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I had the opportunity to talk with former PRIDE Middleweight (205lbs) Champion and current UFC middleweight Wanderlei Silva very briefly this morning. Silva faces fellow brawling striker Chris Leben this weekend at UFC 132: Faber vs. Cruz in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is only Silva's second bout at middleweight and his first since defeating Michael Bisping at UFC 110.
I spoke to Silva about a number of topics, but here are the highlights:
- We discuss the origin of his nickname, 'The Axe Murderer'. Silva says it's also the best nickname in MMA
- Silva admits Chuck Liddell was the hardest puncher he ever faced, even more so than Rampage Jackson
- We discussed how good he feels training again with Rafael Cordeiro and Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua
- Silva seemingly would love to face critic Chael Sonnen and goes as far as calling Sonnen a 'Twitter fighter'
- The Brazilian also admits this most-recent injury to his ACL was the most difficult and sustaining injury of his athletic career
- Silva makes a prediction for Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber and talks about the future of Tito Ortiz's career
Full audio of the interview below:
Be sure to check back with us on fight night for UFC 132 results.