Anderson Silva: I Give Chris Back The Knockout
Former longtime UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva has been through a whirlwind couple of months after losing the belt to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in July. An immediate rematch was booked, and now the hype will begin to build towards a feverish pitch. Silva appeared on “The MMA Hour” today (speaking at times through his manager Ed Soares) to discuss his loss and his chance to reclaim the title:
“No, I am a lot of working. Is normal. My job. Chris is the new champion. People need to respect him. That was Chris Weidman’s moment. I working hard for long time. I have my fans, I respect the people, this for me is the big chance to give back to my fans. I try. Chris is a good fighter, but I training hard for the rematch. The new Anderson’s coming!”
When asked if he was relieved that the he lost the belt, Silva admitted that he was:
“Yeah, little bit, because for long time, I defend my title and I’m working hard for the UFC belt. I no talk too much, because now it’s time to just win. That’s it.”
Helwani then brought up boxing champion Floyd Mayweather, who Silva was recently heard trashing, ‘The Spider’ responded:
“No, I like Mayweather. But Mayweather, sometimes the problem is no respect for the sport.”
The inevitable question of his long-rumored superfight against Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones came next, and Silva came out and said straight up that he doesn’t want the fight:
“I have nine fights in UFC, but my real opinion? No.”
Silva explained that his reasoning behind this were his many friends who fight at 205 in the UFC, including Lyoto Machida (who just moved down to Middleweight), Glover Teixeira, and Rafael Cavalcante. The former champ wants these fighters to get a chance at the LHW belt, but Teixeira is probably the only one who really stands a chance right now.
Silva closed the interview by discussing specifics about his training for his rematch with Weidman:
“So, I train more Jiu-jitsu, Weidman go for the ground. No stand up.”
But Weidman knocked Silva out on the feet at UFC 162 when most people thought he would take Silva down, so ‘The All-American’ is confident standing. He may change his strategy up for the rematch, but it appears ‘The Spider’ is training to combat this.
His last comment was:
“I give Chris back the knockout.”
It may not be the most conventional bit of trash talk, but the point comes across quite clear. Can he regain the belt in dramatic fashion on December 28th?
Outer Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea for USA TODAY Sports
