If you ask most longtime MMA fans (and competitors) who their favorite fighter is, if Wanderlei Silva isn’t at the top of the list, he’s at least in the top five. But what is it about “The Axe Murderer” that has garnered him a legion of fans around the world over the last 12 years?
Is it the staredowns, the loosening of his wrists before a fight? Nah, it’s all about the fights, and here are seven that made Silva the fighter he is today.
The bare knuckle IVC fights in Brazil were no joke, and when the 4-1 Silva met standout US wrestler Mike Van Arsdale in 1998, it was a pretty big deal for hardcore fight fans. The bout was competitive early on, with Van Arsdale working well from inside Silva’s guard. But after Silva worked his way back to his feet, he pounced, nailing Van Arsdale with a knee that hurt him. As the American backpedaled, Silva threw him to the canvas and ended matters with a soccer kick to the head. For all intents and purposes, this was the birth of “The Axe Murderer”.
Less than two months after beating Van Arsdale, Silva made his UFC debut and was blitzed in 44 seconds by “The Phenom”, Vitor Belfort. The loss propelled him to a six fight winning streak in such diverse organizations as the UFC, IVC, and PRIDE. In April of 2000, he was brought back to the UFC to fight Tito Ortiz for the 205-pound championship, and though the fight was far from memorable, it was the bout that forced Silva to re-evaluate his career and where he was heading with it. As he said in 2007, “My last fight in UFC in Japan with Tito, it was a very small show,” remembered Silva. “And after the fight with him I didn’t have an event. I didn’t go back to PRIDE, I didn’t fight anymore in UFC, and in my mind, I thought, ‘I’m finished.’ I changed from PRIDE to UFC, but I lost.”
After the loss to Ortiz, Silva realized that he would never become a world champion as a part-time fighter. And after a 39 second win over Todd Medina in August of 2000, he returned to PRIDE full-time and began a reign of terror that saw him go on a 17 fight unbeaten streak.
“In PRIDE, I went step by step,” he said in 2007. “In UFC, they gave me the big names to fight and there was a lot of pressure. And before, I was also working another job and training. I didn’t have the money only to train. Now I was a professional fighter.”
Silva made an immediate impression in his return with exciting wins over Guy Mezger and Dan Henderson. But it was his 98 second demolition of Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba that made the biggest impression. Sakuraba, with wins over four Gracies (Royce, Renzo, Royler, and Ryan) was at the top of his game, and he even sent Silva to a knee briefly with a right to the head. But Silva was just too big and strong for Sakuraba, and he ended the bout with a vicious display of kicks and knees. Silva would go on to dominate PRIDE.
Many chalked up Silva’s first win over Jackson in 2003 to a favorable tournament draw that saw Silva waltz to an easy win over virtual MMA rookie Hidehiko Yoshida before fighting Jackson that same night, while ‘Rampage’ had to get by UFC standout Chuck Liddell before getting Silva in the final. There would be no such excuses the second time around, and Jackson fought well in the first round of the bout. In the second though, it was all Silva, and after a punch rocked the American, a series of knees finished him off in emphatic fashion. Three years after the rematch, I asked Silva if there was still bad blood.
“No change, I don’t like him,” said Silva of Jackson. “I’m a professional, but for me, fighting with him is not business, it’s pleasure.”
The fight wasn’t one for the time capsule, but as far as being the perfect display of what kind of warrior Silva is, you don’t need to look any further than this bout against 280-pound Mark Hunt. Silva took the bout with no reservations, despite the fact that he was being outweighed by over 70 pounds and was facing a fighter with a granite chin and fists to match. And in the end, it almost went Silva’s way, as he only lost his four year winning streak via split decision. Some fighters talk about fighting anyone, anywhere, at anytime. Silva does it.
“The guy who is serious and who fights with his heart is a warrior,” he said. “There are guys who fight only for the money or for the win or to take pictures, and I’m not like that. I like to fight, it’s my job, and I fight with my heart every time.”
It took years and numerous starts and stops for Silva to finally meet up with future UFC hall of famer Chuck Liddell, but when they did on the final show of 2007, they lived up to all expectations, battling it out tooth and nail for three rounds, with Liddell emerging victorious via unanimous decision. Regardless of the result, this was one of those fights where you just got a smile on your face every time both Silva and Liddell planted their feet and started exchanging blows. It made you proud to be a mixed martial arts fan.
For some fighters, like Silva, wins and losses really don’t matter. You would pay to watch guys like him hit the pads and not regret it. But when it comes down to business, three losses in a row, even if they’re to Liddell, Dan Henderson, and Cro Cop, makes a fighter hard to market. So the pressure was on Silva this past May when he took on Keith Jardine, a fighter who already had wins over Liddell and Forrest Griffin under his belt. But on this spring night in Vegas, the old “Axe Murderer” returned with a 36 second blitz that electrified the crowd at the MGM Grand and rejuvenated his career. Dare I say it was like 2003-2004 all over again?
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