Wanderlei Silva was one of the biggest names in PRIDE history in the 2000s (Photo: Reproduction)
Wanderlei Silva He established himself in the early 2000s as one of the greatest MMA fighters of his generation. The “Crazy Dog” was middleweight champion in the PRIDE and has faced great names in the sport throughout his career, such as Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Dan Henderson, Mirko Cro Cop, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Ricardo Arona, Chuck Liddell, among other notable fighters.
In an interview with “Dos Nosso Podcast”, a program led by Fabrício Werdum, former UFC heavyweight champion, Wanderlei Silva revealed, among all the names he faced, that the athlete who intimidated him the most was Mirko Cro Copwhom he faced twice, with one defeat and one draw.
“The fight that left me most not afraid, but afraid, was without a doubt against Mirko Cro Cop. He was an imposing guy, seriously. As I felt intimidated, I looked at him higher and I said I was going to ‘get’ him. There’s not much to be afraid of. If you’re scared, go scared”, declared Wanderlei Silva.
Wand and Cro Cop dueled for the first time in 2002, at PRIDE 20. The confrontation ended in a draw after the time limit set for the fight was up, according to the organization’s rules. The second meeting between the fighters took place in the semi-finals of the PRIDE heavyweight Grand Prix, in 2006. This time, Mirko knocked out the Brazilian with a kick to the head in the first round.
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Carlos Targa
I’ve been in love with MMA since 2011, more specifically since UFC 129 – Spider x Belfort, when this became the number 2 sport of my life, second only to Football. Graduated in Journalism in 2019, I arrived at TATAME at the end of 2022 in a project for new collaborators and at the beginning of 2023 I became part of the reporting team. Long-suffering Corinthian, bassist on the weekends.
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