Wanderlei Silva Looking At 185 Move
Wanderlei Silva
Perennial competitor in the Light Heavyweight division, Wanderlei Silva, spoke with MMAWeekly recently and confirmed that he will be looking towards a move to Middleweight.
“Yeah, I could try because every guy in my division have to cut to 205 and my normal is 208. I’m going to test now… I’m going to cut my weight. Maybe I go to fight in my next fight at 185,” says Silva. Always toeing the company line, he’s not ready to make a permanent move, adding, “I could fight in both divisions; I could fight 185 and 205.”
It’s not something that he jumped into overnight. Silva has been talking about 185 for a long time, but it looks like the UFC is ready for the move, too. “I’ve been lots and lots of thinking about this now, I see what (UFC president) Dana (White) wants. What he wants (me) to fight, no problem. I talk with (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva and… say no problem, I’m down for 185? He say, no problem.”
Although there are a lot of potentially exciting match-ups for “The Axe Murderer” in the smaller weight class, there have yet to be any rumors about a potential debut opponent. Silva says he is looking to be ready for a June or July fight, which could put him on track for an appearance at the much anticipated UFC 100. If he does get slated for the UFC 100 card, it may be hard to find out about the details until the event gets much closer, as UFC management seems to be playing this one close to the vest.
Tags: Wanderlei Silva
Loading ...
damnnn. i think wanderlei is gonna tear up the middleweight division. although i dont think he will get a quick title shot if he does drop to 185. if Maia beats sonnen, then he will probly get a title shot. and if wanderlei was to fight a contender, idk who it would be, but probably not maia seeing how wanderlei has been in maias corner before. i say have him fight the loser of maia vs sonnen. or the winner of macdonald vs quarry
i think chael sonnen is gonna lose so basically im saying have wandy fight sonnen…
good move for wand. im interested to see how he handles the cut. it must be more difficult for the older guys.
Dude i think this would be great for silva. He could re-invent himself and make the md more exciting. I just hope he’s reviewing his tapes and learning from his mistakes so he can be an exciting fighter again.
I think this move will either backfire or be short-lived. The middle-weight division’s main talent are guys who are extremely well-versed on the ground. Hendo, Maia, Marquardt, Leites. These guys would have a field day with Wanderlei on the mat. Wanderlei finds most of his success when he can lure his opponents into a backroom brawl style of fight. Those opponents are still in the light-heavy division. The only person I see who he could coerce into a standup battle in the MW division beside Anderon Silva, who would absolutlely destroy him due to his reach, would possibly be Michael Bisping. With that being said, if Wandy’s drop to 185 meant only that he would pummel Bisping and that’s it, I would be all for it. But for me, I think the 185 division is far to technical on the ground for Wanderlie to be able to compete o a consistant basis. I like Wanderlei but I just don’t see this as a reasonable solution.
You do know that wandy is a bjj black belt right??
Lets be honest. There is pure jiu jitsu and there is MMA jiu jitsu. Wanderlei may be a black belt (even a Gracie black belt) in pure BJJ, but he has not incorporated that type of martial art into his MMA arsenal. Not one single bit. He is muay thai first option, and muay thai second option. Guys like Maia, Leites, and even Jason McDonald have made the dificult transition from pure BJJ to MMA BJJ while Wanderlei quite frankly has not. The old adage, everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face applies to Wanderlei. He may have BJJ on his resume but once he starts grappling with these other experts who rely on it consistantly as their primary weapon, his experience gets thrown out the window. That’s why I think he will struggle in the MW division. Don’t get me wrong, if he can keep things standing, he will be a force in that division, but like I said earlier, the type of fighter’s that are most likely to follow that sort of script are still up at 205.
so obviously you never saw Wandi and Henderson fight both times (granted the second one was arguably one of the best highlight reel KO’s by Henderson ever) or his 3 mutilations of ground ace Sakuraba(the gracie killer) or Arona(2nd fight). Wandi can make guys fight his fight by pressing the action and with him actually fighting guys who aren’t cutting from 245 the chances of losing by KO drop. Not to mention he does have a black belt in BJJ from Carlos Gracie Jr. who is the main teacher of the Gracie’s now…
If Dana and Joe Silva give him guys like Nate Quarry and Chris Leben, he is going to plow right through them. He may even murder a few along the way. But as you approach the elite level of that division, it becomes much more echnical and much more cerebral, and I don’t think he will be able to deal with that. The drop makes sense in terms of the damage he has already sustained and his natural walking around weight, but his style of fighting meshes much better with the other 205ers.
If Wandi would do what Rampage has done and clean up his striking he’d be unstoppable at Middleweight just w/ his sheer brute force. Wandi is a lot more cerebral than people give him credit for. Most people have only seen the FSN replays of his Pride Fights(which cut large portions out of the fights), his current UFC fights, or his ultimate KO’s so you really do not get to see him execute game plans to the full extent of when you see his long battles with Hendo, Cro Cop, Arona. Maia, Leites, MacDonald, and Marquardt have won the majority of their fights by submission which is awesome BUT Wanderlei has never, I repeat NEVER, been submitted in 43 fights and that’s fighting very good grapplers. So that means that guys like Maia, Leites, MacDonald, and Marquardt would have to get into some exchanges on their feet with Wandi. Hendo is different than every other fighter you mentioned before because he has the power striking to take on guys like Wandi but the others have not yet shown that sort of consistent striking ability, even though Marquardt has shown promise.
i think Wanderlei going to 185 is the best thing he can do at this point. I think he’ll do well at 185, but the only concern that i have for him would be his wild punches and his chin. Other than that he is still young enough to make an impact at 185 and i know he still has a lot of great ko’s left. I hope he makes it to a title shot
I really don’t question his chin, look at who he’s been KO’d by and the power they bring: Cro-Cop head kick, Henderson’s spinning backfist then nasty left hook, and Rampage’s devastating counter left. All of those punches were right on the button, anyone is going down from those. But, when you do get KO’d multiple times you go out easier so you may be right. But I think he realises that and won’t leave himself open for those lefts again. And if he doesn’t then he’s probably done.
yeah also of the guys he lost by KO, to other than Hendo, MCC is a Heavyweight and Rampage cuts from 240. Middleweight makes sense.
I would like to see Wanderlei use that Bjj Black belt a little more. And honestly, if he just cleans up his boxing he’s still terrifying. Think of the nasty combinations he could put together with a straight jab and some hooks when set up properly. He just needs to fight a little less wrecklessly and he’s good to go. He can stomp any average fighter with that old swing for the fences stile, but there’s more rules in the UFC than PRIDE and he just needs to play the game a little better to beat the best of the best, which I’m pretty sure he’s capable of. I’m excited to see him @ 185 smashing fools!
his use of his black belt in BJJ has been more for defense if you watch some of full fghts in Pride, he knows submissions but is better at locking up other fighters and bringing it back to his feet where he’s dominant.
Wanderlei has been ko’d by strong strikers, that’s what i meant about him having a questionable chin. If he just practices keeoing his guard up after he swings then i beleive he can be dangerous because all the times he was ko’d, most of them were counterz so imagin him throwing those bombs with some defense behind them. He would be hard to catch. At 185 i feel he can defeat most guys, but there are some guys who would pose significant threats to him
wasn’t arguing they weren’t strong strikers just pointing out the size differential haha
Jerod knows his shat dude,
The mw division’s top guys have amazing jitz and are way more technical then the 205ers that wandy’s used to so he’d likely have trouble should he climb to the top. But, look @ a dude like thiago alves. He’s got no ground game(or atleast we havent seen it), and he’s next in line to get his @$$ kicked for the TITLE. I think given his recent losses, and how competetive the 205 div is, he should give 185 a shot.
I would love to watch him destroy Bisping,Leben,or Grove.
You know what would be sick though
Wanderlei vs Goran Rejlic
Wanderlei dropping down to the 185 class is scary, seriously… The man is a beast at any weight but to cut like that then bulk back up is going to be great. Also a potential rematch with Hendo, wow.. He is use to fighting @ 193~199 and ya he walks around at 204ish so imo it wouldnt be that difficult of a cut for him and I believe that its a great choice even if he does go between weight classes.
He wont be facing Anderson Silva anytime soon (or ever due to their friendship plus the both have stated they have no desire to fight one another), and fighting Maia is like 90% out of the question because Wand helps with Maia’s training and he corners him… But if Anderson does retire at the end of the year and there is a scramble for the belt you better believe that Wand will be in the mix..
Wanderlei is a BJJ blackbelt and fights primarley off of his back and he does have awesome ground control, that being said his sole objective is to work himself up to standing position again, he will occasionally go for a sub but it is rare, so dont doubt his skills as a BJJ fighter, he just has a different objective then say Maia or Anderson but he is dangerous in the guard and off his back
I cant wait for his debut at MW
he should fight marquart or quarry. maybe hendo. going to be awesome for wandy
yes he’s amazing at any weight class, but he needs to fight smarter than he has been. he used to have the best chin and recovery time, but like nog that wanes….
his skills and speed and guts are still legendary, but he can no longer go on trying to defy the percentages. he should think about why gsp and machida are doing so well and that their strategies
he shouldnt think 185ers can KO him. at least i can think of 5 or 6 who could
ok well i gotta know, but please take Anderson Silva (cuz the wont fight each other) and Hendo outta the equation (Hendo has already done it), im not picking on you just simply wondering who u think could, ya know creating conversation and such
lets be honest anyone can knock out anyone on any given day. In MDW Leben could land that hard shot at anytime but he’s just as, if not more exposed than Wandi in exchanges, maybe Marquardt (but in an exchange I’d always take Wandi), and Rich Franklin but his weakness is the Thai clinch and that’s Wandi’s powerhouse. Other than them Middleweight is more of a grappler and grinder divison out side of its champ and a few select others.
Oh and this is separate to this convo but I love how Okami never gets any love in these conversations about Middleweight.
That is a good point, its not like Okami is a bad fighter, hell he is rather talented and I would like to see him and Anderson get a chance to actually fight.. Perhaps after Leites UFC will allow it to happen you never know..
Anyone can ko anyone (Serra effect) except for Matt Hughes he wont ever ko anyone eva, but other than that it is true that anyone can get dropped anytime…
I just cant wait for Wanderlei to fight @ 185, I just dont know who I would like for him to fight first
Well Okami has kinda been in UFC purgatory since he hurt his hand before he was supposed to fight Anderson but why it hasn’t happened since? No idea. Hopefully it will happen soon.
Hughes won’t KO anyone unless he’s been choked unconscious in a triangle…yes I took it there…
Okami breaking his hand was his downfall forsure, unfortunate yet true…
hahahaha bout Hughes v Newton
well if Cote is back by June or July then put him up against Cote a good match up of strikers lol or brawler which ever they like to be called…. or Leben or Bisping…or a real test in Marquardt or Henderson.
good luck wanderlei
that would be a good fight with cote when he gets back. i thought cote was awesome for making it to the 3rd roung with silva! when i was watching that he must have an amazing chin
theres no question about how great of a fighter and champion wanderlei is but since coming to ufc he hasnt been able to perform like he used to back in pride…in my opinion some of the reasons are: 1. hes really a small 205er comparing to giants like tito or forrest who cut down from 230 to 205 and he does have that size dissadvantage fighting most of the light heavyweigh fighters in ufc….and we havent seen wand use any of his clinch game and vicious knees like he used to back in pride and is not using his bbj at all… hes a complete fighter and still got a few yrs to compete at a high level so wand dropping down to 185 is a much better weight class for him where he doesnt have to be outsized by others but again u cant be naive and think hes gonna rule the MD division…we have so many talented fighter in MD that would be a real threat to wand…such a anderson, hendo,belfort,rich(in case he goes back to MD) and a few more but at least he will be fighting at a weight class where he really belongs and hopefully well see him rise again to his prime.