Last Saturday in Japan, former Pride champion and mixed martial arts superstar Wanderlei Silva returned to the place where he first made his name and dominated the sport for years at 205 pounds, and he thrilled the local fans with a turn-the-clock-back knockout of Brian Stann in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 8.
With the launch of our new-look sportsnet.ca earlier this week, our MMA Managing Editor James (Big Game) Brydon checks in for a new point-counterpoint, where he debates with guest blogger E. Spencer Kyte over what the future should hold for Silva after his headlining win.
Cast your votes as to whose arguments you like better…
SHOULD SILVA RETIRE AFTER HIS WIN IN JAPAN?
Kyte: Yes, it was a perfect ending
Heading into his bout with Brian Stann, I thought Saturday was a great walk-away opportunity for “The Axe Murderer.” He was back in Japan for the first time in years, competing in the venue where his greatest triumphs took place, and would have left to an ovation regardless of the outcome. Then he dropped Stann in dramatic and entertaining fashion, making it an even more perfect chance to go out on a high to a hero’s send off.
Instead, it looks like he’s going to stick around. I don’t know how it’s going to end for Wanderlei, but I don’t know if there will be a greater moment to exit stage left than he had last weekend in Japan. Walking away is the hardest thing for an athlete to do, and there is no question he was pumped up after finishing Stann, but he’ll turn 37 this summer, has been in countless battles, and has nothing left to prove.
I was in attendance in Vancouver when Rich Franklin knocked out Chuck Liddell at UFC 115. I had talked to Chuck a couple times during the week, and a month earlier for a feature, and he was certain he could keep going. He was in tremendous shape, and looked great right up until he got dropped. As soon as Franklin connected, you knew that was the end of the line for “The Iceman.”
I don’t want Silva to suffer the same fate. I don’t want any fighter to suffer the same fate, to be perfectly honest, or any other athlete for that matter. Calling it quits is incredibly difficult, but you only get so many chances to do it on your own terms before the sport forces you out. Personally, I want to see more guys walk away on their own terms, not because they’ve taken one beating too many and the choice is being made for them.
Brydon: No, he can still entertain
Would Wanderlei Silva riding off into the sunset from the Land of Rising Sun have been a great poetic end for his career? Sure. But there’s an inherent assumption there — the word “end.” Clearly that’s not where Silva sees his career. And to be honest, who are we to say when his career should end?
It seems he still believes he can fight, and more significantly, he still wants to, and if the passion is there to continue to do what he has done for 16-plus years — perhaps the thing he knows how to do best — that far outweighs possibly missing out on the storybook ending.
No, he may never get back that moment. His career may fizzle out and/or he may take unneeded punishment. Heck, he may end up ending his career on a three-fight losing streak with three devastating KOs. But it’s a risk he’s willing to make. He obviously feels that sacrifice is better than forgoing what could just as easily end up being a three-fight winning streak with three spectacular KOs — not to mention sacrificing the money he’s bound to get. Unforgettable memories like Saturday’s may be priceless, but they don’t pay the bills. And it’s not like the memory is erased just because it isn’t the one he’s ending his career on.
It always makes me chuckle a little when we as media suggest when we believe it’s time for a fighter to retire. As much as Wanderlei walking away right now may make sense to us, it’s not our place to say he should. But more importantly, why do we even want to? If he can continue to put on performances like he did against Brian Stann — earning Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night — why wouldn’t we want to see him in the cage again? Tell me, Spencer, were you not entertained? To paraphrase Maximus from the movie Gladiator, is that not what you came to see? Let’s see some more.
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SHOULD SILVA BE CONSIDERED FOR A LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE SHOT?
Kyte: No chance in h—
The fact that we’re even discussing this at this point shows you how preposterous things have gotten when it comes to title fights in the UFC over the last 12 months. There is absolutely no case that can be made for Silva being the next to step into the cage and challenge for the light-heavyweight title, outside of the fact that he’s a big-name attraction, and yet with the way things are going of late, that seems to be reason enough to think about it.
There is absolutely no way that Silva should fight for a UFC title. Even if a Silva vs. Jones fight is far more interesting than Jones-Machida 2 at this point, there is no reason for the UFC to push Silva in this situation. If avoiding an unnecessary and somewhat unwanted rematch is the reasoning, bump the winner of the upcoming Alexander Gustafsson vs. Gegard Mousasi fight into that challenger position instead. Just don’t promote Wanderlei simply for the sake of giving the big-name talent a high-profile fight.
As I talked about Tuesday, the UFC needs to get back to being a meritocracy, and putting together title fights based on results, not name recognition. Silva hasn’t done anywhere near enough to hurdle the likes of Machida or Gustafsson (or Mousasi or several other light-heavyweights to be honest.)
Can I see it happening? The fact that Chael Sonnen is preparing to challenge Jon Jones leads me to believe anything is possible at this point. Should it happen? Not unless several other fighters get lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
Brydon: It’s about who’s hot right now
This being point-counterpoint, the expectation would naturally be for me to say I think Silva deserves the next title shot. While I’m not quite going to say that, I will say that I expect him to be “in the mix,” ala UFC president Dana White.
Look, has Silva done enough to make him the No. 1 contender in the UFC light-heavyweight division? Absolutely not. He’s on a one-fight win streak. On top of that he has only two wins in his last four. But a quick look at the record of the current No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen shows the exact same mark in his last four. And there are very few people who will argue that Sonnen rightfully earned the title shot strictly by his most-recent exploits in the cage.
It wasn’t even strictly Sonnen’s trash-talking that got him the fight. It was his marketability. And I would argue that Bones vs. The Axe Murderer — UFC champ vs. former Pride champ — is perhaps the most marketable fight the UFC could do next in the 205-pound division. As we know, that’s what it’s been all about when making UFC title fights lately. Recent ratings showed that the Silva vs. Stann nearly doubled the all-time most-watched show in the history of FUEL TV. If ever there was a time to cash in on Wanderlei’s appeal, it’s now.
While many would expect Jones to smoke the 36-year-old Silva, wouldn’t it be interesting to see if Silva could test Jones’ chin? We were all geeked up about seeing whether a 42-year-old Henderson could do it. Hendo’s marketability may be gone now but Silva’s isn’t.
I know White has said that Lyoto Machida is in line for the next shot, but I personally didn’t see anything in his fight against Henderson to make me think he would fare any differently in a rematch with Jones, so I wouldn’t have him get the next title shot (unless Sonnen by chance were to beat Jones). I would much rather see Jon Jones vs. Wanderlei Silva (unless of course they want to do the super-fight with the other Silva).
Things would be different if other clear-cut contenders emerge at 205 pounds. If Gustafsson demolishes Mousasi, then I would definitely give it to the Swede. But if he loses or their April fight is lacklustre (like Machida vs. Henderson was), I would say those guys can wait for a turn in the future, and so can we.
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