Wanderlei Silva fires back at Mirko Cro Cop, explains decision to pull out of RIZIN tournament

Wanderlei Silva won’t be fighting Mirko Cro Cop at the RIZIN open weight tournament quarterfinal on Dec. 29 in Japan, and the Brazilian finally broke the silence on Sunday morning.

Days after Cro Cop saying that Silva had pulled out of the bout because he was “scared,” the former PRIDE champion, who went 0-1-1 against the Croatian under the PRIDE banner, explains that the injuries he sustained after being hit by a car in May forced him to cancel the bout.

Speaking in Portuguese in a video he posted on his YouTube channel, Silva attacked Cro Cop for his comments and expressed his desire to face the heavyweight in the future.

“My recovery, I couldn’t be able to be 100 percent for this fight,” Silva said. “I’m a professional, I’d never fight against Mirko or anyone else not being prepared. But what astonished me is that this Croatian, this Mirko Cro Cop guy, called me the best in the world, a legend in front of me, but behind the computer he’s talking a bunch of crap.

“What kind of man are you to say this crap online and not to my face? Are you only a man in front of the computer, p---y? Who do you think you’re talking to? Don’t worry. It won’t be now, but you’ll get what is yours. I know really well how to catch you. I know you’re afraid of me, coward.”

Silva said he was set to make a million dollars in the fight, but wouldn’t enter the ring just to get his paycheck.

“I was offered a large amount of money, I was offered a million dollars,” Silva said. “I could go in there and see what happens. If I fought 30 seconds or a minute, I’d get my prize the same way. But I’m a professional, straightaway, and I’d never do this not being 100 percent to fight. Everybody knows I’m coming off a serious injury.

“I’m training well and training to be back to my old shape, the real ‘Axe Murderer’. I won’t fight just to fight, I’m fighting to win. Silva is back. Wait for it.”