It just occurred to me....
Wanderlei, who wasn't the top guy in UFC but was close(had he beat Tito he would've been lhw champion), ended up being a Dominant LHW Champion in what ended up being the #1 mma promotion at the time he was champion.
A guy who ended up being a UFC wash out, ended up being arguably the most dominant Pride Champion in it's history.
A guy who ended up being a Pride wash out,Anderson Silva, who wasn't the top guy in Pride, ended up being a Dominant Mw Champion for what was and is currently, the #1 mma promotion.
What does this mean? Fuck if I know, but it's kind of weird that Pride's biggest superstar couldn't make it in the UFC, but did great in Pride, where as Anderson Silva, 3-2 in Pride, ends up being UFC's longest reigning champion.
Don't forget the level of fighter he lost to in pride. Also, middleweight is a shallow division where run of the mill light heavyweights go to become contenders. 
Perhaps Anderson wasn't eating the Horsemeat along with the rest of the Pride crop?
Timing sounds like a legit answer too though.
it's all timing... and the "prime" window of fighters' careers.. not rocket surgery here folks
Wanderlei Silva's case I would like to think is he was able to handle the styles of all his opponents in Japan better. Tito and Belfort were strong guys and Wanderlei was not able to handle that. Im not too sure because Im not aware of all his opponents
I know he did not defeat Cro Crop or Henderson due to their power
Anderson could of been the horse meat or that he began becoming the fighter we know today when he transitioned into UFC and got better and better in his time here. 
Very ironing indeed
GSP24 - Wanderlei fought a lot of cans.
And according to Mr. Sonnen, he had mostly fixed fights in Pride.
Wanderlei fought 14 times as Pride Champion successfully.
Anderson has fought 13 times as UFC Champion.
Both have some questionable wins, but both are dominant champions.
Anderson's weaker opponents may be stronger than Wanderlei's weaker opponents, but Wanderlei's stronger opponents may be stronger than Anderson's strong opponents.
IE:Quinton Jackson(2x)
Dan Henderson
Yoshida
Kondo
Sakuraba
vs
Dan Henderson
Vitor Belfort
Forrest Griffin
Nate Marquardt
Yushin Okami
Also to add to the ironing.....
BOTH Anderson and Wanderlei hail from the same camp=Chute Box
MORE IRONING=They both have the SAME LAST NAME=SILVA!!
More Ironing-They're both Brazilian!
For more oddness
Anderson's Win for the MW title was against Franklin where he won it by knees in the first. The second fight ended by knees in the second round
Wanderlei won the GP against Rampage in the first by knees, where in the second fight also ended by knees in the second rounds
Both career defining moments
D241 - Also to add to the ironing.....
BOTH Anderson and Wanderlei hail from the same camp=Chute Box
MORE IRONING=They both have the SAME LAST NAME=SILVA!!
More Ironing-They're both Brazilian!
haha! youre on a roll tonight...... or stoned =)
About to be both RickStorm.
Thanks, I've been UGing for the past 3 hours and need a weed/ps3 nba 2k11 break.
I swear I spend more free time on the UG than I do anywhere else online or ps3 or weed smoking.
Auzzie - IE:Quinton Jackson(2x)
Dan Henderson
Yoshida
Kondo
Sakuraba
vs
Dan Henderson
Vitor Belfort
Forrest Griffin
Nate Marquardt
Yushin Okami
For Andy's list:
You forgot to add Damian Maia, Chael Sonnen (the guy that crushed 2 guys on that list and the concensus #2 middleweight for a while now), rich franklin (the #1 guy before Anderson came on the scene, who was crushed by Andy twice), and Hayato Sakurai (undefeated welterweight Shooto Champ when Andy fought him).
Left out 4 top wins? Ooopss....
Unless Maia and Chael do something significant to make them more credible than they are currently, I did not forget them. Hayato Sakurai fight Anderson was not the champion. I did however, forget to mention Rich Franklin. I think he was the first name I thought of so I thought of everyone else whom I might forget and left out the obvious. My bad Ace.
D241 - About to be both RickStorm.
Thanks, I've been UGing for the past 3 hours and need a weed/ps3 nba 2k11 break.
I swear I spend more free time on the UG than I do anywhere else online or ps3 or weed smoking.<br type="_moz" />
PS3 name?
D241 - Also to add to the ironing.....Jesus Christ, man. Cool it on the mind blowing shit for a few. I still need to gather my thoughts from you're mind blowing first post.
BOTH Anderson and Wanderlei hail from the same camp=Chute Box
MORE IRONING=They both have the SAME LAST NAME=SILVA!!
More Ironing-They're both Brazilian!
Ring v cage
Shaq Attack -Poopyface TomatoNose - Don't forget the level of fighter he lost to in pride. Also, middleweight is a shallow division where run of the mill light heavyweights go to become contenders. <img src="/images/phone/droid.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
this guy is just trying to get a reaction out of anderson fans.
Yes he is. You probably spotted it so quickly because it is 99% of what YOU do on the UG, only to Fedor fans. It's like you GayDar, only for trolling. (trolldar?)
I am so shocked that Dr. MMA was the first one to bring Fedor into this thread, only to shit all over him.
Noticed a mod posting in this thread....can we just ban this fuck wad already guys???
IwillSuckTheSkinOffYourBone -D241 -Then why list Henderson on Wanderleis list? When Wanderlei won Hendo, he wasnt champion, and when he was champion, he lost to Hendo? Double standards again. So drop Hendo, or add SakuraiAuzzie - IE:Quinton Jackson(2x)
Dan Henderson
Yoshida
Kondo
Sakuraba
vs
Dan Henderson
Vitor Belfort
Forrest Griffin
Nate Marquardt
Yushin Okami
For Andy's list:
You forgot to add Damian Maia, Chael Sonnen (the guy that crushed 2 guys on that list and the concensus #2 middleweight for a while now), rich franklin (the #1 guy before Anderson came on the scene, who was crushed by Andy twice), and Hayato Sakurai (undefeated welterweight Shooto Champ when Andy fought him).
Left out 4 top wins? Ooopss....
Unless Maia and Chael do something significant to make them more credible than they are currently, I did not forget them. Hayato Sakurai fight Anderson was not the champion. I did however, forget to mention Rich Franklin. I think he was the first name I thought of so I thought of everyone else whom I might forget and left out the obvious. My bad Ace.
I stated 14 wins AS CHAMPION, not title defenses. So you're wrong on trying to correct me there.
I do however, stand corrected on giving Wanderlei Henderson. My mistake, Wand fought Henderson just before he was champion, and since that was what I was basing my list off of, you can strike him from the record.
Regardless, like the tool you always are fagboy, you try to turn something I'm saying into a debate when I'm not putting anything out there to debate. Correct me on Henderson/Wanderlei, that's fine, but you come at me like I'm suggesting that Wand is better or more proven than Anderson or vice versa. They are BOTH proven legends and if anyone on this message board prefers one over the other, I have NO problem with that. I think it's you who flips a shit if someone compares to your precious Anderson Silva.
MeGusta -D241 - About to be both RickStorm.
Thanks, I've been UGing for the past 3 hours and need a weed/ps3 nba 2k11 break.
I swear I spend more free time on the UG than I do anywhere else online or ps3 or weed smoking.<br type="_moz" />
PS3 name?
Don_Flamenco241
And I'll save anyone the trouble trying to google search me by using the name Don Flamenco. That is not my actual name.
It's a great point, D.
I think what it means is that the fighters we thought were great were . . . actually great.
Ultimately, I comes down to watching the fights. We know Wand was a great fighter, despite not being a UFC champion. We watched him fight. We know Chuck was great despite not winning the Pride GP. We watched him fight. We know that the Pride HW division was where the best heavyweights of the time were, but that Matt Hughes was likely the best WW on Earth. And we know that Anderson is a great fighter regardless of his loss to Chonan.