Wanderlei vs Bisping was indeed a really fun fight
edit: oof, looks like my gifs failed horribly
Silva has had a lot of entertaining bouts in the UFC even if sadly he was out of his prime when he came back there after his PRIDE run
Even his first UFC run gave us this gem =>
Probably in the top 10 most posted gif in the early Sherdog forum days
Miy favorite moment was right before yours, t'was 2009, his first fight against
Rich "Ace" Franklin... another fight that Wand doesn't get credit for because there's "loss" next to it, but it doesn't matter cuz good ol' SHERDAWG scored the fight for him <3
RichFranklin vs.
WanderleiSilva
Round 1
A feel-out period unfolds through the first 90 seconds. Thesouthpaw Franklin lands a left-hand lead and Silva counters wildlywith both hands. Franklin backs up and exits clean. Franklin goesto Silva’s body with his left leg. Silva catches another Franklinkick and takes him to the floor. Silva begins to work fromFranklin’s open guard. Silva tripods and lands some leather withhis right. Franklin stands and Silva, now bleeding from his righteye, tries to pull guard with a guillotine. Franklin easily avoidsit and advances to the mount. Silva escapes to his feet and throwswild haymakers to close the frame.
Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Franklin
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Franklin.
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Franklin.
Round 2
“I think I broke his nose,” says Franklin to trainer Matt Hume inbetween rounds. Silva looks to the body with a right kick to startround two. Silva lands a right hand counter as Franklin losesbalance. A right jab knocks Silva down briefly as he had shaky legsfollowing a kick attempt. Franklin is outpointing his foe from theoutside with kicks to the body and his straight left. Silva isswinging for the fences and Franklin refuses to play that game.Just when it looked like Franklin was taking over, Silva scores aright hand that buckles Franklin’s legs. Silva pounces and roughsthe former champion up with a flurry of punches. Both fighters areexhausted as Franklin clears his head and lands a right hand of hisown at the end of the round.
Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Franklin
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Silva.
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Silva.
Round 3
The fighters touch gloves to start the final frame. Both men meetin the center of the Octagon to trade leather. Neither fighterlands clean. Franklin lands a kick to the body and a left hook thatbacks Silva up. Franklin smashes Silva with a kick to the body.Silva stands in the pocket and lands a clean right hand. Silva isnow chasing the retreating Franklin around the cage with twominutes remaining. Silva is still looking for the knockout withevery punch late into the fight. Franklin shows good footwork and lands his best jab of the fight. Silva waves his hands into the airfor the crowd and attacks with both hands. Franklin senses dangerand gets a tatakedown. Silva stands and Franklin takes his backwhile standing. Franklin punches the head while Silva throwsbackward elbows in rapid succession. Great end to a solidfight.
Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Franklin (30-27 Franklin).
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Silva (29-28 Silva).
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Silva (29-28 Silva).
Good ol' Sherdog <3
"Silva waves his hands into the airfor the crowd and attacks with both hands"
This is THE moment of the fight I recall first when thinking about that one, crowd when nuts when Wand threw his hands up.
Even way past his prime the crowd was still in love with him
For me it was one of those fights that are so damn close, I'm happy calling them draws.
The second Franklin fight is another banger, 5 rounds this time, and that one I agree that Rich won the decision even if he got very close to getting finished
It wasn't the first time I had seen Wand in real life
(other times were when he was cornering teammates at previous events, signing autographs, stuff like that)
but it was the first time I had the chance of watching him fight live.
During his walkout the entire audience was stomping the ground until the arena shaked while Darude-Sandstorm was blaring and I broke my voice screaming "SILVAAAAAA" at random moments of the fights like you'd hear in most of his PRIDE fights...
Great entertainer, even if newer fans tend to mock him and American fans have taken Chael Sonnen's side during their strange rivalry, I don't think anyone who's watched a Wand fight live has regretted their decision to buy a ticket.
Long story short, that fight is my favorite Wanderlei fight
The Cung Le finish was also memorable, it was right after the catastrophic 27s loss to Chris Leben, and Cung Le was a decent favorite supposed to arrive from
Strikeforce with his champ belt on finish poor Wanderlei's chin...
Then came out the coolest knees barrage since the second Rampage fight \o/
(for reference)
WAR WAND!! CHUTE BOXE 4EVA
