The ridiculous premise that Wanderlei Silva needs to retire keeps being thrown his way by the media. Our favorite British MMA pundit Gareth A. Davies asked Silva why he’s still fighting (3:48 mark):
"I love to fight, this is so exciting for me. This is my life," answered the 32-year-old Brazilian, now training out of Las Vegas. "The emotion that I have going into the Octagon and from the crowd, is unbelievable. It’s priceless."
The UFC has done a good job of stacking certain weight divisions with imports and developing prospects. But that also means at the highest level guys are going to lose fights. With all the ways to lose and the four-ounce gloves, it’ll be rare for a fighter to go on a long win streak. The 205-pound division is a great example where the title belt has been in the hands of five different fighters in the last two years. Going to 3-3 over the course of a few years may be a victory for a top 10 light heavyweight. Silva has fallen into this trap. He’s now lost four-of-five fights, but you have to look at the list of opponents he’s lost to (Cro Cop, Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson and Dan Henderson).
Silva faces another fighter who fallen on difficult times because of the improved level of competition in the UFC, Rich Franklin. Franklin is just 4-3 recently but the losses came to Anderson Silva (twice) and Henderson. Both will probably have a spot in the UFC regardless of because their fight style. In 79 fights, they’ve combined for just 12 decisions:
"For me, it’s hard to understand the way some guys fight," Silva told Cage Potato. "I would rather lose a fight like the fight with Chuck Liddell than to win like Anderson [Silva] with Thales Leites. Win or lose, that’s just one detail of the fight. But to give a good show, after that the numbers are up, the fans are up, and this is good for the sport. I give to the fans what they want."
Silva is confident he’ll be fighting for a longtime but he says he’ll listen to UFC president Dana White if he’s told to walk away:
"A few years ago I was at the end of the line [of fighters to retire.] Now I am at the front of the line," Silva told Cage Potato. "But I respect the boss. Dana is a smart guy and I respect him. One day I will talk with him about this. He is a man who is the best at his job. If he comes to me and says to stop, I will respect this. But after my next fight, you’ll see, he will say, ‘Please don’t stop.’"
Both Franklin and Wanderlei were asked about the catch weight of 195 pounds for this fight. They agreed that it was perfect for them since they’re huge for 185 and a little too small for 205, but they don’t see it being added as a permanent weight class.
