Wanderlei Silva

Wanderlei César da Silva (/ˈvændərleɪ/ VAN-dər-lay; Portuguese: [vɐ̃dɛɾˈlej ˈsɛzɐr dɐ ˈsiɫvɐ]; born July 3, 1976) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He is nicknamed "The Axe Murderer" and "Cachorro Louco". Silva is best known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promotions. He is the record holder for most wins, knockouts, title defenses, and longest winning streak in PRIDE history. He has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and black prajied in Muay Thai. He is known for his aggressive fighting style with the most of his fights ending in either a knockout or referee stoppage because of strikes.

Wanderlei Silva at the UFC 100 Fan Expo in 2009

On 22 October 2013, he was announced as a coach for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3, where he would compete against his long-time rival Chael Sonnen. Silva was suppose to have a bout with Sonnen, which was briefly attached to UFC 173.[1] and then at The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Finale[2] was expected to take place on July 5, 2014 at UFC 175.[3] UFC president Dana White would later say that the fight had to be moved back when Silva injured his hand and back during a brawl with Sonnen which happened during the filming of the show.[4] Silva was pulled from the fight entirely because he had failed to submit an application to fight in the state of Nevada, as well as him refusing to undergo a random drug test.[5] Silva was replaced by Vitor Belfort.[6] On June 10, 2014, Chael Sonnen was reported to have failed a drug test and was not allowed to fight on the UFC 175 card, due to his failed drug test, Sonnen announced that he was retiring from the sport the next day.[7]

On September 19, 2014, Silva announced that he was retiring from mixed martial arts.[8]

References
  1. "Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva set for UFC 173 co-main event". MMAjunkie. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  2. "Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva will headline FOX Sports 1 card on May 31". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  3. "Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva shifts to UFC 175, dos Santos vs. Miocic headlines in Brazil". MMAjunkie. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  4. "White: Wanderlei Silva injured back in Sonnen brawl, had to postpone fight". MMAjunkie. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  5. "Failure to apply for license and take random drug test led to Wanderlei Silva's removal from UFC 175". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  6. "Wanderlei Silva out vs. Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort in at UFC 175". MMAjunkie. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  7. "UFC's Chael Sonnen fails second drug test, testing positive for HGH, EPO". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  8. "Wanderlei Silva rips the UFC, announces his retirement". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2014-09-17.

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