Issue 058

January 2010

Las Vegas is considered the home of MMA in the USA. Fighters from around the world flock there in the hope of building a career and a better life. Wanderlei Silva, already a superstar across the world, had a different goal in mind: he would build a gym like no other. Join us as we journey inside the Wand Fight Team gym.  

Las Vegas is a city of fighters,” says Wanderlei Silva, sitting in his office at the Wand Fight Team Gym. “It’s the best place in the world. They have a lot of events, the UFC is here – I just have to go down the next exit to talk to Dana!” he laughs.  

Las Vegas is and always has been a fight town. Since the halcyon days of boxing, Sin City has been a hub for anyone in the hurt business. When Wanderlei Silva joined the UFC in 2008, he left his home of Curitiba in Brazil and brought his family to Las Vegas. Initially, he trained at a few different gyms including UFC legend Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture.  

Silva originally opened the gym for personal reasons – it is easier to control your training when you have your own facility, staff and team. People have flocked to the gym since it opened in March 2009, and Silva has seen it grow beyond all expectations.  

“We have a real mix of cultures here, Hawaiian guys, Canadian guys, Brazilian guys, Japanese guys, we have rich and poor, a real mix,” says Silva. “It’s good to have contact with a lot of different people. Here you’re working with your body and your mind. We have a lot of success with the people who want to lose weight; they lose a lot of weight. Guys come into the gym for different reasons. We have guys who are 13, they are shy, afraid. Guys who want to know the techniques, the guys who want to be a fighter.”  

Though the name above the door is the Wand Fight Team Gym, this is a gym for everyone. Wanderlei’s open door policy and love of teaching means that the gym is as much for members of the public as it is fighters. When Wanderlei first opened the gym he was there on the mat teaching white belts the basic techniques of jiu-jitsu. In a relatively short space of time the team has grown and their success is more than Silva could ever have hoped for. “I opened this gym in March, it is a very new gym. The last NAGA [grappling tournament] we put 20 guys in and had 18 medals. In the 40 teams, we were number five. It was incredible, it was our first tournament.”  

The hobbyists and part-timers aren’t the only ones proudly representing the Wand Fight Team. A growing team of professionals call the place home, and Wanderlei is keen to pass on the fruits of his experience. “I started to make a team and now I have close to 10 guys here, we prepare these guys and put them in for fights around the world,” he says. “I’ve trained martial arts my whole life, fighting in the best events in the world, and I know what the guys need to train in and what condition the guys need to be in to be champions. There are a lot of guys here with potential, and I want to help them to have the same opportunities that I had.”  

Two fighters who have joined Wanderlei’s team are Sydney Silva and Vitor Vianna. Silva (155lb, 8-2-0) spent ten years living and fighting in Hawaii before coming to Wanderlei’s gym in Vegas, and says he couldn’t hope for anything better. “To train with Wanderlei is a pleasure, honor and dream for any fighter in the world,” he says shortly after completing a training session. “Using the facility he has over here with everything, the Octagon, ring, bags, weights… It is truly complete, everything in one place.” “I’ve never seen a gym like this,” says Vianna (185lb, 8-1-1). “We don’t have a gym like this in Brazil.”  

“I like the energy here, everyone is really friendly,” says Sydney. “We hang out outside the gym too, which makes it easier when you’re training together. We do stuff together, go out together, have barbeques. There is no ego in the gym, everybody is just happy to help each other here.”  

“You come to the gym, some people come for MMA, some people come to lose weight, some people come to lift weights,” says Vianna. “But everyone likes the vibe here in the gym, everybody helps each other like a big family.”  

The friendly atmosphere is something that comes direct from Wanderlei. Anyone who has met him will attest that he is humble, friendly and always smiling. A family man, Wanderlei loves children and installed a giant climbing frame for kids in his gym. His son, Thor, is a regular feature at the gym, as are the children of students and friends. This may seem at odds with the ethos behind a fight team, but Wanderlei has struck the right balance in creating a place where it is easy to feel comfortable, yet also work hard.  

Sydney says that Wanderlei’s experience and background training at Chute Boxe, once considered one of the greatest teams in the world, has given him a good grounding in how to run a team. “Whatever philosophy you learn from your instructors, you’re going to pass on to your students. He was lucky to have good instructors in the past at Chute Boxe. We’re lucky to get that from him. He definitely tried to make a family environment here because that’s how he’s been taught in the past.”  

Not all good fighters make good teachers, but both Vianna and Sydney consider Wanderlei a tremendous leader. “He doesn’t just tell you what to do, he tells you what to do and does it himself,” says Sydney. “He leads by example. He is a really good person, the best thing is his desire to win and he never quits, never gives up. He’s a warrior, born like that. His desire is the best thing he passed to us.”  

Silva’s plan is to build a team of strong fighters in every discipline – striking, grappling and MMA. Fighters such as Vianna and Sydney train alongside local guys like Kit Cope (“I like his style, unbelievable Muay Thai,” says Wanderlei) and Mike Whitehead (“A great fighter, very strong, a lot of technique”).  

Other fighters who have trained at Wanderlei’s gym include the jiu-jitsu fighters Demian Maia and Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza. With four black belts on the mat at all times (Wanderlei, Sydney, Vianna and Michael Costa) the Wand Fight Team Gym can boast some of the best jiu-jitsu in Las Vegas. Always looking to develop himself as a fighter and bring something new to his students, Wanderlei and Vianna even traveled to San Diego to train with the famed brothers Saulo and Xande Ribeiro, two of the grappling world’s best competitors.  

Whereas some professional fighters might open a gym so they can simply carry on their name after fighting or make money, Wanderlei’s goals are very different. He is financially secure thanks to the proceeds of his lengthy fighting career and various business interests, so the emphasis is on passing something on to those who step through the front door.  

“The best part is I look at the young guys who start training, they’re shy, fat... Five or six months later, they’ve lost weight, the guys have technique,” says Wanderlei. “Sometimes their parents keep their kids at home in front of a computer. School is like a jungle. When I was in school in Brazil everybody beat me, after I started training I had my posture, my position changed. What is happening with these guys now happened for me.  

“I had one case here, two guys, one 13 one 15, they were so shy, very shy, they never went in the sun. I like to know about these guys, so I can find out what these guys want, what they want from life. The one kid, his momma said three guys in school had punched him and he went to hospital, and now he is studying at home, he doesn’t have friends... So they put them into training. I talked with my coaches, and now three months later the guys are training, their posture has changed. This is great!” Of course, there is one particular advantage to having your own gym. “I have the key! I can train what time I want. Sometimes, on a Sunday, I stay at home and then five o’clock I think ‘I want to punch some bags’, so I come in.”  

“For sure, I want to have champions, this is a professional gym,” says Wanderlei. “But I am here to help everybody – this is a victory for me.”