A rematch between Brazilian middleweights Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort is being planned for UFC 132 on July 2 in Las Vegas, but Silva has yet to agree to the matchup and “The Axe Murderer” is campaigning for a fight with Chris Leben instead.
“We offered him the Vitor fight, and now he’s on Twitter lobbying to fight Chris Leben,” UFC President Dana White said after Saturday’s UFC 128 event. “I don’t want him to fight Chris Leben, I want him to fight Vitor Belfort.
“Vitor Belfort has accepted the fight, wants the fight, and now we’re waiting for Wanderlei to accept the fight.”
Belfort knocked Silva out in just 44-seconds in their first meeting at the UFC’s Brazilian debut in 1998 and Silva recently called out Belfort for a rematch, but has apparently shifted his focus to Leben after also turning down a fight with Brian Stann for May’s UFC 130.
Silva (33-10-1) has been sidelined by knee surgery since topping Michael Bisping in his middleweight debut last February, while Belfort (19-9) was knocked out by middleweight champ Anderson Silva in February following five-straight wins.
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What’s with this guy? I wonder why Joe didn’t plan this fight for UFC Rio?
i agree maybe they will smarten up and bump this fight to that card
It doesn’t sound to me like he’s inclined to even take the fight. can’t bump a fight to another card if it isn’t happening.
fight with either leben or vitor sounds good to me…cant blame him for not wantin to get involved with stann….american hero whos young and up and coming who would prob beast wandy in round 1…at this point in his career he should be allowed to choose who he wants to fight for all hes done in the sport over the last decade
Two things – 1) Wanderlei is older than what he says
2) Wanderlei has become a “popular act” rather than a dangerous contender
wandi has allways been abt putting on a show first. that might explain his want to fight lebin. he isnt looking for a solid technical fight throwing jabs, he wants a brawl to put on a show.
watching wandi thru the years i can understand his want for that fight.
that being said, he should fight who dana asks him to.
Not that I’m not glad to see my former [and hopefully soon to be again] hometown, but shouldn’t this fight be dropping in Rio?
And maybe I missed it, but is there some blad blood between Wand and Leben?
I would think at this point in both mens careers that Wand would welcome the chance to erase his ’98 UFC humiliation.
Guess we’ll see what we see here…
i guess he was mad that leben called him out after beating akiyama that is all i can figure
I think Wand looks at Leben as a more entertaining fight for the fans. Wand is all about giving the fans a good show. The chances of Leben and Wand banging it out for 15 minutes are a lot more likely than Belfort and Wand. Belfort has a much greater chance at disposing of Wand in a timely fashion.
Love Wand but he’s gotta stop this picking who he will fight. I was okay with the Stann decision, but now you all but have to fight whoever they give you! And heck, it ain’t so bad… beat Vitor and you become a contender.
Wanderlei is one of my favorite fighters… its kind of sad but i guess i have to admit he is ducking… maybe its time to retire…
I hope this fight happens as im in vegas for this event and I wasnt going to attend if the sole big fight was penn vs fitch
this is good but its time wanderlei stops trying to pick and choose his fights
Its a shame.. He is an entertaining slugger but lacks in alot of major parts of the game.. If it comes down to him ducking fights to maintain a payday then…. sorry dude you gotsta go.. No MMa fighter should turn down a fight.. And the fact is that if he would BEAT Belfort, that would SKYROCKET his appeal and career.. But its a risk he doesnt want to take.. He is just getting comfortable now..
What would be funny is if he sidesteps belfort and is given Leben,, and then LOSES.. his career would probably tank after that, Another possible addition to SF)
It would still be bad, but the fact that he called Belfort out makes it ridiculous. He calls Belfort out, Belfort accepts, then the UFC makes it happen and Wandy all of a sudden changes his mind. I’m a fan of mma, so obviously i love watching this guy fight, and he has earned some credit as to who he fights, but this is ridiculous.
Why not use social media to tweet your way out of a fight that YOU picked.
Wanderlei needs to man up and take the vitor fight. He can’t argue that he wants a bigger name/higher profile fight. Maybe if Leben accepts he’ll change his mind and want to fight Jorge Rivera
And after Rivera takes it he may wimp out again and fight my little sister..
wow, w. sylva has just lost all my respect, r u a fighter or u just here so people can see you? Who else in their career has turned down two fights in a row, especially when he called out the v. belfort in the first place, what a joke
Yeah dude.
First wanderlei is set to fight Stann . Then he refuses to fight Stann and wants Vitor. Vitor “accepts” but then calls for a fight with bisping. Now wanderlei gets Vitor but decides instead he wants leben? Make up your mind dude!
Leben wanted to fight wanderlei and coach tuf with him after he beat Sexyama for those who don’t know.
As mentioned above why is this fight planned for July in Vegas. Surely a fight between Belfort and Silva would be a perfect addition to the Rio card expected in August. Both are names and despite neither being in their prime this should be a cracking match up.
Totally understand why Silva wouldn’t want to fight Stann but surely Dana White isn’t going to let him pick and choose his opponents. If Silva insists on hand picking opponents then Dana and Co should show Silva the door. Not like he has anywhere to go after with the Zuffa purchase of Strikeforce!
okay i know this dude he fought in the number one fight of the 100 greatest UFC fights dvd…. whod he fight against.???
Wanderlai vs. Chuck Lidell was #2, with Stephan Bonnar vs. Forrest Griffin I being #1, if that even answers your question.
Are you trying for sarcasm or are you really unfamiliar with wanderlei?
priority fight IMO for me as a fan is Wand v. Belfort II…that rematch is a long time coming…the 1st fight was a quick assassination…id love for Wand to surprise us all and return the favor to Vitor…a win like that would def. boost him up in the MW rankings…and it makes perfect sense to do it at UFC Brazil…Wand v. Leben is another fun fight…more of a slugfest…and IMO an easier fight for Wand to win…def. KOTN potential…this fight could always be arranged after a Belfort v. Wand fight especially if Wand loses…good potential bounce back fight…
Its a win win either way, KO’s all the way around. Although Leben could present problems on the ground for Silva.
butters stop saying silly things like he should quit wand is the best brawler out there
he wants a tune up fight before the belfort re match,he hasn’t fought in over a year and vitor has been in top form (apart from anderson),this re match is huge for him given how he was disposed of so easily the last time,cut him some slack he was one of the people that put mma on the map and can choose who ever he wants at this stage of his career.