Wanderlei Silva

Though there’s no doubt of Sonnen’s skill, much of his ability to do work inside the Octagon has been overshadowed by his talking skills outside of it. Of course, not everyone is impressed by Sonnen’s verbal skills including “The Axe Murderer”.

“I have nothing to say to him. I won’t give him that kinda audience,” said Silva, in a recent interview with TATAME. “I don’t care about what he says, I’m not interested. If he wants to say those things looking me in the eye, come here. But that way, saying things when we’re distant, he’s an ass face. Only pussies say things at your back.”

Silva also had a stern warning for Sonnen, saying that insulting him to his face instead of through media could be hazardous to his health.

“He’ll leave with a red burning ear,” stated Silva of the potential situation.

Sonnen was recently in Brazil for a special press conference to announce the fight with “The Spider” was going to be moved from Rio de Janeiro to Las Vegas. He made several snide remarks about Brazil, as well as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, during the festivities and has made fun of Silva plenty of times in the past as well.

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UFC

Franklin has been out of action since early in 2011 when he was defeated by Forrest Griffin in a battle of ex-champions. “Ace” was expected to meet Antonio Rogerio Nogueira later in the year but shoulder surgery knocked him from the bout and has kept him out since. The fight will mark Franklin’s return to middleweight after a stint at 205 pounds.

Le, a former Strikeforce champion, made his UFC debut last November at UFC 139. However, while the fight featured many of the scintillating strikes the San Shou master is known for, ultimately things did not go as planned as Wanderlei Silva broke his nose and ended things via TKO in the second round of the scrap.

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In the clip, Silva is shown addressing a room full of fighters who have designs on one day achieving his level of success as well as spending some time talking to fans at a media appearance.

“The big game is just starting,” the former PRIDE champion explains Silva to the group including a few familiar faces such as Ronaldo Souza and Rafael Cavalcante. “We just had the first broadcast on FOX. We just had the first broadcast on Globo. Of course it’s been good years until now but I think that what’s coming is much bigger. Everyone can get the opportunity. The sky is made with a lot of stars. You just have to make yours shine.”

“The thing is to stay focused. To study the art. To come in to the gym and train. Eat well, sleep well. Keep your health up. We depend on our bodies. Because on fight your buddies won’t fight the fight for you. It will be you up there. And if you lose those guys will find someone else to suck up to.”

No date is set for the debut of TUF Brasil though Silva-Belfort are expected to face off in June alongside the season’s finalists.

Check out the full Countdown to TUF Brasil preview below:

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Now, thanks to Brazil’s inclusion in the Ultimate Fighter family, Silva will have a chance to meet Belfort again, as the two will square off later in 2012 after coaching on the realty show.

“The Axe Murderer” earned a victory over Cung Le in his last fight, while Belfort will meet Anthony Johnson this Saturday night at UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes.

“A lot,” said Silva, when asked in a recent interview with MMAJunkie about how much facing Belfort meant to him. “This is one fight I really, really want to do before I retire. I’m so happy for a fight with this guy in Brazil.”

Silva sports a career record of 34-11-1, but is just 4-6 during his stint in the UFC. “The Phenom” is 20-9 overall and 9-5 inside the Octagon. The two met back 14 years ago at UFC 17.5: Ultimate Brazil.

TUF Brasil will begin taping in February and will be shown on FUEL TV. Belfort and Silva will fight on a pay-per-view, likely set for this summer in Sao Paolo.

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However, according to the UFC, it appears their fight in addition to the two TUF finals will take place on PPV as part of a massive June card possibly headed to Sao Paolo. The show would also host Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II assuming things fall into line and Sonnen defeats Mark Munoz later this month at UFC on FOX 2.

Word of the company’s plan surfaced earlier today at a pre-fight press conference pertaining to UFC 142 where MMAJunkie confirmed the full scoop.

“It’s going to be a world event that will rival F1 (racing) in this country,” explained UFC director of international development Marshall Zelaznik of the proposed show.

TUF Brasil is set to air in a few months with Fuel TV carrying a subtitled version for American audiences. It is the UFC’s first international version of the hit reality show.

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Serving as coaches on the show will be Brazilian and MMA legends Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort, both of whom look to mentor the next crop of UFC talent before squaring off in June in a long awaited rematch. The first time the two met back in 1998, Belfort blitzed Silva with a flurry of punches and finished him in just 44 seconds.

UFC cameras were with “The Axe Murderer” when the announcement of the show was made to capture his reaction, with Silva confessing his goal was not only to highlight the hungry talent in Brazil but also to inspire those in difficult situations, revealing, “We’ll also be showing out of the 300 fighters in the UFC…I don’t know how many came from a rich family. It’s not my case and it’s not the case of any of my friends, who like me came from humble beginnings. We prove that through hard work and dedication you can achieve things you would never imagine.”

Check out the video below:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Silva is coming off a convincing victory over Cung Le in his last Octagon debut, while Belfort will face Anthony Johnson in the co-main event of UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes from Brazil.

Reports of friction between “The Axe Murderer” and “The Phenom” appear to be over, according to a recent interview conducted by Sherdog’s website with Silva.

“No, times are different. I met him and apologized. Once in Las Vegas, I was disrespectful,” Silva said. “I went back to old times and talked some nonsense. Then I apologized and admitted I had done wrong. You have to be man enough to take responsibility. It’s alright now, and we’ll solve it the way we have to: by trading punches. I have the best job in the world. I can go in there, settle my differences the best way possible and still make some money.”

TUF: Brasil will run much like previous seasons of the reality show with competitors squaring off against one another to crown a champion. It is still being worked out for the season to be shown in the U.S., possibly on FUEL TV.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Also revealed was the UFC’s plan to have Belfort and Silva, who met at UFC 17.5 several years ago, square off this summer at the conclusion of the reality show. Belfort earned a 44-second knockout victory of Silva in their first meeting and the two have been looking to get back inside the Octagon against each other ever since.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I knew one day we would face each other again, and the time is here,” said Silva of his upcoming scrap. “This is one of the biggest rematches of all MMA and I’m very happy to give this to all of my fans.”

TUF: Brasil will follow the same path as the American seasons of The Ultimate Fighter with fighters living/training together. The UFC is also looking at making the show available in the U.S., possibly on FUEL TV, while it will air on broadcasting giant Globo TV in Brazil. The season is set to premiere on March 25.

Before facing “The Axe Murderer”, Belfort (20-9) will first meet Anthony Johnson in January at UFC 142 before taking on his coaching duties. Comparably, Silva (34-11-1) last competed in November, defeating Cung Le, and has nothing else scheduled before TUF starts up.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Now a video has surfaced featuring two two competitors in fine form despite a significant difference in size, as Wanderlei Silva, while preparing for his fight with Cung Le at UFC 139, hooked up with Fabricio Werdum for a sparring session.

Though Werdum was the much larger opponent, “The Axe Murderer” seemed to be in rare form, displaying quick strikes and the aggressive style leading to so many memorable victories in the ring.

Silva went on to defeat Le via second round TKO, improving his career record to 34-11-1 and also taking home “Fight of the Night” honors.

Check out the two Brazilian bombers with Chute Boxe ties going at it below…

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/STRIKEFORCE

UFC cameras caught up with an emotional Silva shortly after his victory at UFC 139 where “The Axe Murderer” discussed his performance, reflected on how much the win meant to him, and expressed heartfelt appreciation for the love his fans had shown him throughout his career.

“I want to thank the support that all you guys gave me. I have no words to thank you. All you guys stood by me in defeat and now stand by me in victory. I have only to thank you all. I’m very happy to be able to bring happiness to my fans. And the message is no matter how much people say you can’t do it and that you are old and done you have to keep believing,” said Silva while wiping a tear away from his eye. “The message is believe in your dreams, work hard, and pray. And the result will come.”

Check out the full video below:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

While his UFC career hasn’t gone quite as planned, fans still want to see Silva in actio, and will this weekend when he meets Cung Le in the co-main event of UFC 139 from San Jose, California.

Silva, who went undefeated for several years while competing over in Japan, is just 2-4 since joining the UFC in 2007. Overall, Silva has lost six of his last eight fights, including four by knockout, but he would like to make appearances in both Japan and Brazil before his career ends.

“I made my (career) in Japan and I had the best times of my life there. I’ve had a lot of fun and I need to give one more fight there,” said Silva, in a recent interview with UFC’s website. “Brazil is my hometown so I want one more there, too.”

As for Le and his immediate future, Silva put in plenty of time in the training room and video room to figure out a plan for Le’s kicks.

“Before I knew nothing about him, but after the fight was made, I studied his game and he’s a really good fighter,” Silva said. “I haven’t seen anyone fight like him. I need to adapt my style for him. But I’m ready for the fight.”

Interested parties can catch Silva vs. Le on PPV when things start up at 9:00 PM EST. UFC 139 is headlined by Dan Henderson fighting Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in a title-eliminator with the winner likely in line for a crack at the light heavyweight championship.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

“The Axe Murderer” has lost three of his last four fights inside the Octagon, including two by way of knockout. Sitting at 33-11-1 in his career, and having not won since 2008, Silva has put in plenty of effort to prepare himself for a war with Le.

Silva recently allowed UFC cameras to follow him during a training session for Le, a fighter making his debut in the UFC after a storied run as a San Shou kickboxer and success in Strikeforce. In the clip Silva reflects on his early days, recounting experiences in Chute Boxe alongside former trainer Rafael Cordeiro as they work together at Kings MMA.

Silva-Le will serve as the co-main event to the PPV card, while Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan Henderson meet in the main event from San Jose, California with other match-ups including Urijah Faber vs. Brian Bowles and Rick Story vs. Martin Kampmann.

Here is the entire video below:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Wanderlei Silva

For “The Axe Murderer,” however, his upcoming bout at UFC 139 with Cung Le presents a great opportunity to right himself and get back on the winning track. Silva vs. Le will serve as the co-main event for the night, a show set to unfold live from San Jose, California on November 19.

“Le can be a predictable guy (so) we know what to do to match his game,” Silva’s manager, Rafael Cordeiro, said in a video interview recently. “This is a great match for Wanderlei. This fight won’t pass blank. Cung Le is going to sleep in this one. In the best way, with brutality.”

Many have felt that Silva should retire, as he is just 4-6 in his last ten bouts, with four of those defeats coming via knockout. But, Silva has decided to fight on as he enters his 16th year of professional MMA.

“This training has a great flow, thank God,” said Cordeiro who runs King’s MMA and is well-known for his work with the famed Chute Boxe group. “Flowing good, with everything based on the fight.”

The 33-11-1 Silva held a championship in PRIDE for nearly six years, also winning a Grand Prix while under the Japanese promotion’s banner. 23 of his wins have come by way of a strike-based stoppage including past success against Keith Jardine and “Rampage” Jackson (X2).

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Unfortunately, according to Belfort as well as his bosses at Zuffa, “The Phenom” has been forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury that will keep him sidelined until December. However, rather than sacrifice the any potential entertainment value by filling Belfort’s absence with a grappler, the UFC brass has come through with an equally exciting replacement in the form of Brazilian bomber Wanderlei Silva.

Though he is considered to be one of the nicest individuals in MMA outside of the ring, “The Axe Murderer” has a legendary reputation for both ferocity and dishing out damage to his opponents inside of it. His career features past knockouts of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (twice) and Keith Jardine, as well as wins over Michael Bisping, Ricardo Arona, and Dan Henderson.

Le should have his hands full given Silva’s style though is no slouch when it comes to striking thanks to his career as a world-class San Shou kickboxer. The former Strikeforce 185-pound champion is 7-1 as a Mixed Martial Artist with seven wins via TKO including victories against Tony Fryklund, Scott Smith, and Frank Shamrock.

UFC 139 takes place in Le’s hometown of San Jose and features additional fights including Martin Kampmann vs. Rick Story, Brian Bowles vs. Urijah Faber, and recently announced all-star affair between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Henderson.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Leben, who lobbied for a chance at Silva last year, will be looking to bounce back from a TKO loss to Brian Stann at UFC 125 after racking up a three straight wins prior to the defeat. “The Crippler” has finished nineteen of the twenty-five opponents he’s beaten. Among the names in his win column are Jorge Santiago, Mike Swick, and Yoshishiro Akiyama.

Comparably, the match-up will mark the first for “The Axe Murderer” in nearly eighteen months after sitting on the sidelines since a February 2010 outpointing of Michael Bisping as the result of knee surgery. Twenty-three of Silva’s thirty-three total wins have come via TKO including a pair of victories over former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson while in PRIDE.

The July 2 card is set to be headlined by a bantamweight title bout between champion Dominick Cruz and fan-favorite Urijah Faber and will also feature UFC icon Tito Ortiz taking on TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the middleweights’ pairing initially came in an official UFC statement while MMAFighting was the first to report the match-up had been scrapped. Stann had requested to fight Silva after beating Chris Leben at UFC 125.

However, while Silva and Stann may not be fighting at the event, UFC 130 still appears to be an exceptionally strong card even though it is still months away. In addition to the conclusion of lightweight champ Frank Edgar’s trilogy with Gray Maynard, the May 28 show will also feature former 205-pound title-holder Quinton “Rampage” Jackson taking on resurgent Brazilian Thiago Silva and Frank Mir mixing it up with rival Roy Nelson.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

It now appears Stann’s dream may come true, as Dana White recently spoke to MMAFighting and explained the UFC is looking at putting the two middleweights together at some point in the next few months.

Silva has been out of action due to a knee injury since outpointing Michael Bisping a little less than a year ago at UFC 110. Ring-rust aside, the Brazilian still represents a serious threat for Stann. Though he is known for his friendly demeanor outside of the ring, “The Axe Murderer” is fearless on his feet and has a highlight reel featuring some of the sport’s most brutal knockouts. Twenty-five of his thirty-three wins have come by way of strikes including a pair of victories over former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

If the bout takes place as expected it will represent the highest profile match-up of Stann’s career. His first-round flattening of Leben earlier this month was the decorated Marine’s second consecutive win since dropping to 185-pounds and improved his overall record to 10-3.

Gray Maynard Talks Frank Edgar and More (FIGHT! Magazine)

Jason Miller Talks About Diaz Pulling a “Nick-Tuck” in Relation to Their Fight (MMAFighting.com)

WEC 53′s Ratings Not in Company’s “Top 5″ All-Time (HeavyMMA.com)

Wanderlei Silva Discusses a Training Session He Once Had with Chael Sonnen (WatchKalibRun.com)

Dana White Shows Soft-Side by Helping Family in Need (MMAScraps.com)

Controversial Decision Loss for Hermes Franca Ruled “No Contest” (MiddleEasy.com)

Todd Duffee May or May Not Be Alistair Overeem’s Opponent on New Year’s Eve (MMAConvert.com)

Ariel Helwani Picks his Award-Winners of 2010 (Versus.com)

A Side-by-Side Comparison of Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard (CagePotato.com)

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GSP Takes Time to Teach Self-Defense…to Mascots (MMAScraps.com)

“Behind the Lens” Featuring Josh Koscheck (FIGHT! Magazine)

Highlights from the UFC 124 Open Workout (HeavyMMA.com)

A Look at the Growing Rivalry Between Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen (WatchKalibRun.com)

Stefan Struve Preparing to Back Up the Trash-Talk with Sean McCorkle (MMAConvert.com)

Roger Huerta Rescues Another Young Lady in Distress (MiddleEasy.com)

Five Lessons from Last Weekend’s Events (Versus.com)

Georges St. Pierre Still Slightly Bothered by Koscheck (MMAFighting.com)

Nick Diaz’s Camp Interested in Paul Daley Fight (CagePotato.com)

A previous UFC light heavyweight title-holder, as well as winner of UFC 12’s heavyweight tournament, “The Phenom” had the MMA world at his fingertips in the not-too-distant past but also dealt with the kidnapping/murder of his sister and a positive drug test for PED usage.

Belfort, who seems to have truly evolved into a man defined by life experience, spoke to Tatame about how he is approaching the upcoming bout with Silva, if he’s concerned about not having fought since September 2009, and a number of other topics.

“I’ve been training with Ray Sefo…Rodrigo Artilheriro, a world champion of Muay Thai,” Belfort responded when asked about his preparation for the February 2011 fight. “I’ve been training (at XTreme Couture) and at Tapout’s gym. Everything’s going just fine. Vegas don’t have beaches so I only train here.”

In fact, the Brazilian added he enjoyed living in America so much he plans to stay here for the remainder of his career, saying “I decided to move here because I want to end my career on the United States, where I started it.”

As far as if he feels year-plus of inactivity will affect his showing against Silva, Belfort maintained a positive outlook, stating, “Every rule has its exceptions. I’ve had the opportunity, so I don’t care about the “ifs”. I don’t have this word in my vocabulary.”

Winning a second strap in the UFC, however, has crossed his thoughts on more than one occasion but isn’t his primary source of inspiration in terms of wanting to compete.

“(The belt is) just one of the factors that motivate me,” he explained. “What motivates me the most is being able to perform the work I’ve been doing (well). My expectations are these – they are all about what I can do on that fight. Anderson is very versatile so you can’t have one settled game plan. The important thing is to be prepared for anything because he’s a great fighter.”

“You can get there thinking things will go one way, but it can suddenly change. I know he’s the best in the world, but I can get intimidated by it,” he continued.

The 19-8 Brazilian, who has won his last five bouts, also made sure to address hard-hitting PRIDE icon Wanderlei Silva’s recent statements regarding how great a threat the UFC’s 185-pound champion poses to him as an opponent.

“I don’t think anything. He’s a spectator and he can think whatever he wants to,” he said of “The Axe Murderer”. “If you have a mouth you can say whatever you want, and Wanderlei has a big mouth. But it’s about cheering – everyone can cheer for their favorite – and the important is to be respectful and know how to choose the right words. In February I’ll have my chance for the belt and let’s see how it’ll be.”