You nickname a guy the “Axe Murderer,” and you can pretty much figure out what comes next.
After a short, brutal stint in Brazil’s fighting circuit,
Wanderlei Silva washed up -- swimming the Atlantic and feeding on raw fish, one assumes -- on American shores with the “Axe” handle courtesy of former UFC matchmaker John Perretti. Perretti likely had little idea that Silva would go on to inflict substantial physical trauma on some of Pride’s biggest stars, many of whom wound up looking like they had just been through a paper shredder.
With a third fight against
Quinton Jackson tapped for this Saturday -- the first two meetings had downright felonious endings courtesy of Silva -- now might be the time to reflect on some of the most horrible, viscerally disturbing beatings of his career. Merry Christmas.
Coming off the worse for the wear in a long-hoped-for war against
Chuck Liddell, some doubted Silva’s ability to return to his feral fighting style. Those concerns were put to rest shortly after the Brazilian downed Jardine and then proceeded to use one hand to batter him while half-choking, half-securing him with the other.
Level of Brutality (LOB): A standard-issue prison assault.
Silva may be a good sport, but he’s hardly above using his opponent’s poor timing to his advantage. Against Nakamura, whom he had been steadily punishing, Silva wasted little time in pouncing when the Japanese judoka decided to discard his gi. By the time Nakamura’s hands were near his face again, it was to collect pieces of his nose.
LOB: Delayed reaction to Pearl Harbor.
One can imagine a pre-pubescent Silva watching soccer star Pele treat the ball like it owed him money; as a fighting adult, he’s often tried scoring goals with craniums. The most jarring incident was against Kondo, who lay in the missionary position while Silva drilled heel after heel into his expressionless, empty face. Not a great first fight to show to athletic commission members.
LOB: A solid puppy kick.
Fujita, while thick of skull, is not the most agile of combatants. Once Silva was able to put him in a corner, it was an academic series of knees to the stationary head that robbed the Japanese fighter of his ability to make change without using his fingers.
LOB: A two-story fall.
The ultimate demise of reasonable premiums for Sakuraba’s life insurance came after his first meeting against Silva. Bored with his last fight against
Dan Henderson, which had the ignobility of going the distance, Silva decided to be pithy and end it with a puree of kicks, knees and stomps; Sakuraba’s face resembled a “Fangoria” layout.
LOB: Anesthetic-free root canal.
Note: This article was revised to correct the show and date on No. 6
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