Wanderlei Silva is more than deserving of a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame, which he was announced to be included in at UFC 298 this past weekend.
For all of his accomplishments and incomparable fighting style, one of Silvaâs most defining traits is his nickname. Sometimes, an MMA moniker goes on to become more symbolic of a fighterâs career than their actual name, and thatâs the case when you think about âThe Axe Murderer.â
Very few men were present in the early days of the UFC when Silva first stepped inside the cage and was given his now iconic nickname.
Fortunately, one of those people remembers that moment backstage very clearly.
McCarthy Tells Incredible Origin Story Of Silvaâs Iconic Nickname
On the latest episode of the Weighing In podcast, âBigâ John McCarthy told the story of how Silva was given his nickname ahead of his iconic fight with Vitor Belfort.
The fight itself ended in just 44 seconds and made an instant star out of Belfort, who would of course go on to have his own legendary career in the promotion.
How everyone involved got to that point is a whole other story and one that certainly deserved retelling ahead of Silvaâs hall of fame induction later this year.
âWe were in Brazil and Vitor Belfort was supposed to fight Jerry Bohlander, and Jerry Bohlander pulled out because he hurt his knee and Frank Shamrock was facing John Lober. So they bring in Wanderlei to fight Vitor Belfort and Vitor Belfort did not want to fight him⌠Heâs sitting there saying, âLet me fight Frank Shamrock, I donât want to fight another Brazilian,â is what heâs saying. Basically, John Perretti just looks and everybody and says, âOf course he doesnât want to goddamn face him, heâs a f****** axe murderer, who wants to face an axe murderer?â Thatâs how [the nickname] it came about.â
McCarthy continued, adding even more detail to this story by talking about how Belfort eventually did take the fight. The rest, as they say, is history.
âI can tell you stories that you wouldnât believe, I actually hit Vitor before that fight because he was a mess. He did not want to fight him [Wanderlei] and it was like the only thing I could think of. Like, âHey man,â and I whacked him and I said, âWhat is wrong with you!?â I was shocked at the way that he did actually handle himself when he did go out there because you could tell he did not want to be there. But once the fight started, he was just like, âOkay, Iâm just going to wait and let me try to just figure out,â and all of a sudden, he exploded and it was over and he was acting like thatâs the way it was supposed to be and this is what happens in fighting.â
Is Big John McCarthy in the HOF yet?
He should be
By âhitâ John meant the little âCome on buddy, be a good sportâ soft tap play-punch to the chin. I doubt anyone ever made a grown man Vitor to do anything by hitting him.
lol. Probably more of a âYou want to get paid, you better fight.â slap on the shoulder.
Juiced up John was a force to reckon with.
Heavy handed and had no problem (bullying the fighter into respecting him)
Compared to
Damn man got KO woke up 8 times
Very few people in MMA are full of more shit than BJM
Hey, you watch what you say about Big John. Heâs such a legend he had a song written about how bad he was, as an infant.
