Injury Raises Questions About The Future Of Wanderlei “The Axe Murder” Silva
Former Pride Middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva has pulled out of his UFC 116 fight date with Yoshihiro Akiyama underneath the huge heavyweight clash between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin.
“The Axe Murder” was supposed to co-headline the big UFC event, after breaking his two-fight losing streak with an impressive stoppage of the Brit striker Michael Bisping last UFC 110. The victory followed back-to-back defeats to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rich Franklin.
However, Silva suffered a serious injury while training for the Akiyama fight. Word from the Wanderlei camp said that the Brazilian suffered cracked ribs and a busted knee.
Speaking about his knee injury, Silva said: “Two weeks ago, I felt pain in my knee while I was training wrestling. I had an MRI of my knee and three doctors told me my knee was torn.”
Always the warrior, Wanderlei continued to train despite the pain. To cope with the injury, Silve took medicine to help ease the pain. Silva was advised to cancel the fight but the fighter would have none of it.
“I said ‘No, this date is very important to me.’ So I continued training.”
Meanwhile, misery dogged the Brazilian even more, after the fighter sustained damage to his ribs, breaking three bones in the process.
“I ended up getting hit with a cross to the body that gave me a different pain,” said Silva. “I knew that it was serious. You know when it’s normal or when it’s more. I came back home, and I had a lot of pain, very sharp pain.”
“When you hurt the knee, you train arms. When you hurt the arm, you train legs,” he added. “But when you hurt the ribs, there is nothing you can do. You can’t train Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling or kicking, so you can’t train anything.”
Although he was determined to push through with his fight plans despite the knee injury, the second one left him with no other choice but to withdraw.
Regarding the knee injury, doctors advised Silva that he would need reconstructive surgery, a procedure he had on his other knee back in 2003. The doctors also recommended a lengthy recovery time for his injuries, ruling out an immediate return bout following the surgery.
The news hit Silva pretty hard. In an emotional blog on his personal website, he expressed his disappointment at being taken out out of the upcoming UFC card.
“I’m really sad. I have been training for four months for this fight. This is a very difficult moment in my career. This is my work. I live for it,” said a dejected Silva.
“This week has been very tense. I had to make a very difficult decision. I think now I’m paying the bill for all these years of fighting,” added the Brazilian.
Fighting professionally since 1996, observers feel that Wander Silva may be approaching the twilight of his career. Despite being 14 years younger than all-American Randy Couture, Silva’s ultra-aggressive fighting style may have played a role in the Brazilian’s injury woes.
Silva, known for his muay thai, kickboxing, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, may have spent himself during his all-out wars with the likes of Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Chuck Liddell, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
During his career, he has undergone various surgeries to repair damages to his face, knee, and other niggles.
It is expected that the Brazilian legend may be sidelined for a long period of time. The Akiyama fight was supposed to solidify his footing in the UFC, after a disappointing start. Unfortunately for Silva, he may never get that opportunity—depending on the extent of his injuries.
Sad to say, but Silva may be on his last legs.
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