Wanderlei Silva – “I didn’t (want to) fight with (Brian Stann) right now. I don’t know what day I’m going to be available to fight. I (didn’t) want to hold him. He has his life. Another point, this guy is an American hero. One day, I’m going to fight with him, of course. Don’t worry guys. I’m going to fight with him.”
Dave Meltzer (subscription only) says “It’s hard to understand the decision”:
Silva absolutely refused to face Brian Stann, telling people he would retire rather than take that fight. Silva feels that he would be booed as a foreigner facing a war hero and he doesn’t want to be booed, which at this stage of the game, is crazy. Silva was your classic monster heel when he broke through as a superstar after beating Kazushi Sakuraba in Japan which led to the first-ever Tokyo Dome sellout. Plus, the reality is, the fans would either cheer both guys, or if anything, cheer Silva if that fight was to have taken place.
Brian Stann now faces newly signed Jorge Santiago at UFC 130.