One of the most historic fights in UFC history is rumored to be in the works as Wanderlei Silva looks for revenge against Vitor Belfort, nearly 13 years after their first encounter.
But Silva’s coach, Rafael Cordeiro, is convinced that his Wanderlei should have a tune-up fight before he steps in the cage against the most recent UFC No. 1 contender at 185 pounds.
“I think Wanderlei is coming off multiple injuries, but, at the same time, he has a desire to make this fight. There is a desire as an athlete and a fighter to make this rematch with Vitor,” Cordeiro told Sherdog.com.
“I think, at this point, in my opinion as a friend and coach, he should have a fight with someone else before Vitor. When I say someone, I mean anyone who gets him back to being active.”
Silva certainly would like to avenge the loss he suffered when the two warriors first took center stage at UFC: Ultimate Brazil in October of 1998.
With just one loss on each man’s MMA record at the time, Silva lost his UFC debut to Belfort in just 44 seconds in one of the most memorable knockouts in the company’s history.
Much has changed in the time between those fights with both men putting together what will likely be Hall of Fame careers, but the hype behind this Brazilian vs. Brazilian fight would be huge.
Silva won his most recent fight against Michael Bisping in February of 2010, but has spent over a year outside the Octagon while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.
“Vitor just fought for the belt, and, thinking about the rhythm of the fight, he’s ahead of Wanderlei in that regard,” Cordeiro said. “I’m not saying that he’s better than Wanderlei, but Wanderlei needs to pick up his pace [before they fight].”
Though Belfort was knocked out in highlight-reel fashion against the 185-pound king, Anderson Silva, his skills are unquestioned.
With Silva having been out for over a year at this point, Cordeiro believes that having another fight between now and a showdown with Belfort would be very important.
“This fight with Vitor will become very important in his life, and he really wants it,” he added. “For Wanderlei to be 100 percent for the fight with Vitor, it’s important that he get another fight before it.”
But regardless of who Wanderlei’s next opponent is, Cordeiro believes that he may still be a while away from even being ready to train at 100 percent.
“I think he has the desire to fight with Vitor,” Cordeiro stated. “Vitor already defeated him, and he has this desire to have revenge. However, the body says he stopped fighting a year ago and needs additional time to regenerate.
"He returned to training, with a focus on fighting, only 15 days ago. He was weight training, but he returned to fight training only recently.
"We’re still afraid to push him 100 percent. The most important thing is that the UFC wants him to fight, regardless of the time he’s been out.”
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