original possibilities presented by company president Dan…

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Wanderlei Silva‘s campaign for a fight with Chris Leben has hit paydirt.

The UFC middleweight star has apparently convinced the UFC to let him fight Leben, rather than the original possibilities presented by company president Dana White.

The UFC confirmed late Monday night that both Silva and Leben have verbally agreed to the matchup, which will take place on the UFC 132 main card.

Wanderlei Silva Likes Knees on the Ground, Dana White Doesn’t

Filed under: UFC, HDNetOne of the longstanding goals of the UFC is to implement the unified rules of mixed martial arts, as sanctioned by the athletic commissions in North America, everywhere that MMA takes place. That’s why the UFC uses the unified ru…

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One of the longstanding goals of the UFC is to implement the unified rules of mixed martial arts, as sanctioned by the athletic commissions in North America, everywhere that MMA takes place. That’s why the UFC uses the unified rules even in places where there is no sanctioning body, it’s why the UFC imposed the unified rules on Strikeforce and it’s why the UFC didn’t adopt any of the old Pride rules when it purchased Pride.

Implementing one set of rules everywhere is a worthy goal and a positive step toward mainstream acceptance of MMA around the world. But while the UFC is set in its ways of using the unified rules, some folks in MMA think the unified rules should look a little more like the rules used in Pride.

That includes Wanderlei Silva, who fought most of his career using Pride or Brazilian vale tudo rules but has spent the last three years in the UFC. Michael Schiavello asks the “Axe Murderer” on the upcoming HDNet show The Voice vs. Wanderlei Silva which rules from Pride he’d like to see in the UFC, and Silva said he’d love to be able to use knees to the head on the ground inside the Octagon.

Dana White Talks UFC 128, Desire to Book Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort

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NEW YORK — MMA Fighting spoke to Dana White at Wednesday’s UFC 128 pre-fight press conference at Radio City Music Hall about Jon Jones being a betting favorite heading into his fight against Shogun Rua, what’s at stake for Mirko Cro Cop on Saturday night versus Brendan Schaub, how his life has changed since the Strikeforce acquisition and his desire to see Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort II in the future.

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NEW YORK — MMA Fighting spoke to Dana White at Wednesday’s UFC 128 pre-fight press conference at Radio City Music Hall about Jon Jones being a betting favorite heading into his fight against Shogun Rua, what’s at stake for Mirko Cro Cop on Saturday night versus Brendan Schaub, how his life has changed since the Strikeforce acquisition and his desire to see Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort II in the future.