Issue 050
June 2009
Wanderlei Silva is a man with two very different sides to his personality. Inside the Octagon, he is aggressive, fearless, intimidating, fierce, relentless and inspiring. Away from the pressures of a fight, he is easy going, jovial, humble, friendly, gracious and likeable.
So how does a man who places his beloved family before anything in the world, a deeply religious man who cherishes his close friends and lives a very private life, earn a nickname like ‘The Axe Murderer’? Go and watch some of his fights and you will find out.
The Brazilian brawler is one of the most famous fighters in the world and has legions of fans across the globe. From Sao Paulo to San Diego and Nagasaki to New York, Silva earned the adulation of hundreds of thousands of people thanks to his all-out frenetic fighting style.
Silva's fearsome blend of Muay Thai and vale tudo earned him the nickname ‘Cachorro Louco’ (meaning ‘mad dog’) in Brazil, and later, when he came to the attention of English-speaking fans, ‘The Axe Murderer’. There was no marketing involved when choosing Silva's nickname, no cleverly planned strategy on how best to sell his abilities. His name is a reflection of his style, his ‘take no prisoners’ attitude and ruthless finishing ability.
So it is somewhat unexpected to find that Silva, a psychopathic-looking fighter who you’d expect to dine on the bones of his victims, is actually a laid-back guy who smiles often and greets everyone with a rib-crushing bear hug.
A veteran of 43 MMA fights over a 13-year career, Silva rejoined the ranks of the UFC light-heavyweight division at the tail end of 2007, making his return to the promotion in a long-awaited fight against Chuck Liddell. Silva had fought for the UFC three times in his first stint with the company, last facing Tito Ortiz back in 2000.
The six-and-a-half years between jaunts in the Octagon was spent fighting exclusively for the Japanese promotion Pride. Once the giant of the MMA world, Pride effectively collapsed from within and was bought out by the UFC in 2007. In their heyday they were arguably the global leader in MMA, home to some of the world's top fighters and regularly staging events that attracted tens of thousands of fans.
Wanderlei was one of Pride's marquee fighters. A fantastically popular figure and guaranteed draw, Silva ruled the Pride ring with his trademark blend of fists, knees, stomps and soccer kicks. During his reign of terror, he enjoyed a four-and-a-half year period without a single loss, going unbeaten in 18 contests. He was victorious over the likes of Quinton Jackson (twice), Kazushi Sakuraba (twice), Dan Henderson, former King of Pancrase Yuki Kondo, judo gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida and Lion's Den fighter Guy Mezger.
This is the fighting side of Wanderlei Silva. The other, little-known side of the tattooed, shaven-headed bruiser is a shock to some, so used are they to seeing him in full-on furious action.
Wanderlei Silva is a family man, through and through. Brought up by two loving but poor and hard-working parents, Silva didn’t spend much time with his family when growing up. With the lifestyle afforded to him by his fighting career, he enjoys a comfortable existence in Las Vegas, having moved there from his native Brazil in 2008. He can often be found in his gym, Wand Fight Team Academy, playing with his five-year-old son, Thor.
The gym has always been a fixture of Silva’s life. He literally grew up in the famed Chute Boxe academy and represented them until his relocation to the States. The family atmosphere and hard training he knew so well at Chute Boxe is something Silva hopes to replicate at his academy, and with fighters such as Demian Maia now calling his gym their home, he is slowly building a fight team of world-class proportions.
We met with Wanderlei as he prepared for his June bout with former middleweight champion Rich Franklin (now fighting at 205lb), set to take place in the UFC's first foray into Germany. With Wanderlei 1-4-0 in his last five fights and coming off a loss to his nemesis ‘Rampage’ Jackson, a hard decision was made. Silva will now drop to the 185lb division, but first he has Franklin at a catchweight of 195lb. As Dana White explained in a recent interview, “Rich didn't want to cut weight. He didn't want to go back to 185, and Wanderlei hasn't been to 185 yet”.
Dropping to 185 was a tough decision for Silva. 205lb had been his home for many years but he was regularly facing fighters much bigger than him in the Octagon, so a change was in order. “It is tough for me to make 205, I have to eat lots of food to get my weight up,” he told us. “Now, my normal weight is 205, my opponent is 240lb. I am going to test the drop before, but I only need to lose 20lb, it is not a lot, and I think I am going to feel very well.” He hasn’t ruled out leaving the light-heavyweight division behind though, adding “I want to fight in both divisions”.
Franklin poses an interesting challenge to Silva. He is, in many ways, Silva’s opposite. Though the Brazilian is a skillful fighter in every range, he relies on his aggression and pressure throughout a fight to put his opponent on the back foot. Silva has plenty of respect for the man who once held the 185lb title. “It is incredible because he is the last champion before Anderson [Silva]. He is a great fighter, a complete fighter, and it is a good first fight for me in this division.” Silva’s not yet seen Franklin’s fight with Henderson, but will study it closely as part of his preparations. “I watched two or three of his fights. He is complete: good standing, good ground, good takedowns. I think this is a very, very good opponent for me. I am going to start working on my plan for this fight now.”
Wanderlei’s training takes places at his academy in Las Vegas, a cavernous warehouse kitted out with all the latest gear. He’s extremely proud of this, a gym he helped build with his bare hands. “I have completed my training center, I have my space now, it is possible for me to train whatever time I want. I am bringing my coach, my sparring partners from Brazil, plus another two or three people I will select. I want complete fighters to train with for this fight.”
Complete fighters aren’t exactly scarce in Las Vegas, and Wanderlei supplements his training at his gym with regular visits to Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture, home to dozens of top professionals. But surely training with, and in close proximity to, people you could well fight in the near future is a problem? “No, I train just for my next fight. The future is the future, no? Now we are professional, I help the guys, the guys help me. It’s a new time in mixed martial arts in the world. There is no problem, nobody has any secrets anymore, everybody trains in all techniques.”
This attitude is very different in Brazil, where loyalty to one’s team is fiercely upheld, and creontes (people who train at lots of different academies) are despised. But times change, as Silva attests.
“Now you have very good fighters all over the world. I gave three seminars in England recently, and every academy has guys who come in… I train this guy, I think ‘Maybe he is a future champion’. Go to another gym, ‘Man, this guy!’ There are a lot of guys, these guys have a lot of potential.
“I met two brothers, 15 and 14 years old, they have good boxing, tall, strong, they have potential, they need direction. This is what I want to do with my gym. If you want to fight professional you need to train professional, no? You need to train with the professionals, with good tutors and good teachers. I want to use my experience to help new fighters.
“I am starting to teach a class now. Now I have a transition in my career, my life. I opened my gym and I had no teachers. I started to teach a class for the white belts. I know that you have to train the basics for your whole life. I like to give my class, my style, to the guys. I want to bring in the best teachers but I am going to teach a class too, I want to give my vision about this sport for my fighters. I know that every guy that comes to train with me is going to have a lot of opportunities to fight the best guys in the world.”
Creating a legacy is something that is important for Silva. His own reputation is secure, but his focus is gradually shifting to the next generation of fighters. Wanderlei is a product of the Chute Boxe system, and along with fellow graduates Shogun and Ninja Rua, has a very distinctive style, but don’t expect him to just start churning out mini-Wanderleis. “One secret for a good coach is to look at the guy and see where he is good. Is he good at the takedown and the ground 'n pound, but his stand-up is bad? It’s possible to teach him, but in the match he is going to fight where he is better; you need to give him more potential where he is better, and cut the faults and have a good strategy with his best techniques.”
When he fought in Japan, Silva was known as one of the fighters most adept at using the now-prohibited techniques of stomps and soccer kicks to the head of a downed opponent. Having come from the brutal world of Brazilian vale tudo, Silva developed an artistry in smashing someone’s face in. “I like these techniques, but rules are rules,” he says with a shrug.
“The UFC has done a great job because now the world has the same rules for MMA. It is an incredible job by Dana White and Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta. Lorenzo told me that he is going to France to talk to the government to talk about legalizing MMA there. This is incredible because this guy is a billionaire, the guy does not need this, but it is his passion, he loves this. One time I spoke to him and I said, ‘Man, why are you working with fights, you guys are billionaires, you don’t need this?’ And he said ‘When I was 8 years old, my dad would go with me to watch the boxing, and I loved it’.”
While Lorenzo went to the boxing with his father, Silva spent much of his time without the company of either of his parents, who both worked two jobs to support their three children (Silva has a brother and a sister). “My family had no money, a very simple family. I didn’t have a very hard life but I didn’t have a lot of toys, didn’t have parties, didn’t have much. A very simple life. And I didn’t have a lot of attention off my father or my mom, because my father is working two jobs, my mom is working two jobs. This was hard.”
Whereas most Brazilian kids pick up a ball and play soccer, fighting was something for the poor youngster to put his energy into. “I started fighting because I didn’t have anything. I didn’t play football [soccer] or anything. There were no athletes in my family, no reason to train.
“My dad didn’t talk a lot to me [about it], my mom too. For this reason, I thank my God, because God gave me direction. Before, I didn’t have money for training. I used to fight a lot, free, many times I don’t want money. For ten years I was fighting for nothing, no money. And then every time the level of my opponent got better and better and I won, won, won. This changed my life.”
In fact, Wanderlei’s life couldn’t be more different, and he can enjoy the pleasures of life his father never knew. “Now I bathe my son, and I think to myself ‘I don’t remember my father doing this with me’. But it’s because he was working a lot, it was normal. But now I have money, I help my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister. Everybody has a home, a car, a job. Everybody has a good life.”
For the man who spent his first fight purse on a present for his father and has been entering the ring as a professional for over 13 years, money is no longer the motivation to fight. Now, it’s a passion. “I fight because I love this. It is in my blood and I don’t know what would happen to me if I stop. My last fight, I have it on my mind for six months. I think about it when I wake up, I think about it when I go to sleep at night, and I get up and I just training all day every day. After fighting, you need to stop and relax, recover your mind, but I wake up in the morning and think, ‘Where am I going now?’
“I don’t have any hobbies, I don’t have a lot of friends because of my fighting. My life is very private. I live for my family and my job. Now I have my gym, it is possible for me to teach the classes, but I need to fight. I don’t fight for money, because I have money to live for all my life, but I fight because I love it, it stays in my heart.”
The life of a fighter isn’t easy, but the rewards can be great, and Wanderlei affirms this. “It’s a lifestyle, a very good lifestyle, and this is what I want to give to other guys. Some are never going to fight, but the lifestyle is good. You have yourself, you have your posture, everybody respects you, this does not have a price. This is not money, this is different.”
There is no denying Wanderlei has had a rough time of it in the last few years. Losing four of his last five fights has destroyed some of the mystique, and some serious introspection was required. Retirement crossed his mind, but at the relatively young age of 32, Silva feels he can continue. “I want to fight for another five, maybe seven years? I don’t know. I need to respect my body. My body now is good, I am feeling good and training good. In the next year I will make a decision about [when to stop fighting].”
As he ponders his future, a look to the past is prudent. Silva’s most recent fight was a knockout loss to Rampage Jackson. They fought twice before, with Silva handing out the KO’s both times. With such a bitter rivalry between them, we wondered, do they dislike each other? “No,” he answered without hesitation. “I saw him and talked to him today. I went over and I shook his hand.
“This is a mindset for the fight. It is not fake, it is not just promotion for the fight.
“With the mindset comes emotion and… emotion is emotion, no? I don’t have a problem with him, but I want to fight with him again. I want to fight him now, and maybe in the final [of my career]. This history don’t stop – we have more history.”
The three trademarks of Wanderlei Silva
The wrist roll
Prior to every fight, Wanderlei interlocks his fingers and begins to roll his wrists while staring over the top of his hands at his opponent. A Wanderlei fight just wouldn’t be a Wanderlei fight without it.
The staredown
Silva’s staredowns are legendary. He glares at his opponent from underneath his hooded eyebrows with a ferocity you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. Some are just about able to hold his gaze, while others cannot bring themselves to meet his eye.
The scream
After pounding his opponents into the canvas, Wanderlei would jump onto the ropes of the Pride ring (now he scales the Octagon fence) and let out a primal scream, his signal that another opponent had fallen at his feet.
Written by Hywel Teague, with contributions from John O’Regan
...
