Anderson Silva needs no introduction. He is arguably the best mixed martial arts fighter on the planet.
With a record-breaking nine consecutive UFC wins to his credit (and counting), he has been as dominant as any fighter in the history of the sport during his reign.
Recently however, his showings against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites have been the subject of criticism from fans, media and even the UFC management.
In both match-ups, Silva appeared content being cautious, counter striking and staying mistake free.
As a result of his less-than-spectacular performances, the UFC has paired him up against a guy who likes nothing better than to get in your face and force you to engage.
That man is former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin who will take on Silva in the main event at UFC 101 on August 8.
It will be the second trip to the light heavyweight division for Silva.
“The Spider” took some time out of his busy UFC 101 preparations to answer a few questions regarding his recent fights, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin and his uncertain future in MMA.
Check it out:
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): I want to go back to UFC 97 for a second. A lot of people including Dana White were critical of your fight against Thales Leites. Dana went as far as to say he was “embarrassed” by your performance. What goes through your head when you hear Dana say something like that after one of your fights?
Anderson Silva: Of course I want to please the fans and Dana White. I feel I did my job right. I want to focus on my next fight and on training harder for now.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Did the Leites fight go like you had anticipated? Were you satisfied with your performance?
Anderson Silva: I followed the game plan that I had trained. It’s not always possible to please all the fans, but I know that I did my job right.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Some critics out there feel like you may lack motivation or that you have lost your killer instinct at this juncture in his career. How do you respond to those claims?
Anderson Silva: I haven’t lost my motivation. I am still very motivated to put on great fights and keep my belt.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): You’re a long time champion, undefeated in the UFC, and a big name in the sport. Do you feel any burden to be cautious or defensive in the octagon because you know you have a lot to lose at this point?
Anderson Silva: Being the champion has added a lot of responsibilities, but that is part of the job.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Recently, Wanderlei Silva has been vocal about you in the media saying you’re “too cocky” and that “war is declared” against you. Is there bad blood between you two that needs to be resolved?
Anderson Silva: Anyone can say whatever they want to say, it doesn’t affect me. I am still training as always.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Your next fight will be against Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 at 205 pounds. This will be your second fight at this weight. How is the 205-pound Anderson Silva different from the 185-pound version?
Anderson Silva: I feel comfortable fighting at the 205 pound division, but I still want to focus on defending my belt at 185 pounds.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Where is your UFC 101 camp taking place at?
Anderson Silva: I have been training in Rio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) with my team.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Who are some of the fighters and coaches you will be working with during camp to help you prepare?
Anderson Silva: Rafael “Feijao,” the Nogueira brothers, Andre Galvao, among others.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): What do you feel is Griffin’s biggest weakness?
Anderson Silva: Forrest Griffin is a tough fighter with a lot of heart but like everyone he has his weak spots. It’s going to be a great fight.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): How do you see this fight playing out in your head and what is your official prediction for the fight?
Anderson Silva: I don’t know. I can’t predict it. We will have to wait until August 8.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Your teammate Lyoto Machida earned his belt with an incredible performance against Rashad Evans at UFC 98. What were your thoughts on his performance?
Anderson Silva: Lyoto is an incredible fighter and we are all very proud of him. This is really the Machida Karate era. I believe he will keep the light heavyweight belt for a long time.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Are you officially done fighting at 205 for good (after the Griffin fight) now that Machida has the belt?
Anderson Silva: I don’t know what will happen in the future. My main focus is to defend my 185 pound title. Lyoto and I are friends and I feel that he really deserves the belt. I have no intention in fighting for the 205 pound title.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Who at 185 pounds in the UFC would you still like to fight or is there anyone outside the UFC you’ve seen from a distance and always wanted to fight?
Anderson Silva: I would love to fight my clone one day.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): If Georges St. Pierre beats Thiago Alves at UFC 100 and you are able to defeat Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 would you be open to challenging St. Pierre? Does that fight interest you at all?
Anderson Silva: I train to fight the best but it is up to Dana White and the UFC to decide that.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Do you still plan on retiring when your contract is fulfilled, likely in 2010 around your 35th birthday?
Anderson Silva: I don’t know yet what will happen. I haven’t made any definite plans.
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): If you do retire is it still your desire to get back into boxing and subsequently pursue a match-up with Roy Jones Jr.?
Anderson Silva: It is a dream of mine but I don’t know what will happen.
Derek Bolender is a staff writer for InsideFights.com. He is also syndicated at FoxSports.com and CNNSI.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter and on Facebook. Look for future articles from him on MMAmania.com.
95 Comments »
Wow so exciting…all I picture reading this is his Manager talking.
true…and who even knows if the translation is true…lol
man all he’s answers are the same every time it’s like just ask the next one so we can leave
That’s the first I’ve heard about his dream of fighting his own clone though.
Actually, he’s said that before too. It’s his way of saying “nobody at 185 can hang with me at all, so it’s too bad there isn’t a fighter with my skills that could give me a challenge”. If he did fight himself, he’d be too busy admiring his clone’s hand-dancing to throw a punch.
He’s taled about fighting his clon a few times before.
Vitor/Silva…one thing Vitor has over Silva is hand speed…not accuracy, hand speed…not power, hand speed…it only takes one punch and IT WILL happen sooner or later
I don’t know about that, Mac. Silva’s hands are pretty damn fast. He’s also got reach and much better timing and anticipation. It would be a great fight to watch, but Vitor would get caught early and often.
I don’t doubt it…but sooner or later it’ll happen…the reach is a great point though…can anybody do it??
would’ve loved to see Mouassi stay at 185 and go to UFC
Chonan mac!
I think Belfor’s got a good chace to do it though!
Standing up? No. Not without some serious luck combined with some serious underestimation on Silva’s part.
On the ground he can be beaten, and if it’s going to happen that’s where it will happen.
i think your right…but to get him there we need a combo of Hendo (olympic wrestler), Maia (BJJ Black belt), and Vitor (boxer)…no such fighter exists at 185 to my knowledge leading me to believe that luck (like you mentioned), and such drastic over confidence on Silva’s part will need to play a huge part…or, it might never happen
he answers questions like he fought his last 2 fights..just giving you hardly enough and not emphatically..fighting his clone comment was uhhhh just a little cocky..he is not unbeatable, but now, even though i really respect his talent..i’d like him to eat some humble pie..kinda like rashad had to..he is a great fighter yes..but come on..everyone has a weakness..he might love himself too much.
I bet it’s annoying for everyone trying to run his life and the way he fights. Still though no one has like him. He’ll be the only fighter who top 10 wins across three divisions in MMA history after he smashes up Griffin. I say he can be as cocky as he wants as long as he remains smart and doesn’t become a marcus “let’s stand and bang” davis or Chris “just throwing bombs” lytle in order to please fans.
I was surprised by his lack of interest in answering questions then I realised the interviewer just basically said “hello Mr silva, well you were shit in the Leites fight, Dana said you sucked, you are not a very exciting fighter any more, too cautious, too cocky, lack motivation and scared of losing your belt, but do you fancy giving me a good interview??!!”
I don’t blame him for giving him shitty responses.
I mean you have to ask the questions fans wanna hear but there is such a thing as tact which is seriously lacking in this interviewers approach.
This isn’t the first time he’s come off like this. I remember reading some other articles in the past year that were carbon copies of this one. I don’t think Bolender is responsible.
If Silva is going to clam up and get all bent out of shape every time someone brings up his Leites “performance”, he may as well cease doing interviews altogether. It was his last fight, it was a controversial fight, and I don’t think an interviewer should have to be scared to bring it up early on.
I don’t know that he was clamming up, I imagine it has more to do with the translation. Half the time in post fight interviews Silva will talk for like 90 seconds straight and that d-bag Ed Soares will then say a 4 word answer as the translation. Plus I mean the guy is undefeated in the UFC and has cleared out the division so he doesn’t really have to answer to anybody. He stuck to his gameplan and didn’t let himself get caught up in Leites’ lame attempts to lure him to the ground and at the end of the day he’s still the champ so there is no reason for him to have to defend himself at this point.
my man Mac is right! Belfort’s hands are faster and more powerful they are made to finish fights Anderson’s hands are not, If Vitor connects 30 more punches are coming in 2 seconds and it’s lights out!….
Anderson hasn’t fought anyone in the UFC with hands like Vitor yet and it would be interesting to see what Vitor could do…
Hmmm, I think James Irvin and Chris Leben might disagree with you, RoB.
leben and irvin have power but lack speed. i think silva beats belfort, but he is definitely way faster than either of those guys.
I would shit my pants if Dana announced that VItor was fighing in the ufc again.
Will people stop talking about Vitor like he’s some gift to earth. Why don’t you ask yourself who Vitor can beat to even earn a title shot before you start talking about Vitor fighting Silva. In his last fight I was less impressed with Vitor than I was Silva. Silva would knock Vitor out so whoever thinks differently is fooling themselves. Why don’t you wait for Vitor to earn some more wins before talking about giving him a title shot. People love to talk about a fighter beating another fighter when they don’t fight for the same org. Its because they can’t be proven wrong. Well here’s the deal Vitor isn’t getting a title shot. He’d lose to more than just Silva!
Bisping will destroy him
LMFAO
agreed bel-fan, the only way bisping is winning is by doing it on the video game.
Bisping is going down thats all there is to it.
i think your alone in that one bisping will just run all night just like he did with leben
I am currently in the middle of a face palm.
LOL.
it might be ridiculous. but i like that you had the audacity to drop that. haha.
agreed
LOL he barely answers the questions…
Haha i was gunna say the same thing lmao. “what are some of Forrests weak spots?” “all fighters have weaknesses, it will be a good fight” haha.
That was in no way Derek’s fault but that was a crummy interview. And here I was all excited to read MMAMANIA’s Spider interview. He keeps this up, he’s going to lose a lot of fans.
” Who at 185 pounds in the UFC would you still like to fight or is there anyone outside the UFC you’ve seen from a distance and always wanted to fight?”
“I would love to fight my clone one day.”
A.Silva really is cocky/arrogant!!!
Like squeezing water out of a rock. I love watching this guy fight (Leites excluded) and I think he is by far the best striker in MMA, with the possible exception of Machida; but his arrogance really seeps through in all his interviews now.
arrogance or how hard he is trying to not sound arrogant? it sounds more to me the 2nd one, arrogance would be him saying “lyoto is my friend so i don’t mind going up and taking his belt” “well forrest is gonna die” that is arrogance my friend,
sure anderson is a terrible interview but any conversation is hard to have with a middle man involved derek did a great job trying in this interview but you can’t get anderson to say many things apparently
Arrogance comes in many forms. One of those forms is behaving as if you’re too good to do an interview that someone may actually want to read.
Doing interviews is part of being a professional athlete. The reason he is rich and famous is because he has many fans who pay to see him fight and purchase his merchandise. Those same fans want to hear what he has to say. He is doing his very best to not answer questions, and when he does answer them he does so in a facetious and noncommital fashion. I don’t expect him to be falling all over himself to please his fans, but I find his responses to media queries disrespectful as of late.
Another form of arrogance is suggesting that your preferred opponent would be yourself.
Well said JJ!
well said, I get the feeling that he thinks he’s doing us a favour just by answering the questions without thought…and not that its his fault, but it bothers me that his tranlator has been accused of “altering” his words…
I know mac…that’s the exact reason,why I dislike Sores!
Thanks guys… there was a time when I considered Silva to be a humble champion. That time has most definitely passed.
I don’t think he is being arrogant about the interview or cocky. I think he is arrogantly political in his answers and he just seems laid back. There is a middle man translating both ways and there is a cultural barrier there as well so back off until you hear him start talking like Frank Murr and saying that only 10 people in the world could beat him in a fight.
I think wanderlei is right! It seems as if Anderson acts a lot different these days. I could care less as long as he performs, but It had to be frustrating interviewing this guy or his translator. If you are only going to give those kind of answers, y give the interview? I hear that same tired ass comment about him wanting to fight his clone in an interview 2 years ago…and I want to FLY, get over it and give us a real answer!!!!!!!!
I dont blame Mr. Bolander. He was asking great questions…it had to be frustrating to get those kinds of dry answers…I would have gotten mad and told Mr. Silva to FOCK OFF!!! If the interview was being conducted over the phone that is…lol
I for one can’t wait till he loses
Starting to feel the same way McArthur. He used to carry himself a lot better. Now it seems like he has this big chip on his shoulder. Makes you appreciate guys like GSP and Fedor more.
perfectly said fedor and gsp truly are warriors and they always show respect to their opponents, fans, and actually come to fight
i like how gsp says in one of the new ufc 100 videos im already champion so i fight for my legacy. wish anderson felt the same way
ive said it before but..
FUCK YOU ANDERSON SILVA!
It’s strange. I also enjoy watching Silva fight and have enormous respect for his talent. That said, I’d really like to see someone knock him off his perch. Unfortunately at 185, no one jumps out as the guy to do it. Provided GSP wins next week, a potential matchup with Silva would be a huge draw. I have a tough time however seeing GSP beating Silva. Even though GSP could carry 185 pds and still be fit, Silva’s length, functional strength and precision striking would be too much for GSP I’m thinking.
Agreed, but if GSP can take him down, which he will, the only way silva can win is via KO or Sub. A KO is more likely, but my moneys on rush via UD.
you heard it hear folks.
There was a time when I considered Anderson to be a humble champion. That time has passed.
Doh, double post. I think the moderator has a meth problem.
I agree JJ. I’m all about fighters having confidence and even a bit of tough talking.
However, it seems as though Silva feels he’s so many levels above everyone else, it would be silly to talk sh*t.
I’m slowly losing respect for Silva, AS A PERSON… cause we all know he really is at least one level above everyone else (except GSP and fYAdor [as some like to annunciate]).
Another boring “I’m a fighter. I fight” interview from Anderson Silva…very compelling. lol
And seriously, “I’d like to fight my clone one day.” ?
If there was ever any quote that proves this guy is cocky, this is it.
“One day I would like to fight my clon.” Are you kidding me… That statement might even be considered errogant coming from the champ. He’s going to wish he was fighting his clone next time he steps in the ring with Nate Marquardt. The Great is going to blow strait through Maia and put a beating on Silva.
Fight his clone….what a cocky son of a bitch! Vitor better tap that ass in Affliction Trilogy and head to the UFC and whoop that ass!
Agreed. He can’t even answer a simple question. He’s got to be a smart *ss. I definitely think that Nate deserves a rematch if he can get through Maia impressively. The way he took out Wilson G. was unreal.
Silva is losing fans quick in my opinion. He used to answer questions more sincerely and with respect. Now he just gives short bullsh*t answers.
Id like to fight my clone? Maybe its just me but that sounds like he doesnt think anyone else is good enough to fight him or something. A little to cocky.
Why waste your time interviewing someone who only gives one sentence answers. O well. I hate when fighters do that.
“I want to please the fans and Dana White. I feel I did my job right.”
This doesnt make sense at all. If pleasing his fans and the UFC management is what he wants, he absolutely did NOT do his work right.
Well done Mania on getting the interview.
Shame really, I could have snored his answers while sleeping. But then again, I suppose its not that thrilling having to do hundreds of interviews and being asked the same questions over and over. Even more so when its having to be translated.
I cant wait to see what happens when he steps in there with Forrest. That matchup is just way out there, but i like it and its hard to really pick a winner. Call me crazy but im edging towards Forrest.
You’re crazy.
Ill be rooting for him anyway.
You know belfort_fan…you state a logical point. Griffin beating Silva does sound gnarrly insane,but if you take the time to sit and think on it, it really seems to be a possibility. Im thinking the up-set by a lucky submission. Call me crazy, but we all seen it happen to Shogun…?.?.?
Ill remember that jeremy, and when Forrest wins im gunna call you crazy.
Umm, you said “call me crazy”… so I did. Little sensitive this evening?
Not at all. I just dont think there will be many people that actually think Forrest will win. When he does, im gunna say told ya so..
After Silva’s last performance, I think Forrest will win, but only if Forrest shows up UNAFRAID of Silva…Forrest has a decent chin, hes kinda crazy, pretty tough, hes the biggest LHW I’ve seen and he has great cardio. This guy spars with Wanderlei and wrestles with Couture. I can see Forrest easily taking Anderson Silva down and winning by lay n pray if he can make it through the strikes!
Forrest is one of the toughest fighters in the world. The guy will fight till the end like a dawg no matter who he is fighting. I think if anderson is going to win he will have to finish him. I dont see Forrest losing a decision.
The guy sounds like a focking politician. Please don’t interview him again. I’m starting to want to see this guy get dethroned and I doubt that Dana feels differently.
Definitely not the fault of the interviewer, but man, talk about boring. Every answer he gave was basically your run of the mill, prepared response. Brutal. I don’t really care to read another interview with him unless he decides to ditch the queue cards and speak from the heart.
hes always wanted to fight his close, hes said it many times
Anderson Silva needs no introduction. He is arguably the best mixed martial arts fighter on the planet.
Don’t you mean arguably best ‘pound for pound’ mixed martial arts fighter on the planet?
Cause we all know Fedor is the best.
why bother even interviewing this guy? Hell of a fighter, but what was acomplished by this interview?? I kinda hope Forrest cetches him and humbles him a bit
its not the fighter mate, its the shit interviewer!
You should re-phrase – why even let Derek Bolender interview this guy ….
lol troll…well done though.
epic failure by the interviewer for asking the wrong questions.
You got to be joking?If not…this is another of your gems!
You think I’m joking? There was not one original question asked. Your a joke
Real original little Periplaneta americana!
You really are a genious…I guess you’ll have no problem to find out the meaning of this!
http://media.photobucket.com/image/fuck/dimasatria/FUCK.jpg
This is probably the worst interview I have ever read – nice way to start of with the UFC 97 questions, really set the tone for a pathetic interview.
pretty much the worst interview in MMA history. anderson appears to be watching the NHL for tips on how to deal with this aspect of the business. haha. no fault of this interviewer though, i bet he wanted to punch himself in the wang out of frustration the whole effing time. man.
on a side note. it would be pretty funny if he was really saying he liked to murder people and will rip his critics’ heads off and drink their blood. and soares just kept it under wraps and gave the stock responses. haha.
Worst interview Ive ever read. Anderson has the personality of my great great grandpa that died about 50 years ago.
Sliva is one exciting interview….ZZZZZZzzzzzzz
Why does he even bother to do an interview like that? Hopefully he gets cuts by the UFC if he insists on boring fights…Silva is a brand and needs to understand marketing.Why should he get top dollar for lackluster performances?
boring! he so cocky and he always has been. it wasnt so apparent when he first entered the octagon, but with each win his head has gotten bigger and bigger. everyone used to think he was a noble and humble champion but even back then i always thought there was an underlying cockiness to him. the only thing different now is he doesnt bother hiding his huge ego. i think the language barrier hid his ego at first because all we coulsd see was him knocking people out and saying two sentences after the fight. as of late tho hes been sickeningly cocky. he fought a good part of the cote fight with his hands down and and seemed a little to relaxed for a title fight as thats supposed to impress people who pay hard earned money to watch him. and the leites fight he wasnt only protecting his belt, he was protecting his ego by not going on the offence at all and playing it safe. the comment about fighting his clone speaks volumes in my opinion. with all the talent in the mma world to say he wants to fight himself?? hes outwardly saying hes the only legitimate challenge to himself. hes human, and hes gonna get caught, and i cant wait!! screw the cocky spider and his crappy interviews. dont do us any favors next time spider by answering questions like a robot
i disagree a little. i think he is disgusted with having to fight fighters like cote and leites in title fights. its not silva’s fault leites kept laying down, it was dana’s fault for putting an over-rated underskilled fighter against him. cote wasn’t even close to championship level either. like you said, silva fought half the fight with his hands down and cote never even came close to hurting him, even though he was barely even defending himself. he beat henderson, but at least hendo had him in trouble at times. i think hendo and marquardt are the only real challengers right now until GSP moves up, but marquardt needs to take his fights a little more serious, and stop losing to bums like leites.
this guy is not the best at 185. He has not lost in 9 fights now but he has 4 losses and has been in trouble in many others. Lyoto is undefeated and has dominated and he is never mentioned as a pound for pound guy. I think Hendo will take Silva down and set up a trio. Griffen might too. All Forest has to do is go 2 rounds to impress anyone. I wanna see if Anderson can take Forest’s power or wrestle with him at all. Wrestling is his weak point so Hendo is best fit to beat him even at 38.
cmon, the interviewer attacked him in the first sentence, and used really accusatory language.. blah blah.. of course he’s gonna give a stock response.
“hi, u looked like a pussy, and dana called u one, are u gonna finish fights or are u gonna keep being a pussy?”
Man this guy is really boooring! He has said in previous interviews that he wants more money before he retires the fucking start to promote yourself man nobody wants to listen to what he says in his post fight interviews because they are so boring! / A fan of the spider as a fighter not a person
He wants to fight his clone? What a cocky ass! I hope Forrest feeds him some humble pie…unlike alot of people, I think he has a decent chance of pulling off the upset. I’m going to laugh my ass off if he does.
i agree with belfortfan. i think forrest has plenty of tools to beat a.silva. good training partners, good size,cardio,he has technical striking skills, and good ground skills, plus a ton of heart.A.silva is very dangerous but he has not had to rely on cardio if there is one question mark that is it.yea he went 5 rounds with leitas but the fight was never pushed at fast pace.forrest will push the fight all 5 rounds if he doesnt get caught.cant wait 4 this fight.wish wandy or vitor would ko him and the 185 lb belt from him.
forrest is to casual, lacks kill reflex
I think Forrest can endure far more than Silva’s past opponents. Maybe all Forrest’ll need is to weather an early storm to build confidence then show Silva that he’s still in his face. Who knows, Giffen could even pull off a luck submission…we’ve seen it happen in the Shogun match-up.