19 Questions for Anderson Silva

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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Middleweight champion Anderson Silva will put his 185-pound crown and a 13-fight winning streak on the line when he meets Vitor Belfort in the UFC 126 “Silva vs. Belfort” main event on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

In this exclusive interview with Sherdog.com, “The Spider” discusses his training for the bout and possible future fights with welterweight king Georges St. Pierre and the fast-rising Jon Jones, along with his dream match with boxing great Roy Jones Jr. and the subject of retirement.

Sherdog.com: Comparing this fight to the fight with Chael Sonnen, when you had some problems, you look much more comfortable. Would you say you’re in better shape now and more relaxed going into this bout?
Silva: Sure I am. I’m very happy. I did all my preparation here with my team in Brazil, and I’m very happy. It’s all cool.

Sherdog.com: That makes a big difference. I visited you there one day, and we talked. You told me you were missing the team here. Would you agree that the training there is different than the training you get at home?
Silva: It’s not the same thing. It’s different.

Sherdog.com: Talk about some of the people who make the difference in day-to-day practice. Is there anyone who encourages you and really helps you?
Silva: Everyone. Pedro Rizzo, Professor [Luiz] Dorea, who is helping us a lot and has now trained us for quite some time, Erivan [Conceicao], Edelson [Silva], Rogério Camoes, [Josuel] Distak, Rafael “Feijao” [Cavalcante] and all the guys who are at the beginning of their careers. We also have Ramon Lemos, who is on the jiu-jitsu part and Master Sylvio Behring. We have many people working to help, and this is really cool.

Sherdog.com: Just to be clear, you have Dorea for boxing and Pedro Rizzo for muay Thai. In what ways have they worked with you for this fight and what would you say is the most important thing each of them is doing?
Silva: It’s been a really cool joint. Along with Rogerio Camoes and Distak in training and Ramon Lemos on the technical side of jiu-jitsu, Pedro Rizzo is doing the technical part of muay Thai for me to be at my best on the day of the fight. The work is very cool.

Sherdog.com: Is this the goatee you’ll be taking into the fight?
Silva: The goatee was just a trick to change a bit.

Sherdog.com: In relation to Vitor, what do you expect in terms of his strategy? I was talking to Dorea, and he said that Vitor must look for the clinch and ground-and-pound. Many believe you are going to stand up.
Silva: It’s too vague to know what his strategy will be. He’s a dangerous man, and we’ll do our work there. I’m well trained, thanks to God. I’m very happy, because I seek much bigger things than just being UFC champion and owner of the belt. To me, it does not matter what happens.

Sherdog.com: One thing has my attention for this fight. I remember you were a little upset when it was announced that you were fighting Vitor. You had gone to Belo Horizonte and helped him at a stage in his life when he needed it. Against other Brazilians -- Thales Leites and Demian Maia -- you got upset. You seemed to feel sad, especially for this fight. However, if you initially looked sad, you look good today. I don’t feel that you want to win this fight in order to teach him a lesson. It seems you’re going to do your job. Would you agree?
Silva: I’m going there to do my job again. I’m very happy and very well. I’m very well-trained and every practice I had, I did it with great ease.

Sherdog.com: Against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117, you did not seem so happy when I met you there. How would explain that?
Silva: In that fight, I was there alone and away from my family and my friends, so it was a little tricky. Now, they’re all here with me, and everyone is helping me. I’m very happy and very excited for this fight.

Sherdog.com: You talked a lot about Roy Jones Jr. and his desire to fight MMA. Have you heard anything regarding this?
Silva: Looks like it. I would not want to fight with him in MMA. I would like to fight with him in boxing. This is a dream and a personal desire of mine. This is pretty cool. He’s a guy that deserves all our respect and did much for boxing. Logically, that transition is a bit tricky. He should be training and preparing to do so. I think that’s pretty cool. I think we have to open the doors for more and more we can add to this sport, hoping to make it bigger than it is.

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