Wanderlei Silva Talks Vitor Belfort, Retirement And More

[No More Sorrow]

With the exception of injuries or an act of God, Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort will fight after Belfort meets Anthony Johnson on Saturday at UFC 142.

How much does Silva want to fight Belfort?

"A lot," he told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) during open workouts for the pay-per-view event, which takes place at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. "This is one fight I really, really want to do before I retire. I'm so happy for a fight with this guy in Brazil."

Silva (34-11-1 MMA, 4-6 UFC), who coaches opposite Belfort (20-9 MMA, 9-5 UFC) in the first Brazil-based edition of "The Ultimate Fighter," said the two will fight in Sao Paulo, where the two met some 14 years ago at "UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil" (UFC 17.5) and tryouts for the reality show recently took place.

Rumor has it a soccer stadium might host the coaches' fight, which is a long way from the venue that hosted their first meeting. Silva said all the fight teams were crammed into the same dressing room at "UFC Brazil," so he warmed up in the restrooms as people relieved themselves nearby.

Quite a long way, indeed.

There are now queues of fans lined up to get the autographs of fighters in Brazil. The sport wasn't outlaw back then – fighting was everywhere – but it wasn't celebrated in the way it is now.

With his coaching gig on "TUF," which airs in Brazil on Globo and in the U.S. on FUEL TV, Silva hopes to usher in a new generation of competitors who may not know the road he and Belfort paved. But it's no less important to him to keep the sport thriving, which by all indications, it already is.

"This is the reason I'm a big Dana White fan," he said of the UFC president. "Because he made the sport different. The guy is the Steve Jobs of MMA."

Of course, Silva would like to see Belfort win against Johnson, but he doesn't sound so sure that will happen.

"I'm going to cheer for him," Silva said. "I want to see [Belfort] get a good victory, but it's a tough fight. I think it's one of his toughest opponents in the last few years. This guy is a young guy; he's an explosive guy, a good wrestler. I don't know why he fought at [170 pounds]. He's so big. I saw him at the hotel, and his back was like a horse.

"It's a tough fight, but I think [Belfort] will use his experience and his right hand, and I hope he wins the fight."

But regardless of whether Belfort comes out on top or not, Silva wants his rematch. He got stopped in 44 seconds when they first met, and it's a loss that's nagged him for years.

A second chance is all he wants.

MMAJunkie.com

 

[Slim]

I have been ready for this fight for a long time. War Wandy!!!!

 

[Troy]

Wanderlei has no chance in this fight. I am sorry but Belfort should easily be able to finish him within two rounds. Wanderlei isn't the fighter he used to be and he is very, very close to retirement.

 

[No More Sorrow]

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this was his last fight.

 

[Slim]

Not many people expected Wandy to be able to withstand Cung le but he took him out. If Wandy can get in close and put those knees to him... it'll be all over. I don't think this will go like their first fight. Should be closer than people think.

 

[Troy]

In that Cung Le fight Le dominated the entire fight and it was a lucky finish. I still think that it was an early stoppage since the guys in the mainevent were both in the same situation as Le yet the ref never stopped it and nor should he have.

 

[Slim]

Le was able to get more kicks out but none of them were able to connect. Wandy was able to connect with a lot more stuff than Le could. Le just threw a lot of spin kicks and the such. Once it got close... Wandy showed him it would be a mistake to stand in front of him. I wouldn't consider it a lucky finish. Wandy fought smart and it showed.