The fact that he never had real success in the UFC like he did in Pride makes me think the same. But it could have just been the different rules the UFC had.
He aged really fast. He started super early, and his all out style put many miles on the clock. Chutebox training camps were legendary for their gym wars. The rules under Pride also suited his reckless style better. I remember the fight vs Bisping where he dropped Bisping and was about to soccer kick his head into the front rows when he just stopped himself in time remembering it wasn't allowed.
This. Wand was absolutely frightening in his prime. Far from overrated. Probably the best LHW of all time.
I saw some of his early fights where he wasn't even that buff. He went up against a well rounded veteran fighter and omfg, it looked like a straight-up mugging the way Wand went to town on him. Found it: This content is protected
People chalk up his lack of success in the UFC to drug-testing and age, but I think the restrictive rule set also played a part as well. A huge part of his style consisted of soccer kicks and stomps, and amputating those weapons from his arsenal had a negative effect. I think that was also a (lesser) handicap on Shogun. It hampered that Chutebox style. The Chutebox vs. Carlson Gracie/Brazilian Top Team rivalry was one of the best rivalries in MMA. I wish we could have seen Wanderlei fight Little Nog around the time of the 2005 middleweight Grand Prix. Nog's boxing & ruthless BJJ vs. Wanderlei's Muay Thai.
Spot on. Take away the knees and soccer kicks and Wand was always going to struggle. Mirko stole his soul when he starched him back around '06. Wand wasn't the same after that. And Wand never evolved in the striking department and never adapted his style to the UFC's rules. But prime Wand was pure violence. He was genuinely the scariest man alive.
I was a huge Wandy fan as well. I think that once he lost a little bit of speed, he started to get losses to guys that were high level technicians, like Cro Cop - although Mirko was the naturally bigger guy, let's also be fair. The UFC's slightly different ruleset also didn't favour his style. Franklin was also a technical fighter that gave him problems although iirc I had them 1-1 and not 2-0 to Franklin.
Nah. He had already been in a ton of wars in Pride. He got KTFO by Hendo and Cro Cop not too long before he went into the UFC. He was destroyed by Jackson a guy he pummeled twice in Pride. That says it all really.
Agreed. I loved his fights with Rich. I always thought that Rich would be more safety-first, so he surprised me in that regard against Wand.
Yep. The KO loss to Hendo was the end of the "Axe Murderer". Hendo's resume of world class wins and just who he has faced in general is unbelievably impressive!
