Quick Quote: Belfort Says Silva’s Intimidation Tactics Failed
Marcelo Alonso Feb 17, 2011
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- World-ranked middleweight Vitor
Belfort on his bizarre face-to-face encounter with masked
champion Anderson
Silva at the UFC
126 weigh-ins on Feb. 4:
“Look, I did not get stressed. Actually when Anderson called me some bad names in the heat of the moment, I said to the audience, ‘Anderson is a nice guy, but he wears a mask to intimidate opponents, and that did not work with me.’ I didn’t get drawn into his game, and, after the fight, he showed himself to be a humble person who recognizes everything. It’s important to be like that before and after the fight. I live like that, but I liked his attitude after the fight. He won. Congratulations to him. He showed he’s a champion, but the world continues to go around. You can challenge someone and you can desire something, but you need to respect everybody. You have to practice what you preach. If you preach something, you have to be like that. You can’t be hypocritical. If you’re arrogant, you have to be arrogant. You have to be what you are. That’s what I preach and respect about people. I respect Anderson a lot, especially after what he said after the fight.”
Silva knocked out Belfort with a first-round front kick and follow-up punches in the UFC 126 main event on Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
“He hugged me live in the interview,” Belfort said. “He said the truth. He’s inspired me from the beginning. That’s the Anderson I know. That’s the important thing -- to be what we are.”
“Look, I did not get stressed. Actually when Anderson called me some bad names in the heat of the moment, I said to the audience, ‘Anderson is a nice guy, but he wears a mask to intimidate opponents, and that did not work with me.’ I didn’t get drawn into his game, and, after the fight, he showed himself to be a humble person who recognizes everything. It’s important to be like that before and after the fight. I live like that, but I liked his attitude after the fight. He won. Congratulations to him. He showed he’s a champion, but the world continues to go around. You can challenge someone and you can desire something, but you need to respect everybody. You have to practice what you preach. If you preach something, you have to be like that. You can’t be hypocritical. If you’re arrogant, you have to be arrogant. You have to be what you are. That’s what I preach and respect about people. I respect Anderson a lot, especially after what he said after the fight.”
Silva knocked out Belfort with a first-round front kick and follow-up punches in the UFC 126 main event on Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
“He hugged me live in the interview,” Belfort said. “He said the truth. He’s inspired me from the beginning. That’s the Anderson I know. That’s the important thing -- to be what we are.”
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