Revenge or Boxing Next For Anderson Silva?
In a recent interview with Sherdog.com, Anderson Silva and Ed Soares (Silva’s manager) shed some light on Silva’s previous disqualification loss to Yushin Okami, a potential professional boxing crossover, and of course, the defeat of Dan Henderson at UFC 82:
“He really wasn’t able to do anything once he took me down, and that’s what everybody was saying…Standing up I picked him apart. I feel every part of my game was effective in this fight.”
Ed Soares adds that while Silva doesn’t have a whole lot to prove any more, the Spider still does not consider himself the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game:
“I don’t think there’s really anything else for him to prove. They say well, he’s never fought a jiu-jitsu guy. He goes out and submits Travis Lutter. They say that he’s never fought a wrestler. Well Nate Marquardt was supposedly the superior wrestler. He out-wrestled Nate Marquardt. Now he wrestled a two-time Greco-Roman Olympic guy in Dan Henderson. I don’t really think there’s anything else out there for him to prove, man…. He doesn’t consider himself the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and he feels that the only time he’ll be able to consider himself the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world is after he’s retired.”
As rumored in the past, Silva just may make a name for himself outside of the cage and inside the boxing ring, against the one and only, Roy Jones Jr:
“All these boxers out there talking s— how MMA fighters aren’t technical, well he’s willing to step up and fight them in their own game,” says Soares, who notes that the idea to challenge the aging Jones was the UFC champ’s. “So, if anything, he’s not trying to say there’s nothing to prove in MMA; he’s trying to plant a flag for every one of the fighters out there in the world that fight MMA.
Could Silva even get Jones? Locked in a UFC deal, Soares said that would be up to Dana White, but if they had their way the fight would get made.
“I think he’s a great boxer, one of the greatest boxers to ever box,” Silva says of Jones. “I would love the opportunity to test my skills against him.”
Lastly, Anderson expressed his feelings toward UFC middleweight contender Yushin Okami, who holds a disqualification victory over the Spider from a “Rumble On The Rock†event which took place in 2006. Apparently, Anderson was disqualified for employing an illegal (though effective) kick to the face from the bottom mount position. After taking the damage Okami chose not to continue, forcing his opponent to be disqualified. Silva responds to the incident:
“I feel it was a cheap, cowardly way of winning. People that were there saw that he was in the condition to come back and keep fighting, and he didn’t.”
Silva says he doesn’t “really think much of anything of Okami,” but the Brazilian was more poised when stuck under Henderson than he is when discussing the Japanese fighter.
“It wasn’t really a fight,” Silva describes the disqualification loss before adding that he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore.”
Watching the Spider box professionally at some point in the future would certainly be a treat, but I can only hope that Anderson Silva remains inside the octagon for at least his next fight. Silva is always a huge draw for the MMA community, and a bout against Okami would be the next logical move, since he is the only person left in the UFC’s middleweight division who has any real business challenging Silva for the title. The UFC should also be able to promote a Silva-Okami II grudge match fairly easily, which would no doubt make for a very marketable pay-per-view main event.
You can also check out Silva’s DQ loss on YouTube by clicking here.
Tags: Anderson Silva, Yushin Okami
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Silva shouldn’t waste his time trying to get a fight with Roy Jones. Although Roy is still a very good fighter, he isn’t considered as one of the elite fighters in the sport of boxer anymore. Those days have passed by him. Even if Silva fights and beats Jones, the world will say he beat a fighter that was way past his prime. Jones is like 39 or something like that anyways. Beating him really proves nothing. If he really want to make some noise, he should challenge the winner of Hopkins-vs-Calzaghe. Now that would be a much bigger deal, as these two are consider the top 2 fighters in boxing at 175lbs (Calazaghe is moving up from 168lbs). A win against one of these guys would be HUGE!!!
Seriously though, I wuold rather just see Silva consentrate on MMA and not worry about the world of boxing right now. If he doesn’t stay focus on MMA and the UFC, he is going to end up getting beat by someone nobody thought could beat him nor should beat him. That’s just what happens when fighters start focusing to much on what they should be focusing on. If Silva continues to talk about this boxing stuff, I wouldn’t be surprised if he looses his next MMA fight.
I think Silva should stick to MMA, much like a boxer should stick to boxing, unless they are serious. Why Roy Jones and not Kelly Pavlik? Is it money? Does he believe that Roy Jones is a big name who is washed up just enough to be beaten, therefore lends credibility to MMA? I don’t think it’ll happen and quite frankly, it shouldn’t. Roy Jones, Jr may be on the downside of his career but he still has the hand speed and punching power to do some very bad things to his opponents. His weight has finally levelled off and finally looked fresh fit in a boxing match. Take that into account, along with Roy being one of the strategical boxers ever, that’s recipe for a whoopin’. Also, Roy wants Calzaghe in the worse way. There might be a match against Kelly Pavlik or Bernard Hopkins down the line too.
silva still has stuff to prove in mma…great, he dominated a few guys in the MW class…ok.. move up…fight a GSP…fight a houston alexander.. thiago silva….liddell..rampage….etc….i mean, if you think you have proved everything bc you beat what…5-6 guys in the ufc…thats sad… move up…hold belts in 2 weight classes.. if you can do that….then fine…go challenge whoever the champ is in boxing…then throw on some tights and wrestle a gold medal winner… maybe go challenge greg luganis on the high dive.. or carl lewis on the high jump….go catch a pass from peyton manning over the middle and let ray lewis great you….
STICK TO YOUR SPORT!!!!
i meant greet…but you get the point
(its too early in the morning to spell correctly!)
cant belive what ive just read silva is a top top fighter yeah but **** who the fuk does he think he is what a prick, does he honestly think there is no1 in the ufc that can challenge him so he guna go fight an old man at boxing, silva fight okami then after that move up if u dare which i dont think he does so move down plenty of fighters at welterweight heared theres a fighter down their called gsp dont no if any1 has heared of him, anderson silva what a knob jocky you’ve got plenty to prove
I would love Silva to beat a boxer in the ring. Especially Jones Jr.. I have a deep respect for the sweet science but am insanely angry at all the **** talking from the world of boxing. Bottom line to me, boxers are jealous at the “new” combat sport because it is more exciting. People from the world of boxng have thrashed MMA for years and have been proven wrong on their views from the ranks of fans like us to the powers that be the UFC time and time again. Boxing and MMA are apples and oranges to me. My brother in law is a boxer and use to talk the typical boxing garbage. After 2 years of me educating him on his misunderstood views of MMA, he now admits the skill, excitement and greatness of what MMA is becoming. To the point, the world will see the greatness that MMA is eventually. A fighter like Silva stepping into a boxing ring and winning would humiliate the world of boxing. When I talk to boxers and say, “Anderson Silva is the most bad ass fighter pound for pound in the world,” I get replies of “NO!” The world of boxing is unaware of who Silva really is. I am telling you guys, in general, the world of boxing does not get it. An MMA fighter picking apart a boxer would be huge for MMA.
hendo was first stunned backing out of the clinch with a knee to the head. thats sylva best tool if you ask me not that you did. fight boxing rules roy wins fight mma sylva wins. transition would be to much for either.
I think the middleweight division is soft! i mean who stands out as someone who could obtain champion status! No one its not like welterweight,light heavy weight, or light weight! all those division’s are stacked. i can think of at least 4 or 5 guys each that can contend in those classes. i mean who’s after okami…….nate quarry! that division has no depth! Maybe bisping will be good!
Honestly I would not pay to watch Silva vs. Okami fight; Okami doesn’t stand a chance. He couldn’t even beat Rich Franklin, who Silva ran through with the greatest of ease. The title fights at UFC are getting ridiculous; people are getting title shots that don’t even deserve it. Who did Okami beat, Jason McDonald and an aging Evan Turner, and there’s talk of him getting a title shot, let be serious. And PLEASE, everyone staying Silva should move up and fight GSP is smoking something. There’s no way, shape, or form GSP is beating Silva. If Silva wants to fight the aging Roy Jones, who really cares.
i’m not sure what silva means when he says there’s nothing left to prove. maybe he means there’s nothing left for him at middleweight, but as long as you’re not too old to fight, there’s always something to prove. no one can take away what he has does to all the contenders in the middleweight division so i agree, b4 i even heard he was going to fight hendo, i was itching for him to fight GSP, what a dream fight. i think he would win, but let’s be real…no other fighters right now are as dominant in theirs division as GSP and silva. not rampage (who hasn’t fought since september in a close decision) and not even bj penn, even though he’s slowly approaching that level.
hold 2 belts, silva. hell, if you beat GSP, move all the way up to LHW, beat rampage and hold 3 belts. there’s always challenges. no one else has ever done it, why can’t he be the first? he is THAT GOOD!
tanner, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ABOUT BISPING!!! HE IS GARBAGE, I DON’T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS. as a huge fan of MMA, i consider it an insult to say bisping is even a possibility of a contender or future contender in any weight division. HE FLAT OUT SUCKS!!!
bisping does not suck and will prove all u bisping haters wrong u lot just wait and see you will be shocked trust the count is the real deal!!
Should be easy for Silva to make 170 to beat up on GSP.. I believe he fought Okami the first time at 175. Either way I don’t agree with you always have something to prove.. There will always be someone to fight BUT at a certain point a fighter doesn’t anything to prove. Case in point Ken Shamrock, goes to the UFC hall of fame.. Legend status nothing to prove, but what does he do he keeps fighting and gets KOed in 5 straight fights in the first round.
the british dude speaks! believe me johnboy, you’re probably the only bisping fan there is. anyone who has watched his fights knows that he is a JOKE!!! his only dominating performance was against that blue-haired fool josh haynes who went down two or three wieght classes after that fight. despite what the judges scorecards said, he got spanked by matt hamill and did nothing against rashad evans. people think that just because he trains with big names like Rampage and kongo that he’ll be great. the only reason he’s still around is so the british can stay interested in the UFC and that they can have someone to root for, nothing more. mark my words, HE WILL NEVER HOLD A TITLE IN THE UFC OR EVEN COME CLOSE!!!!
Max, seriously are you on something. Silva and GSP would be a fantastic fight. They are the two most dominant guys in their divisions. Also you are contradicting yourself, your saying that Silva ran through the middleweight division with ease (which he did), but he can’t move up. That doesn’t make any sense. If you mean to move up to fight GSP, you are still wrong because GSP is welterweight. And that the title fights are getting ridiculous? Sure, they don’t last the 5 rounds, but the guys do deserve them (There is a reason Matt Hughes is ranked 3 in ww and Henderson had the two belts, and Penn.) The only real problem is the heavyweight division, which should be fixed. Also, Okami deserves a shot because he only lost once in the UFC, and that fight with Franklin was actually close 29-28 is close. And, it’s Tanner, not turner. Get your stuff right.
Laslty, just the concept of a mma v boxing event is crazy. Do you understand how much publicity that would get! Possibly having both mma fights and boxing fights in the same event. That would be crazy. And if you mean the fans, you are one something.
Peace
the british dude does speak the only reason u yanks dont like the count is because hes english and u cant stand the thought ov us british folk being good at anything, apologize to all the americans who realise the count tallent
I am American, and a fan of the count. Michael Bisping is going to be a contender at MW. Definitely. I mean, come on, he has only lost one bout in the UFC at LW, how could he not run through people at MW? He’ll be in better shape, faster due to the lighter weight, and big for the division rather than small.
I think people don’t appreciate him because he doesn’t have the polished look of a technician, but that’s just not his style. He’s more of an in your face fighter, like Chris Leben, Forest Griffin or Chuck Lidell. That’s not to say that any of these guys aren’t technical, because they are, but their strength is in their aggressiveness and their fearlessness. These are the type of guys that always push the action, which means they are always going to be a threat and will always put on a good show.
Do I think Bisping can beat Silva? Well, not tomorrow, but maybe someday.
Regarding Silva going to boxing. I have to agree that people should just stick to their own sport and focus on being the best there, but really, if he wants to box someone, who cares? If you’re not interested, just don’t watch it.
Kgirl, I can’t believe you would put micheal bisping in the same class as those guys, not even close. he has no tech. skills and he lost two fights no matter what the records show he lost to Hamill. He will beat Silva one day when silva is old and on a cane or in a wheel chair. What you said doesn’t even make good common sense.
Silva in boxing, no way, he will get his ass beat pure and simple. Boxing is a different type of discipline and training just as MMA is. Boxers rely on their upper body strenght and skills honed since pre-teens and can fight a full 12 rounds with speed and punch power that even with gloves has recently seen the demise (death) of boxers who took one too many to the head after prolonged clubbing by skilled boxers. MMA fighters rely on a combination of great fitness and skills but the one skill they have not really mastered is boxing. It is just a different style of fighting, I love both sports but I really do not see them being successful in the others fighting skills.