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'Distracted' Wanderlei 'never considered quitting'

Wanderlei Silva was knocked out by Chris Leben at UFC 132 © Getty Images

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Wanderlei Silva's mentor claims the Axe Murder "has to keep fighting", insisting defeat to Chris Leben only occurred because the Brazilian got distracted.

Silva was knocked out in 27 seconds by the Crippler, marking his sixth loss in eight fights. He has now been knocked out in two of his last four outings, and at the age of 35 it is widely believed that the Muay Thai dangerman needs to retire.

However, mentor Rafael Cordeiro is not one of those believers, claiming the fire and passion still burns in Wanderlei. Far from thinking Silva's punch resistance has gone, he stated his belief that the occasion got to his man.

"He was distracted during the fight," Cordeiro said to Sherdog. "To see the arena crowded, to hear his entrance music again and to see people behind him was awesome, but it distracted him.

"He's human like anyone else. People must understand that. He was looking forward to getting the knockout and dedicating it to the fans and his family. It shook him up a bit."

UFC president Dana White was vocal in his belief that Wanderlei should hang up the mitts, but Cordeiro firmly disagrees. "White can have that position, but Wanderlei has the fire [to fight]," he said. "The fans and his training partners feed him. I still see a lot of good things happening for him.

"The decision to keep fighting or not is something very personal. No one can tell you when to retire because no one knows what's going on in your mind or heart. You have to think about the human side of the situation and Wanderlei's desire to fight, which he has always had with him.

"In my opinion, he has to keep fighting. He has the will to be competitive for years to come. He never thought about quitting fighting because of that loss [to Leben]. That's not a champion's philosophy. The champion stands up again after a loss."

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