Wanderlei Silva is one of the most brutal fighters in MMA history. The MMA Encyclopedia author Jonathan Snowden takes a look at one of his early bouts, a fight that showed just what the "Axe Murderer" was capable of.
Jul 8, 2011 - He hadn't quite mastered his quiver-inducing stare yet, the look he would give an opponent that would make religious men pray and everyone else have to fight hard to hold back an audible gulp. Already present, however, were the trademark tattoos on his head, the first visual clue that the Brazilian fighter was, perhaps, a little unhinged. But when the bell rang starting Wanderlei Silva's bout with Artur Mariano in the finals of the second International Vale Tudo Championship, the future PRIDE star was unmistakable. As my writing partner on The MMA Encyclopedia Kendall Shields noted, there's just something about Wanderlei Silva that makes you shiver:
Wanderlei Silva is terrifying. With his tattooed head shaved bare, his dead-eyed stare, and his mouth hanging ever so slightly agape, his presence in the corner before a fight is so threatening that even the most routine movement - his trademark wrist-roll warm-up, for instance - takes on an air of menace. And that's before the bell rings, before the wild-man rush across the ring, the thunderous looping punches, the head kicks, the knees, the soccer kicks, the stomps. Before any of that has even started, Wanderlei Silva is the scariest man in a scary, scary sport.
Nothing was substantively different in 1997. With his head held slightly back, Silva comes in with both guns blazing, throwing power punches with bad intentions. It was a more brutal time, when mixed martial arts was still saddled with the name "no holds barred" - and the term was fairly accurate. The two men stood toe-to-toe in a ring, but only fans who have never seen the early fights from Brazil would mistake that for a sign that this was a contest somehow more "civilized" than those held in a steel cage.
The fights were outrageously violent, including kicks, stomps, elbows, head butts, all taking place in a ring surrounded at the bottom by a hard canvas netting designed to keep bodies from flying to the floor - whether those bodies were conscious or unconscious was immaterial. It would be nice to say that this Wanderlei Silva was just a prototype of the champion who would go on to dominate the light heavyweight division in PRIDE for years. But the truth is, Wanderlei Silva is still raw, even 14 years into a professional fighting career. If you took the Wanderlei Silva from last weekend's UFC 132 fight with Chris Leben into the IVC ring, he would likely approach the bout exactly the same way. It's what he knows, in many ways is who he is.
In the first round against Mariano, Silva lands a brutal standing head butt. Startlingly violent as it was, the headbutt wasn't the story. The cut that opened up over Wanderlei's eye was. It was obvious immediately that it was a bad one. Bad enough to bring in a doctor to look at it, not bad enough that what can only be described as gobs of Vaseline weren't enough to send Silva back out into the trenches. In itself, that's not remarkable. Late last year a Canadian doctor allowed Josh Koscheck to continue fighting against Georges St. Pierre when it looked like his eyeball was actively trying to escape its socket.
What is remarkable is what followed - after a momentary bout of sanity Silva went right back on the attack. With a headbutt. Not just one - several. It was a clear display of his mission statement in life: I don't care about the consequences - I'm coming after you with everything I have. Eventually the doctor stepped in and stopped the fight. It was the first loss of Silva's young career - but sometimes it's not the result that matters. It was a bout that showed the future Axe Murderer, and fans everywhere, just what lengths Wanderlei Silva would go to in order to win a fight. And it was one of the 52 Things I love about MMA.
8 comments
Comments
Wow,
Great read, Damn Wanderlei looked so sharp.
by Coeman on Jul 8, 2011 2:55 PM EDT reply actions
I just watched
Silva vs Sakuraba at Pride 13 the other day. That was some frightening stuff. He was a monster back in those days.
"What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease."
by dedstrk316 on Jul 8, 2011 3:53 PM EDT reply actions
He really was. What an awesome – yet horrible – human being.
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by Jonathan Snowden on Jul 8, 2011 9:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I just watched...
Silva vs. Oyama at Pride 14, and while the fight sucked, Quadros really trumpeted the monstrosity that was Silva. That fight had to be fixed right? I mean, Oyama was a little hurt but come on, the ref stopped it for no reason. He hadn’t even been knocked down.
On to another thought. As I was watching Chuck vs. Guy on that card I had a thought, prime Liddell vs. prime Bas. Who wins and why? I think Bas’ technical striking would be to much for Chuck’s chin and his looping punches. I also think Bas’ low kicks would hurt Chuck.
"What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease."
by dedstrk316 on Jul 9, 2011 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions
PS
The only reason I say that fight sucked was because of the stoppage at the end. It was very entertaining before that.
"What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease."
by dedstrk316 on Jul 9, 2011 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions
While Bas was definitely a more technical striker
Chuck had a pretty good chin back then. It’s one of the main reasons when his chin went he fell so quickly… he relied on his chin to land his finishers. No idea who would win though.
by Confucius on Jul 9, 2011 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah
Bas would have to stay on him. Even when Guy knocked him down he was getting up before he even hit the mat. I think Bas would have probably done that to him a few times. Chuck would have to tighten up his defense and possibly use the Tito method of fighting to beat Bas.
"What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease."
by dedstrk316 on Jul 10, 2011 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions
That is one bad man!
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by Alexander Daniels on Jul 9, 2011 12:20 PM EDT reply actions
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