Wanderlei Silva mulls move to MW and fight with Jardine

Former Pride FC 205-pound champion and current UFC fighter, Wanderlei Silva, is considering a move to middleweight (185 pounds) after taking some vacation time since his unanimous decision loss to Chuck Liddell at UFC 79: “Nemesis” on December 29, 2007, according to GracieMag.com.

In addition, the consideration means that the rumored light heavyweight fight between him and Keith Jardine at UFC 84 in May continues to be just that until a decision is made on his future fighting weight.
Here’s the snip from an “Axe Murderer” trainer, Rafael Alejarra:

“Wanderlei made the most of his holidays to rest his body and mind. But we’ve already done a bit of training this weekend and starting tomorrow things will pick up. As we only just got back now and today is a holiday here (Las Vegas) we can’t confirm anything about the next fight, if just because there is the chance Wand will drop down in weight. Every fight and adversary is different, which is why we have to wait to define our training plan. If he should drop to middleweight, we will work on his losing weight and preserving his muscle mass, losing only water and fat and not strength and size, since he normally weight 98 kilos. But nothing’s for sure yet, we’ll wait and see.”

It’s no secret that Silva looked leaner in his bout with the “Iceman” this past New Year’s Eve weekend than he had competing for years overseas. Some attribute that to performance enhancing drugs, (tests for steroids went relatively untested in Japan), which is sheer speculation.

Others point to his rigorous snorkel-packed conditioning program leading up to the Liddell bout. In fact, those close to Silva in the wake of the loss admitted that he spent too much time on his cardio and not enough on his bread and butter, striking.

Whatever the case, it’s not really important right now. One thing is for certain: Silva is capable of making the 185-pound cut if he is up for the challenge — he walks around at 215 pounds.

Rich Franklin has a similar muscular build — he might even be bigger — and made the drop successfully. In fact, “Ace” captured the middleweight strap quickly and defended it numerous times.

Silva might not have the same instant success. However, it’s no secret that the middleweight division is starving for contenders. And if Silva were to throw his name in the hat he’d be an instant threat to UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, and the rest of the field.

idc if its Middleweight or Light Heavyweight Wandy will always be my favorite fighter and number one inspiration.