Outside Source
This clash between Ricardo Arona and Wanderlei Silva started several chapters of a rivalry that marked the Pride era. Last Friday, UFC Fight Pass Brasil published a mini documentary recalling all 10 chapters that marked this rivalry: 1. Fight at Hotel Breakfast; 2. Sperry vs. Ninja; 3. Ninja vs. Arona; 4. Minotouro vs. Shogun; 5. Arona vs. Wanderlei 1; 6. Arona vs. Shogun; 7. Filho vs. Ninja; 8. Wanderlei Knocked Out by Crazy Horse; 9. Arona vs. Wanderlei 2; 10. Peace at the Beach. What’s noteworthy about this video is that the three episodes that had no records (videos or photos) were reconstructed in animations narrated by the protagonists.
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War at Breakfast
The starting point of the rivalry, which has no photographic or video record, is narrated by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mario Sperry, Arona, Rudimar Fedrigo, Rafael Cordeiro and Wanderlei Silva. David Carvalho’s animation shows the sequence of events from the argument between Wanderlei and Arona at the Pride hotel breakfast, starting from the moment the BTT fighter is surrounded by five Chute Boxe members on his way to his table. Arona, who was about to make his UFC debut against Guy Mezger, reveals that he already had his tray aimed at the Pride champion Wanderlei, imagining the worst.
“If someone attacked me, I couldn’t hit everyone, but Wanderlei was in the sights of my tray,” Arona recounted, recalling that the catastrophe was prevented by the Japanese members of the organization, who arrived just in time before the worst could happen.
Crazy Horse’s Knockout over Wanderlei
Another episode depicted in the video, which has no recordings, is the knockout delivered by Charles “Crazy Horse” Bennett to Wanderlei Silva just minutes before his rematch with Ricardo Arona, which would be for the middleweight title at Pride Shockwave 2005.
When he regained consciousness after being knocked out by Cristiano Marcello in a triangle choke following a fight in the locker room, “Crazy Horse” lands a punch to Wanderlei’s chin.
“I remember I was sitting down, then I asked, what happened? Then they told me what had happened. I ran after the guy, but he had already left. Then Rafael said something that really stuck with me. ‘You are ready,’” said Silva, who recalls being complimented by the leader of Kings MMA.
“What happened was this, you took a punch to the mouth, it’s good that you’re already warmed up, let’s beat this guy up,” Cordeiro said, praising his disciple for his armored mind. In the end, even with a concussion, Wanderlei would deliver 20 minutes of battle with Arona, winning by judges’ decision and keeping his title.
Peace in the Tiger’s Den
The video ends with another animation of a chapter without any photos or videos. The day that Wanderlei Silva, shortly after the end of Pride in 2007, decided to go to Itacoatiara beach in Rio de Janeiro, where Ricardo Arona still lives today, and apologize to his tormentor.
“We had ended our contact in the war climate and I hadn’t seen him since then. I was at home when a neighbor of mine came to tell me that Wanderlei was on the beach sitting on a rock and I went to see what was going on,” Arona said.
Silva finished with his version of events: “I saw the tiger coming down the rock and I extended my hand to him and apologized. After all, if you’re man enough to do it, you also have to be man enough to recognize your mistake.”
This mini-documentary, produced by Sherdog collaborator Marcelo Alonso, is part of the Beyond the Octagon section where the journalist, a pioneer in MMA coverage in Brazil, recalls behind-the-scenes moments from his coverage of the trajectory of great icons of the sport.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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