As UFC 99 looms, Wanderlei Silva wonders if the win is finally more important than the show

"My life is on the line," Silva tells MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I stand with the rope around my neck."
"This is a hard decision for me," Silva said. "You saw the last UFC with Matt Serra and Matt Hughes. Serra had knocked Hughes down at the start of the match. Hughes fought back, but he fought just to win. He just held Serra down, but he won.
"Maybe I could just take Franklin down and hold him on the ground. Second round, same. Third round, same. Then I win the fight."
"People just want to have their arm raised up at the end of the fight," Silva said. "They forget about the show. But for me, it's different. I talked to my wife about it last week. I don't have depression if I win or lose because I fight every week. I fight every day in the gym. But I need to win.

"I don't know what everybody's motivation is, but for me, I feel like I'm an artist. This is my presentation. People come to watch my show. For that, I have to open up my game. I'm going in there to hit, and the guy is trying to hit me. This is the emotion of the fight. I put my life on the line. This is the emotion you have to feel and why I think my fans support me win or lose. But I don't think everyone understands this."
"It's hard because if you win, you're good, and if you lose, you're bad," Silva said. "But I think I'm starting to have a different mind about this. It's not always a show. It is a sport, and the results are important. The fans just like the winners. That's the reality of it.