It’s unclear whether Wanderlei Silva will fight again since he skipped town after being requested to take a drug test from the Nevada Athletic Commission, but what is clear is that he wants to fight Dan Henderson in a rubber match.
“I want to be back soon for my 50th fight,” Silva said in an interview to Lance. “I would like it to be in a special event. It’s not new that I would like to face Belfort or Sonnen, but another guy that I would like to fight is Dan Henderson, and this fight is quite possible.”
The pair met for the first time almost 14 years ago in 2000. Henderson made his PRIDE debut and lost the fight against Silva by decision. In 2007 they met again with a very different result as Henderson won the middleweight title over Silva after knocking him out in the third round.
“We’re tied 1-1 and a rubber match would be cool,” he said. “In my last fight at PRIDE, I lost my belt and never had the chance to rematch. If this fight happens now, I would even ask him to take the belt and the winner would keep it [laughs].”
There’s no word yet the NAC will suspend the Brazilian fighter for avoiding the drug test, but Silva doesn’t seem to worry about it.
“I think that Wanderlei vs. Dan Henderson could happen anywhere,” he said. “If it’s in Brazil, it would be beautiful if it happens in a soccer stadium in Curitiba, which is my home. UFC does a lot of cards and sometimes you don’t even know who’s fighting, but when they look Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson, it sells well. A fight between champions has to be considered in a big show.”
