Wanderlei Silva was an outstanding personality at UFC 76, taken place on September 22. Wanderlei was invited by Dana White to attend the event and challenge Chuck Lidell, in case the latter won. But it was a sad night for both Lidell and the Brazilian Shogun, who lost their fights.
What Wanderlei has to say about the event: “UFC took place in a very good gymnasium, very large; here these events have been growing continuously. This week I worked a lot on the event advertising making use of my popularity that is big here. Just to give an idea, we had an autograph session that gathered about 500 people, on a huge line. The warmth of my fans was very nice. I realize that everyone is anxious about my first fight, including myself. I’ve been training very hard, every day, with a lot of focus. My responsibility towards Brazilians has grown a lot due to the results of the last fights. This is also very motivating to me. It is important for the sport to bring joy to the fans and this becomes the fighters’ responsibility.
Lidell’s fight had a direct relationship with me because Dana White had said I would challenge him if he won. I was disappointed with the defeat because Lidell’s opponent is good, he has his merit but was not so qualified to defeat him. I believed Lidell was going to win and I was disappointed with the result. I hoped to perform against him in December and now I will have to wait for another name. It was a balanced, hard fight; I think Lidell should have prepared better in view of the importance of this combat.
As to Shogun, I didn’t manage to see him; I only watched the fight. I was very sad, both as a Brazilian and as a personal friend; I was cheering a lot for him. I was very frustrated with the defeat, it was unexpected. I thought it would be an easy fight for him. I hope he comes back, training hard and next time show his potential. MMA has greatly evolved and we should be tuned to such innovations, realizing that this sport is more and more specific and scientific. It does not take only a heart to win a fight any longer. Shogun has the talent and it all depends exclusively upon him. He will figure out what went wrong and will not make the same mistakes next time. Yesterday he was not the Shogun who I know. I hope he continues bringing joy to this fans including myself, for I am also his fan.
As to a name to face in December: “I’d like, in view of the last event and also as a vengeance for my friend, to fight with this Forrest Griffin. I guess it could be a good name for me.”
