Just how good was Wanderlei Silva?

[Ultra O’Dia]

He was awesome but he's higher on the "most entertaining fighters of all time" list than the "greatest fighters of all time" list imo

All time great though, no question

He was also very small for LHW. I think is all time maybe top 5 for LHW, maybe just outside of it, and he didn’t spend any of his good years at 185, but he could have been at 185 his whole career, quite easily.

So, he can’t be considered an all time MW, either, but, if it makes sense, he was one of the very best p4p fighters ever, for his four year peak.

As far as his distinct and rapid decline - not only did his style relying on roids more than other styles, it also relied on his chin, and Crocop destroyed that. Then Hendo put the final nail in it.

I don’t think he loses to Hendo if not for the damage from the Crocop fight. He was never the same after those fights. Had he been a great grappler he may still have been successful, but standing in the pocket and throwing wildly just doesn’t work without a chin.

He seemed unbeatable for a good long time, even if many of his wins were against cans.

 

[Ultra O’Dia]

O lawd shut up, Glover is a can and Wand not having a gas tank? Watch him beat Page twice all gas out both times.

lol respectable he was the badest mw ever

I think he meant finesse, not fitness.

 

[Ultra O’Dia]

Wand is one of those guys who've become underrated on here because most posters weren't even watching MMA when Wand was considered the consensus #1 205er in the world for nearly half a decade. Dude was a natural MW who took fights at HW and held his own

And they saw him in his decline.
Not only did his chin and speed go, he had many knee surgeries.

There was time when he had elite speed and conditioning, and threw elbows, knees, headkicks, transitioning into outside trips, good ground and pound, and unsubmittable defensive bjj.

Some styles translate to a long career better than others. It would be much harder to train and go into a fight as Wanderlei than it would as Randy Couture, for example. A Wanderlei fight is going to hurt a lot every single time, for both him and his opponent.

 

[Sapp]

O lawd shut up, Glover is a can and Wand not having a gas tank? Watch him beat Page twice all gas out both times.

lol respectable he was the badest mw ever

Glover is definitely not a can. He’s very old now but he was an elite fighter.

 

[superpunch]

Oh sheet, did the guy get busted for them? Or you just assuming he was on them cause he was that good?

Japan didn't test for steroids. He weighed in more ripped and heavier than Cro Cop in their HW fight. He became a small chubby 185 lber in the USA. Do your mental calculations.

But Japan didn't test. Everyone was roided to the gills there. That's one of the things that makes PRIDE awesome

 

[MMACroatia]

He sucked

 

[Langinbang187]

One of the most homicidal violent fighters in mma history.When hurt,he just kept coming. Def lost something from those back to back ko losses to crocop and hendo,but he showed some glimpses of his old self in the cung le,jardine and Brian stann fights. When he has you hurt he KNOWS how to put you up in that room in the sky with jesus.

I honestly think Wandy was already showing signs of slowing down before those KO loses, but they certainly didn't help.

He was showing some serious signs of slowing down in that MW Tournament in 2005. Looked slower, and less explosive than years prior.

Chute Boxe style certainly played a part in that, I'm sure.

 

[Hauptstoss]

One of the greatest 205ers ever but has a few too many loses in there to be in the goat consideration.

 

[AndyMaBobs]

O lawd shut up, Glover is a can and Wand not having a gas tank? Watch him beat Page twice all gas out both times.

lol respectable he was the badest mw ever

Finesse. Not fitness you dolt.

 

[HHJ]

I honestly think Wandy was already showing signs of slowing down before those KO loses, but they certainly didn't help.

He was showing some serious signs of slowing down in that MW Tournament in 2005. Looked slower, and less explosive than years prior.

Chute Boxe style certainly played a part in that, I'm sure.

He lost his aura against hunt and the heavy shots did not do his brains any favors.

 

[Local Plata]

The juiciest of sluts. He was always a little chinny but his recovery time in pride was fucking stupid. He would go from being rocked and wobbling to stomping a motherfuckers head in in about 2 seconds.

 

[jk.rock]

Shogun was better in the ring then Wandy

Shogun was amazing and hard to argue who is better over their careers but wanderlei had many more fights and HW fights and we was robbed of shoguns prime in pride from injuires , wanderlei was the tougher man and if i had to bet on 2002 silva vs 2005 shogun i would say silva via toughness in the later rounds.

 

[jk.rock]

I think Chuck beats him 8 times out of ten Prime vs Prime

Had his chance in a tournament where both were in and wanderlei won that tournament comfortably.

 

[Schoolboy Q]

Not very good, also had a weak chin.

 

[jk.rock]

Wandy outweighed Cro Cop in the second fight. Fuck off with that "much bigger" shit. Wandy was a 235lb monster in Pride

Hugh mistake by silva to bulk up as he lost his speed and was on the silde in 2006. The first fight with cro cop he was around 205 and matched mirko for speed and won that fight imo.

 

[Langinbang187]

Had his chance in a tournament where both were in and wanderlei won that tournament comfortably.

Yeah I don't like Chuck's odds against any of Prides elite in their primes. We seen what happened against Rampage..yikes.

 

[Readybodisready]

Beat the fucking piss out of Rampage, avenging all the Japanese fans who were bullied by Jackson.

 

[Kings MMA]

One of the greatest of all-time! They don't call him the Axe Murderer for nothing.

 

[DespicablePeep]

I think he meant finesse, not fitness.

Such a comment lol wanting finesse from the badest mw ever. Nobody did what he did to Page not even Jones

 

[Koro_11]

Oh sheet, did the guy get busted for them? Or you just assuming he was on them cause he was that good?

The people who mention roids when discussing pride fights are idiots, this is one of the first things you should know.

This is comparable to discussing a UFC fight and saying “ya well so and so fighter lifts a lot of weights”. No one ever says that because lifting weights is not against the rules, everyone is free to do it and enhance their strength, and if your opponent chose not to then that’s his problem.

As for Wanderlei Silva, to me he’s a legend and absolutely one of the best in his day.