Wanderlai Silva's 10 most vicious maulings

Celtic Fan · Dec 22, 2008

courtesy of Sherdog.com

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.

10. Keith Jardine (UFC 84, 5/24/08)

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.

9. Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pride Critical Countdown, 6/26/05)

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.

8. Yuki Kondo (Pride Final Conflict, 8/15/04)

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.

7. Kazuyuki Fujita (Pride Critical Countdown Absolute, 07/01/06)

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.

6. Kazushi Sakuraba (Pride Total Elimination, 8/10/03)

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.

5. Tatsuya Iwasaki (Pride Shockwave, 8/28/02)

Further proof that Pride executives often improvised shortly before airtime: Kyokushin karate champion Iwasaki -- who had never fought with closed-fist strikes to the head -- was thought to be a reasonable opponent for a man who takes his behavioral cues from Conan the Barbarian. If you can’t recall what happened next, you’ve probably blocked it from memory. Good thinking.

LOB: A Dunkin’ Donuts coffee lap spill.

4. Kazushi Sakuraba (Pride 17, 11/3/01)

Having been decimated in their first meeting, Sakuraba teased his home crowd by going the first-round distance in the rematch. It was delaying the inevitable: With one punishing slam, Silva was able to snap Sakuraba’s collarbone like a breadstick. Even more alarmingly, a puzzled Saku regarded his protruding shoulder with passive curiosity.

LOB: An Olympic Judo match -- on concrete.

3. Quinton Jackson (Pride Final Conflict, 11/9/03)

Fairly exhausted from his bout with Chuck Liddell a couple of hours earlier, Jackson had little fuel in his tank for Silva’s speed. After a tussle, the Axe Murderer locked on a Thai clinch and proceeded to deliver enough knee strikes to topple a T-1000. While smiling broadly.

LOB: Childbirth.

2. Guy Mezger (Pride 10, 8/27/00)

There are moments in MMA when the immediate departure of consciousness is an alarming sight: Silva’s flip of Mezger’s “off” switch -- courtesy of a corner-located assault -- is one of those times. Going down, Mezger resembled a gunshot victim, a hint of shock registering on his face before the mind bid a hasty retreat.

LOB: An easy candidate for “Faces of Death IV.”

1. Quinton Jackson (Pride 28, 10/31/04)

Grounded for much of the first round, Jackson experienced a restless Silva’s fury midway through the second. After landing a solid blow to the jaw, a follow-up knee put Jackson lifelessly through the ropes. The sight of his defeated, deflated frame hanging over the ring supports like drying laundry guarantees a grimace from houseguests, who aren’t likely to come back for another visit.

LOB: Black Friday at Wal-Mart.
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Damn I can't wait for this fight!!!!

Chocolove · Dec 22, 2008

Damn, I picked Rampage to win in the pick em league but after reading this I am having second thoughts.

bbwtrench · Dec 23, 2008

War WANDY!!!

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Wanderlai Silva's 10 most vicious maulings

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