Wanderlei Silva is the Hardest Working Man in the UFC

Wanderlei Silva hasn’t fought for almost a year when he won a Unanimous Decision over Michael Bisping last February at UFC 110, but that hasn’t kept the outspoken Brazilian from consistently making MMA headlines. Silva had been expected to fight Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama last June at UFC 116 but was forced to pull out […]

Wanderlei Brown is Living in America

Wanderlei Brown is Living in America

Wanderlei Silva hasn’t fought for almost a year when he won a Unanimous Decision over Michael Bisping last February at UFC 110, but that hasn’t kept the outspoken Brazilian from consistently making MMA headlines. Silva had been expected to fight Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama last June at UFC 116 but was forced to pull out after sustaining 3 broken ribs during training. Chris Leben was a late replacement for Silva and won the fight with an impressive Triangle Choke in the 3rd round. Shortly after, Leben called out Wanderlei Silva as the next fight he wanted. At the time Silva thought a match-up with Leben would be a great fight for him and told MMAFighting “He won’t pass the first two rounds with me”. However, the anticipated fight between Leben and Silva was never meant to be as Dana White decided to give Leben to Brian Stann per Stann’s request.

Meanwhile, a smack-talk happy Chael Sonnen would go on to get his title-shot against UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, which he ultimately lost. Shortly after that fight, Wanderlei Silva expressed his disdain for Sonnen’s smack-talk and scolded him in the back of a van, as seen: here. During that conversation, Sonnen said his next fight would be a rematch with Anderson Silva, but as we all know Sonnen shamed his way out of lost that immediate title-shot after he tested positive for PEDs following the UFC 117 fight. Sonnen then turned his attention to Wanderlei as he began to stew over that van scolding and entered into a Twitter war of words with Wandy that many thought was leading to a meeting in the Octagon. But then, Sonnen went and got himself all mixed up in some money laundering scheme, thus sidelining his UFC career for awhile.

Oh no!  Now who would Wandy fight?  Enter Brian Stann, the former Marine and virtual newcomer who abolished Chris Leben with knees and strikes in the first round.  Stann, who has proved to be a refreshingly humble fighter is now one of the top Middleweights to watch out for and when asked who he’d like to face next, he quietly and respectfully asked for Wanderlei Silva. Dana White seemed all for this bout, but Silva wasn’t quite up for marketing or accepting this one.  According to MMA Junkie, White said:

“We were actually trying to hook [Silva] up with Brian Stann. He doesn’t want to fight Brian Stann. He’s like, ‘[Expletive] that. Everybody is going to hate me if I fight Brian Stann. Everybody loves Brian Stann.’ But that’s the fight we’re trying to make right now.”

And “make” they did as the two Middleweights were signed on to meet at UFC 130 this May. But… then a highly regarded fellow Brazilian nemesis, Vitor Belfort lost a title-shot with Anderson Silva at UFC 126 due to a high kick so majestic, Steven Seagal lays claim to its very invention. And Wanderlei Silva came forth with the request that he and Belfort settle a long overdue score. Silva challenged Belfort via Brazilian outlet, Tatame:

“And now, where are you running to? I’d give him the number one (on the line to fight me) easily, I’m challenging him … I want him”.

And now friends… he’s got him! Wanderlei Silva is out of UFC 130 and Wandy vs. Vitor Belfort II is set for UFC [yet to be numbered] Rio. Let’s hope after all his hard hyping work, this fight actually happens and Wanderlei doesn’t end up on the losing end of this rematch as he did their first time in the cage, as seen below:


*Editor’s note: Don’t knock that sweet little Wanderlei/James Brown photoshop pic we did; though we actually could have used this old pic of Wandy in his younger days:wandy

Dana White Says Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann Will Happen

Filed under: UFC, NewsLAS VEGAS — The on-again, off-again middleweight fight between heavy hitters Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann is on again, UFC president Dana White said on Saturday night.

The possibility of the fight was first reported by MMA Fi…

Filed under: ,

Brian StannLAS VEGAS — The on-again, off-again middleweight fight between heavy hitters Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann is on again, UFC president Dana White said on Saturday night.

The possibility of the fight was first reported by MMA Fighting on Jan. 14, but it was put into doubt over the weekend after MMA Fighting learned the fight hadn’t been signed. The delay apparently is coming from Silva’s hesitance to face Stann, who he considers an American hero.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann Not Signed for UFC 130

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsLAS VEGAS — Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann is not official for UFC 130 after all.

In fact, it appears as though the fight won’t be happening any time soon.

Earlier this week, UFC.com’s Ultimate Insider repo…

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LAS VEGAS — Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann is not official for UFC 130 after all.

In fact, it appears as though the fight won’t be happening any time soon.

Earlier this week, UFC.com‘s Ultimate Insider reported that the middleweight clash was signed for Memorial Day weekend. However, a UFC source with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting on Friday that the fight was never signed and that Silva has informed the organization that he won’t be healthy enough to compete on the card.

Brian Stann vs. Wanderlei Silva Official for UFC 130 May 28 in Las Vegas

UFC Ultimate Insider 125 – Watch more Funny Videos
Well, it’s official. Brian Stann will look to pull the rug out from under Wanderlei Silva’s UFC career by attempting to hand the former dangerous PRIDE champ his fourth UFC loss and preventing him fro…

UFC Ultimate Insider 125 – Watch more Funny Videos


Well, it’s official. Brian Stann will look to pull the rug out from under Wanderlei Silva’s UFC career by attempting to hand the former dangerous PRIDE champ his fourth UFC loss and preventing him from picking up his third win in the past five years when he steps into the Octagon with "The Axe Murderer" May 28 at UFC 130 in Las Vegas. The news was confirmed at the tail end of the latest episode of the UFC’s Ultimate Insider show released this morning.

It’s interesting to note that the majority of UFC middleweights on the cusp of becoming contenders  —  from Michael Bisping to Alan Belcher — ask specifically to face Wand despite the fact that he hasn’t been a contender for quite some time. It’s like he’s the guy guarding the gate to the title shot queue and they have to go through him to get there. 

Both fighters are likeable and it’s unlikely that there will be much (if any) pre-fight smack talk. This one is about the fight, and it’s pretty much a given that’s what we’re going to get on May 28. The tough part will be trying to decide who to root against.


According to Teammate, Alan Belcher Given Medical Clearance to Fight; Expects to Return to the Octagon by Summer

Alan Belcher has been hinting for a while with tweets like the one above that he will soon be returning to the UFC.
"The Talent" has been sidelined since sustaining a career-threatening partially detached retina last summer while training for…

Alan Belcher has been hinting for a while with tweets like the one above that he will soon be returning to the UFC.

"The Talent" has been sidelined since sustaining a career-threatening partially detached retina last summer while training for his UFN 22 bout with Demian Maia, but according to one of his Remix MMA students he has been given the OK by his eye specialist to compete once again and is eyeing (no pun intended) a May or June return to the Octagon.

Here’s what amateur fighter Rodney Derouen said about the situation on MixedMartialArts.com’s Underground forum today:

A Maia redo or a scrap with Bisping both sound good to me. Discuss.

Warning: Don’t Try to Act Tough While Sparring With Wanderlei Silva

(props: burchfootball3)
CagePotato reader Stephen B. writes:
"Not sure who I should send this to, but I thought you would like to see a video from an MMA seminar I went to this past weekend in Charleston, WV. Wandy was in attendanc…

(props: burchfootball3)

CagePotato reader Stephen B. writes:

"Not sure who I should send this to, but I thought you would like to see a video from an MMA seminar I went to this past weekend in Charleston, WV. Wandy was in attendance and after demonstrating various techniques, he began sparring with individuals. This was all going pretty well, being that most people understood that he was an animal and respected that at any moment he could destroy their ability to operate their limbs. That is, until a young upstart at the age of 16 chose to show off in front of everyone. It turned out less than favorable for him…Enjoy."

That 16-year-old kid is lucky to be alive after disrespecting Master Silva with his insolent turning side kick. The ensuing bear-slap is pretty epic, and you gotta love how the entire class groans when the kid starts into his Royce Gracie-style heel-chops at the 0:37 mark. I think everyone there learned a valuable lesson at that seminar — when Wanderlei Silva asks you to spar with him, don’t. A reverse angle of the video is after the jump.

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