Wanderlei Silva confirms rumored UFC 110 headliner with Yoshihiro Akiyama in Australia

by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:25 pm ET
A rumored bout between Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1 MMA, 2-5 UFC) and Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is apparently set for UFC 110, which takes place Feb. 21 at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Silva discussed the fight openly in a recent video his camp posted on YouTube.

According to Silva, the middleweight bout serves as the headline fight for the event, which takes place on a rare Sunday (with an apparent live Saturday broadcast in the U.S.).

As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) detailed earlier this week, Akiyama recently hinted about the Silva matchup during an appearance in Japan to promote the "UFC Undisputed" videogame. But the Japanese fighter only said the fight would take place sometime in February with no exact date.

Akiyama made his octagon debut with a razor-thin split-decision win over Alan Belcher at UFC 100 in July. The bout earned Akiyama, who hasn't lost since a March 2005 bout with Jerome LeBanner, the evening's $100,000 "Fight of the Night" award. He's now 12-0 (with two no-contests) over his past 14 fights.

Silva, fighting at middleweight after slimming down from 205 pounds, looks to snap a two-fight losing streak. The MMA legend is just 1-5 in his past six contests, which have included decision losses to former champ Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell.

For Silva's thoughts on the fight, which headlines the UFC's debut in Australia, check out the embedded video.

And for complete coverage of UFC 111, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

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WerewolfRA on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:35 pm ET
Akiyama made his octagon debut with a razor-thin split-decision win over Alan Belcher at UFC 100 in July.


Belcher was robbed!
 

eyeless on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:36 pm ET
Belcher wasn't robbed. It could have went either way. It was very close.
 

JP on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:44 pm ET
I too thought Belcher won, but he was def. not robbed. It was very very close and either way the decision went would have been fine with me. If it weren't for the stupid 10-9 scoring system which is def. not ideal for MMA this would have been a perfect time for a draw without point deductions being neccessary for that to happen.
 

WerewolfRA on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:58 pm ET
I really do think Belcher won the fight, but my statement was to half mock Rogan's reaction. It was a great fight though, I just had it leaning more to Belchers favor.
 

chadMMA on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:20 pm ET
Is this card going to be free on Spike???    Kind of a weak head line if not.
 

coreymb on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:29 pm ET
Any card with Wanderlei on it(win or lose) as a headline is not weak. That guy comes out and  puts a performance on for the crowd! He is so talented in bjj but has stated so many times that he likes to keep it standing for the fans.

I'd assume since this is the first Australian card they will have a great co-main fight as well, ontop of a solid card top to bottom.

Wanderlei vs Akiyama imo is an amazing main event.
 

JustMe on Oct 16, 2009 at 5:01 pm ET
Main event for free, yes.  Not worthy of a PPV main event though.

They need a title bout on this card.  If not then it will be on spike for free.
I'll gladly approve of this card if its free. 
 

coreymb on Oct 16, 2009 at 5:27 pm ET
Why do people insist that there needs to be a title on the line for a ppv card? UFC is a business man. Don't get me wrong I'm all for free events like anyone and obviously would have no complaints with this on spike!! But, at the same point Wanderlei even with his losing streak is a huge draw still. Top it off like I stated they are breaking into Australia I think there will be a big co-main event to go along-and an all around solid card.

I don't miss out on any fights(unless I don't have a choice) but if this is ppv I'll either be ordering it or at a pub that's for sure!
 

JustMe on Oct 16, 2009 at 5:38 pm ET
Corey, you can oder this as PPV.  I'm not.  Why, cuz,
1)Wandy vs Akiyama isn't that attractive as Main Even caliber.
2)Time difference
3)the other main cards may not be PPV worthy

I am sure UFC will bank on this card in Austrilia.


Consider this a SPIKE card free to US fans.  I hope UFC reads this.
 

coreymb on Oct 16, 2009 at 5:53 pm ET
Yeah the time difference does suck. But, as UFC continues to grow it's something we are all going to have to get used to. Dana made it clear they are taking this global and expect to be as big as the NFL. I can actually see that-translators and time differences are going to be happening extremely often down the road.

Akiyama is a huge MW star with a stellar record and this is a huge test for him even with Wanderlei's losing streak. I don't know maybe I'm just off but this seems like an explosive main event and I think the Sydney fans are lucky as hell!

But, I'm with you-if it's free even better!!! I don't mind saving money but I'll damn near order any mma event available.
 

JustMe on Oct 16, 2009 at 6:17 pm ET
NFL is consider local.  You want to talk about Global.  Its Futball/Soccer.

Like you said, MMA will be Global.  Reason is because globally, all human on earth knows something about FIGHTING.
 

coreymb on Oct 16, 2009 at 6:20 pm ET
True, you said it better. I was more so going along of the superbowl how it has a huge international audiance and saying what Dana did. But, you said it better!
 

xtacee on Oct 16, 2009 at 8:07 pm ET
At least you will get to watch the UFC in advance for once. Because the US is behind in time, the UFC will be on Friday night, early Saturday Morning.
Unlike here in Australia, I have to wait to watch in on Sunday afternoons.

 

manta on Oct 17, 2009 at 1:00 am ET
unless, of course, you actually read the article.
 

MyZhou on Oct 16, 2009 at 5:57 pm ET
There should be no time difference as the event will be run on a Sunday with a 10 am start to fead live to the US.  Or so sources close to the operation tell us
 

xtacee on Oct 16, 2009 at 8:18 pm ET
That is so not going to happen. Im in AUS, why would we watch the UFC live at 10.00am in the morning? Fighters need the whole day to prepare for the fight, other wise they will perform like sh!t.
The US will have to watch it like on Friday night, early Saturday morning because you are behind in the time difference.
 

travmanx on Oct 17, 2009 at 1:59 am ET
There not going to change time on America, I garentee of that. I'm not sure but I believe UFC is watched more in the USA/Canada time zones than any other in the world. Same thing when the NFL goes oversees to England once a year, they produce it live on Tv at 1PM on American TV's (real time in England is 5 hours ahead).
For the card in Germany I remember in America it was recorded that afternoon (in america) and they still went on the same time slot.

I see this being recorded Friday night in Aussie so America time slot doesn't change :(
 

HitokiriX on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:29 pm ET
weak???
 

mmablaster on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:56 pm ET
Can't believe Akiyama only gets one fight in 2009.   He must of gotten hurt at UFC 100.  I had Akiyama winning against Belcher by a very close margin.  Could have gone either way.
 

JustMe on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:03 pm ET
Is this UFC 110 or 111?


I hope Brock/Carwin will fight NOG on this card.  It doesn't look good without a title fight.
 

JP on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:24 pm ET
Akiyama probably only fought once in 2009 as he had to heal up that eye that was swollen shut from the shots he took from Belcher so he could squeeze in some modeling work in between fights.
 

edosama1983 on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:58 pm ET
I heard Akiyama got a broken bone in the face somewhere
 

n4tacon on Oct 16, 2009 at 6:10 pm ET
Broken orbital to Akiyama from what I've heard. Kinda sucks since I did want to see him fight again in '09. Can you imagine the fan girls in Australia next year though? Poor guy... ship some my way.
 

BARENUX1 on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:59 pm ET
Belcher was robbed, but Aykiama wont rob anyone else.

Wand will be SO motivated and wanna put on a show for 185.

Aykiama will be looking up at the screen makign sure him make up looks good,

for his photoshoots, and makign sure hes not bruised....

If youre so concerned to look good, WAND is not the man to fight.
 

canada_chuteboxe on Oct 17, 2009 at 12:42 am ET
Akiyama put his hands down in that fight and told Belcher to hit him..., i dont think the modeling jokes work cuz in the cage hes actually pretty crazy. Lol think about it, girls like him, he scores!!!
 

edosama1983 on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:59 pm ET
Akiyama landed more shots and took Belcher down twice

I think fight metrics give a less than razor thin decison to Akiyama..

 

coreymb on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:10 pm ET
you'd be right on that!

I think so many think Belcher was robbed because his very strong and impressive final round. Clearly, Akiyama landed more shots and had those td's like you stated.
 

damaja on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:45 pm ET
Watch the fight w/out Rogan's commentary. You'll look at it in a different way.

Everyone in the arena that night thought Akiyama won.
 

Beathisfacein on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:35 pm ET
Wandy looks weird now

I think this fight will get him back in the win column.

With this being the main event I hope it is on Spike for free. I don't think this is PPV worthy with Wandy being 1-5 in last 6
 

NickHavok on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:45 pm ET
Wandy looks weird now


Agreed.

It's called having cauliflower face.
 

rampage145 on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:51 pm ET
"cauliflower face" haha classic
 

SuperDave98 on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:59 pm ET
Its BAD when cosmetic surgery can't help you !!!!
 

BillyBob on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:04 pm ET
I prefer to think of him as the missing link in evolution
 

coreymb on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:20 pm ET
I think he looks the same just older. One of his ears is started to get tore up pretty bad but other than that looks like the same wand. Let's not forget this guy was apart of the vale tudor fights for awhile and did alot of bare knuckle fights with limited to no rules!
 

GorillaHobo on Oct 16, 2009 at 11:08 pm ET
Wand looks different because he had surgery to remove scar tissue above his eyes. This should make him less prone to cuts. I can't say whether it will win him any fights though.
 

eyeless on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:37 pm ET
Good news to hear. Really bad song playing in the background.
 

mersault on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:37 pm ET
 I have to wonder if we will ever see the old "axe murderer" in the UFC. I would hope so, but fear that he is another in a growing list of really great fighters who are fast aproaching the end of their careers.
 

johnhunt59 on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:59 pm ET
Wandy may be at the end of his career, but he always has tough opponents, and his fights are always exciting. Hopefully we will get to see him deliver some real punishment and get a well needed win.     GO WANDY!!!
 

mma_blood on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:37 pm ET
WAR WANDERLEI!!!!!!!
WAR!!!!!!!!!
 

PersianGodfather on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:39 pm ET
wanderlei via Brutal KO!!!
 

KenCanFightBear on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:41 pm ET
I'm hoping Wanderlei has a resurgence in his career with a classic showing against Akiyama.  I like them both and truly feel it's a "pick 'em" fight but I'll have to go with Wanderlei by brutal KO. 

WANDERLEI IS BACK!!!!
 

FedorFearsBocek on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:46 pm ET
Akiyama by KO
 

ZachAttack on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:49 pm ET
Those look like 'fun' sparring sessions ;) ... gettin a little rough.

Wand with no headgear and beating on the poor training partner, haha.

Wand needs a W. It's been a while. I hope he shines once again against Akiyama.

 

coreymb on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:12 pm ET
His camps are crazing, alongside with the black house camps.

I've read in both camps as long as it's not within 4 weeks(or something along those lines) of a major fight they will literally spar as if it was a match w/out head gear or anything to really mimick a real fight to be fully prepared.
 

mersault on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:55 pm ET
 Man what a cool embedded clip. Thank you junkie. It was really interesting to see wanderlei game plan with other fighters, even when I couldn't understand him. You can definitely see the wheels turning on strategy and such inside the cage.
 

TobikanJudan666 on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:59 pm ET
i am f**king pissed at this fight, not the fight just that i am torn apart from two of my favorite fightes.

akiyama looked too big in the belcher fight and wandy has yet to fight at MW.
i think silva might look sick and just totally underweight.
akiyama has got this fight on the ground.
and silva has a slim advantage in the standup and that slim cause he isnt gonna be his normal super powerful self.

could still go either way, both amazing fighters.

i got akiyama via decision.
gonna be a sick fight tho.
 

gmd on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:06 pm ET
Hes a small LHW I don't think this cut will be a prob.
 

BillyBob on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:01 pm ET
Wandy has never lost to a Japanese fighter, I don't see that streak being stopped here
 

NickHavok on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:05 pm ET
Good point!

Wanderlei seems to have Japan's number.
 

lance2576 on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:45 pm ET
Maybe it was because they didnt test for the needle in Japan.. oh did I say that.....
 

runningtriangle on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:34 pm ET
that could go either way
 

coreymb on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:36 pm ET
Common man, I hope you are joking.

Let's get real here. What is steroids really going to do? Is it going to make you better at any art? Is it going to make you a better overal fighter? Big no!

You'll get muscle mass, a litttle more strength, stamina and endurance. People look way too much into steroids. Anyone thinks that by taking them is going to give you some freakish edge has no clue about them.

Wanderlei fights the same as he did in PRIDE except for the fact we don't see his knees nearly as much. The toll he has taking on his body with mma and the bare knuckle fights are wearing on him ontop of facing some of the worlds best in his past 7ish fights. Very few fighters can compare there last 7 fights in terms of competition compared to him.

Don't forget before entering UFC, he last fought Henderson in America and had no positive test. Not saying you, but a lot of people tend to think just because they don't test over there that they must be taking steroids. It's pointless. I'm not aruging a lot do or don't but I don't assume.
 

Doogie on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:05 pm ET
Wandy is running out of gas.... almost to the point where the next fight (any fight) coud be his last....  not done yet, but close.

Akiyama by KO, 1st or 2nd rd.....
 

BrassJunkie on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:42 pm ET
I thought that's why he had surgery. He had a problem with breathing so they went in and did something to his septum so he can breathe easier. Maybe it's a reach but if this surgery did what it was suppose to, I see Wandy becoming a threat again. Maybe not the Wandy of old but definately good enough not to gas as he's been doing lately. I hope that's the case!


WAR WANDERLEI SILVA!!
 

coreymb on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:50 pm ET
Wanderlei has taking a lot of damage over his career but he's still a threat to anyone imo.

He took Chuck to a very close decision(I thought) the Franklin fight was close as well and he wanted a rematch asap!
Rampage took care of him easily this time around but Wanderlei had him 2x easily. Those are his losses inside the UFC. He had that aggression and old killer instinct against Jardine who was a tough test for Rampage and Chuck(beat him).

Before that he had those brutal back to back losses but they were to Henderson and Mirko.

I'm not ready to count this guy out yet.

What if with that Chuck Liddell match and Chuck slipped down Wanderlei hovered him like he tends to do fighters? High chance that fight is over. Wanderlei said he has no clue why he didn't jump right on him and regrets. That victory would of gave him a lot of confidence and then you never know what would of happened in the Rampge/Franklin fights. The losses are wearing on him and you can tell. He's not fighting like he normally does and he is kind of tight in the cage. He needs to loosen up!

Hopefully, the MW transition will do wonders for him because he is damn exciting to watch!!
 

billyd0311 on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:05 pm ET
I think this fight should get Wand back into the win column. 

I just hope he makes a better cut to 185 than he did to 195 and I hope training with Kit Cope doesn't f*@k with his mojo cuz that guy sucks and he better not be the plague to Wand.
 

NickHavok on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:07 pm ET
I just want to say...you were GREAT as Lando Calrisian.

:)
 

JP on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:25 pm ET
Nice. Billy D Billy D (as I am clapping my hands)
 

jesserson on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:08 pm ET
He is 1-5 in his last 6 fights, any other fighter would of been cut by now.
 

BillyBob on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:15 pm ET
I'll disagree for a few reasons.  The first, he is historically one of the most exciting and dominant fighters in the sport. 

The second, the losses you reference are to rich franklin, rampage, liddell, hendo and cro cop in his prime.  Name

somebody who has faced stiffer competition over that time. 
 

jesserson on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:17 pm ET
Thats why i say any other fighter would be cut (as in not WAND!) calm down wand boy
 

IronJawJake on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:28 pm ET
So 109 and 110 will be in Feb.?.....sounds awesome.
 

FuneralPyre on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:41 pm ET
Go go Wanderlei!
 

Bajs on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:41 pm ET
Come on guys dont be silly!

Wandy is only fighting cause thats what he does, he cant win any titles anymore or be top tier in any division.
Hes just fighting cause of his fame and cause the UFC needs his name in over seas events such as this one.

Sexy-yama couldve dominated Belcher all 3 rounds but he choose to stand up and fight him during most of the fight, to put on a show for the american fans, for yall to see japanese figthers not just lay and pray wrestlers etc.
If he can take a big mw fighter like Belcher down at will what do you think he can do to Wanderlei Silva!?

He can take it down for a round, control him and score that round, then stand up for the rest of the fight to secure another fight of the night bonus.I mean cause its gonna be like 6-7 months between his last fight so he sure need to those 100.000 dollars!!!!!!!!!


 

mersault on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:50 pm ET
How revealing.....

How revolting....
 

BillyBob on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:02 pm ET
is your name a reference to Camus?
 

flyinhendo on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:06 pm ET
awwwkwaaaard......i will say though, if akiyama starts out with blue steel and then transitions into magnum, i just dont think wandy can take such a barrage
 

lance2576 on Oct 16, 2009 at 3:54 pm ET
I hope this is a free card. If Wanderlei is headling then this is a joke if it is a ppv. The dude was a warrior 5 years ago. He has only won 4 of his last ten fights. He is only won once out  of  four fights since he return to the UFC. He sold a lot of tickets in the past but it is time to get these old fighters who are no longer contenders out of the way and start letting some of the younger guys headline. If he was anyone else he would have already been cut. He has no business headling a show much less even being on the main card. Put him on the undercard and maybe he will work harder to get back in the spot light. Silva is 2 wins and 5 loses in the ufc all together. He has been a beast in the cage. Not.
 

flyinhendo on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:12 pm ET
 if he looked horrible in his fights or was losin to cans id agree. but he's lost to franklin, rampage, liddell, henderson in the ufc, and those guys arent exactly the bottom tier of fighters. and out of those fights 2 were fight of the nights. he's still an exciting fighter, and thats wut ufc wants, exciting fights. right now he looks like a bi-polar fighter, u dunno if ur gonna get the axe-murderer or a guy on his farewell tour. but he deserves the chance to keep fighting.
 

n4tacon on Oct 16, 2009 at 6:13 pm ET
Wow. How nice of you. Before you totally disrespect a fighter, perhaps you should look up his overall record and see how many wars he's been in. He wasn't a warrior 5 years ago. He was a warrior even into 2007. Wand continues to sell alot of tickets. If you don't like him then don't watch, but I guarantee that someone else will. Alot of people will. The guy goes out there every single fight and puts on a show for the fans. Would you prefer a lay-n-pray clinic from someone else instead? He may not be the beast he once was, but if a fighter makes a single mistake, he tends to capitalize. Just ask Jardine who got knocked silly.
 

ufcwizard101 on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:11 pm ET
i hope to see wanderlei in his old form,
 

jdizo23 on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:12 pm ET
dude. what the hell are you talking about. he was in the one of the best fights of the year with liddell. he still puts on absolutely sick fights! i want him on every single card from here on out! ufc 103,104,105,106,107,108,109, etc!!
 

ufcwizard101 on Oct 16, 2009 at 4:20 pm ET
im saying id like to see him win and be in title contention
 

Bajs on Oct 16, 2009 at 5:29 pm ET
Cant i post my sexual desirees about Sexy-yama???

Why u delete my posts cause i say stuff like vagina, nudist etc and imitate horney jap girls!?!?!?!?

USA needs to stop being so ridiculous with censorship and crap like that, its not like people never use bad words.

 

coreymb on Oct 16, 2009 at 5:56 pm ET
Maybe peole don't want to read your sexual desires about Akiyama?

I'm with ya that some censoring is overboard but I think I speak for alot of people when I say keep the desires to yourself! :)

Glad I didn't see the previous post you wrote if it did get deleted! :)
 

performify on Oct 16, 2009 at 5:58 pm ET
^ this

:)
 

Serian on Oct 16, 2009 at 5:39 pm ET
Wanderlei by KO (Knees 2nd round)
 

coreymb on Oct 16, 2009 at 6:19 pm ET
I've been saying I want to see more knees from Wanderlei but in this particular match he might want to avoid them. It could be highly risky against Akiyama since he is very accomplished in judoka. Wanderlei throws knees up and we could see a sweep or throw quite easily.
 

LivingDedMan on Oct 16, 2009 at 5:45 pm ET
This should be a good stand up battle. I'm going to go with Silva.
 

Bajs on Oct 16, 2009 at 7:32 pm ET
Well you can censure me all u want but that want change that fact that i would like to do some naaaaaaaaasty things with Akiyama san.

Or at least just oil his mighty sexy body in...
 

godtito31 on Oct 16, 2009 at 9:38 pm ET
that guy that is training with wanderlei, the guy on the video, he punches like a wuss!
 

dean72 on Oct 16, 2009 at 10:04 pm ET
hey this has nothing to do with this story but has anyone else heard about ufc losing hendo cause of not being able to come to terms on contract? read this on yahoo sports ufc news...says hes very close to signing with strikeforce  
 

dirtyBURGER on Oct 16, 2009 at 10:08 pm ET
how abouts we all just come to one conclusion here. ..... mma without wandy is like boxing without iron mike.  this guy has done more for the mma than anybody.      dont question  me here! just dont!  fedor? a. silva? ..... they aramazing, and better fighters than wandy but have not come close to promoting the sport and gaining fans like the axe murderer.  truth..........
 

hank_103 on Oct 17, 2009 at 10:01 pm ET
an assortment of valid and interesting points. i'll add my ten cents for what its worth: i live in Australia and couldn't really care less who is on the card. i'll be there. period.
 

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