For Wanderlei Silva fans his UFC run since returning from PrideFC has been a roller-coaster of disappointments aside from the beautifully brutal KO of Keith Jardine. Silva had the best years of his career in Japan where he was terrorizing opponents for the better part of nearly seven years. His decline started at the hands (Kicks) of Mirko CroCop at Pride Final Conflict Absolute where he was KO'd by a hellacious high kick to the dome. His next appearance under the Pride banner would be his last for the struggling organization and it turned out to be another KO loss for Wand courtesy of Dan Henderson. Two knockout losses in a row would have been unheard of just a year or two prior to the losses. The demise of Pride and the talent acquired by the UFC brought hope once again that Wanderlei would return to form and showcase his distinct brand of violence to the American public. The fight that had been talked about and teased for years against Chuck Liddell came and fans were rabidly awaiting a lesson in knee to face philosophy taught to the mo-hawked UFC mainstay. The fight was a great fight except for the fact that Wand lost a decision in the slug fest and brought Wandy's losing streak to three in a row. Fans are passionate about our fighting idols, and although Silva was on a downward slide we still held the image of the devastating striker's run in Japan and held out hope for the Wanderlei of old to re-emerge. Fans had to wait no longer for such a sight to occur and the blunt force trauma that Silva serves so well was highlighted against guerrilla style striker Keith Jardine. Jardine was coming off of a win over Chuck Liddell and would have had the distinction of defeating both legends had he won, but Silva's right hand and infamous "Rape Choke" had other plans and Wand beat Jardine mercilessly. Next up was Wanderlei's arch rival in Quinton Jackson. Jackson had fell at the hands and knees of Wanderlei twice prior to their bout so Wand and fans confidence were high that the third meeting would be no different. Rampage didn't get the memo however and knocked out Silva with a monster hook and followed it up with some ground shots to seal the deal. Finally in the UFC's first trip to Germany Wanderlei met up with Rich "Ace" Franklin in the main event contested at 195lbs while Silva was on his way down to the middleweight division. The fight was close and Silva never stopped trying to win all the way up to the last bell, but the judges in attendance did not see it his way and gave the nod to Franklin. I thought Silva did enough to take the fight, but apparently the judges did not agree. Next up for "The Axe Murderer" is the UK's most famous MMA fighter Micheal "The Count" Bisping and the Wanderlei fans are letting everyone know that they still wholeheartedly back the Brazilian bomber. Bisping has let us know that he believes Silva is beatable for him, and that he has the tools to top him in Australia. For Wanderlei fans the chatter is just that, and they keep looking forward to a vintage dose of Silva. Is the new division what Wanderlei needs to rejuvenate his fight career and jump start another run at a title? Only time will tell, but for all of the doubters out there you have just as many believers saying "WAR WAND" and thats just what we will see Saturday when Silva goes to war with Bisping.
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