Wanderlei Silva's future in MMA has been called into question recently with his 27 second knockout loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132. However his head coach, Rafael Cordeiro, believes that Silva still has much to do and has the potential to become champion once more according to tatame.com.

"He was prepared for a war, but that punch really got caught him and it defined the fight... It's hard to talk about game plans after the fight, but now we have to move along and think about his next bout. He still has much to do." Cordeiro said.

Silva regularly trains with top talent in preparation for his fights, Mark Munoz and Fabricio Werdum  aided him for his bout with Leben. As Cordeiro pointed out, the deciding factor was not his training but rather his lack of competition. Silva's bout with Leben was his first in 2011 after being sidelined for over a year due to injuries. It was this layoff that Cordeiro points to as a factor in Silva's defeat.

"The lack of fighting rhythm was the biggest factor. Wanderlei, while in a sequence of fights, will recover that. Wanderlei was coming from a sequence of injuries, did his best on the trainings, he was doing fine, but it happened. There were two prepared athletes, and a hard punch got him hard. He went for it, it's hard to analyze... There was no bout. Wanderlei believed that he could finish the fight and went for it." Cordeiro said.

Silva's name is synonymous with MMA, a living legend in the sport. He is famed for his aggressive style which rightfully earned him the moniker, "The Axe Murderer". With wild punches and his infamous Muay Thai clinch, Silva became Pride FC's middleweight champion in 2001, holding that title for six years.

However the heydays of Pride and Silva as champion are long gone. Silva, now approaching his 36 birthday, has struggled since his introduction into the UFC. His record is 2-4 after six fights, two losses come via knockout.

One of the more vocal voices addressing Silva's recent record is UFC president, Dana White, who has stated that he needed to 'Chuck Liddell' Silva into retirement. He further stated that the former Pride superstar had nothing left to prove.

"He's Wanderlei, he'll never give up. That's the main thing about him. And there's no reason for him to do that. He's reached what every athlete wants to. I'm not saying this as his coach, I'm saying this as a guy who watched him growing in the sport. He has the potential to become champion again, it's all about timing." Cordeiro said.

The date for Silva's return and future opponent is currently unknown.