Issue 141
May 2016
Michael Bisping’s coach Jason Parillo reveals the psychological strength it takes to face and defeat Anderson Silva
Leading Man
FO heads off the mats with MMA’s most powerful coaches, executives and personalities
Jason Parillo
MMA coach
Jason Parillo had a premonition Michael Bisping would fight Anderson Silva in London. Even after ‘The Count’ accepted a matchup against Gegard Mousasi, the acclaimed boxing coach insists he believed Bisping would headline opposite the MMA legend on home soil. He also knew his charge had what it takes to cause an upset and earn the biggest win of his 10-year tenure in the Octagon.
Parillo tells FO: “This is a true story, and you can ask Michael about it. He calls me up and he says, ‘Hey Jason, I just got off the phone with Dana.’ I said, ‘He told you you’re fighting Anderson Silva and not Mousasi.’ He goes, ‘What the f**k? How the f**k did you know that?’
“You pay attention to all the aspects of this game. I saw that coming. I knew Anderson had been wanting to fight Michael for a long time. I’ve spoken to Anderson’s management – I’ve known them for a long time. We all live pretty close to each other in California. I even talked to Ed Soares (Silva’s manager). They wanted that fight for a couple of years. With Anderson coming back, that’s the first fight they wanted.
“For us, it was a blessing. We’ve got a guy that’s high up in the rankings and we’ve got the GOAT: the greatest of all time. Not that we weren’t gonna get excited for Mousasi, but it’s a different animal when you’re fighting Anderson.”
‘The Spider’s record-breaking career was built on intimidation. So many former victims fell foul of the former world-number-one’s aura long before they were dropped by a lightning left hand, knee or kick. Getting Bisping’s mind right was key. That was something he and Parillo worked on for a long time before they were booked to fight the long-time 185lb champion.
“You don’t just develop a mental attitude in a six-week or eight-week camp,” Parillo says. “Me and Mike have been together for some years now and the first thing I noticed was that, mentally, he’s such a hard worker. He’s got all the skills and all the will, and he’s a very bright man – sometimes too smart for his own good. It makes him very hard to calm down, but he’s matured so much as a fighter. He’s gained leaps and bounds.
“I told him from the beginning: ‘We can’t fake our way to the top. We’re not gonna yell our way to the top, we’re not gonna talk our way to the top, we’re going to calmly do what we do best, be relaxed and your skills are going to come best when you’re relaxed. You take a better shot when you’re relaxed, you throw a better shot, you see more.’ I knew Mike would really show another level in the Silva fight... Mike’s an endurance junkie.
His boxing was enough to convince the judges. Unrelenting, unforgiving, Bisping pressured Silva into making mistakes. He outstruck him in round one. He dropped him in round two. Even after he’d swallowed a flying knee at the end of round three and was saved by the bell, Bisping dragged himself up off the canvas to outwork his opponent in the fourth frame. That will to win and put it all on the line was enough to finally achieve victory in London.
So what’s next? A title shot perhaps? “He deserves it,” says the veteran striking coach, who worked with former champions BJ Penn and Tito Ortiz earlier in his career. “I feel they’ve given a lot of fighters title shots who weren’t in as high a position as Mike. He’s a guy who deserves one.
“He’s been here for 10 years. He’s been in the top 10 for so long and he’s fought everybody they’ve put in front of him. He’s fought all the TRT guys. He’s lost some big fights, some important fights, but he’s won some very important fights too. His last fight against Thales Leites was a great win. He’s a top-10 guy. You could see him fighting for the title. You could see any of these guys fighting for the title.
“For the promotion of the UFC, I think Mike fits the bill for fighting for the title. It’s the most exciting fight for the division. You could look at the other top-five guys – they’re phenomenal fighters – but I don’t think they bring as much to the table for the promotion. Mike deserves it.
“I’ve seen other guys in the sport for a couple years and get a title shot because of how flamboyant they are and how much attention they draw. Mike’s been drawing that attention for 10 years now.”
Come clean
Anderson damaged by PED silence
In London, Anderson Silva once again refused to shed much light on the reasons for his suspension for PED use. He maintains his innocence, but according to Parillo, the less he says the louder his guilt becomes.
He adds that steroids could have given him more than just physical advantages in the cage. “For me it’s not only physically what it does for people, but psychologically what it does for people,” he says.
“It makes them feel invincible. Their tentativeness isn’t there in a fight because they know they can take a bat to the face. You’ve got a better chin, you’ve got a better attitude. You’re not better but you’re meaner, stronger – just what you need for a fight.
“Did it tarnish him? Yeah, it did. And he knows that. That’s why he avoids questions about steroids. He could save his legacy if he confronts all of this. If he’s able to sit down and say, ‘Ask me any questions you want. I’ll show you exactly what I did and it breaks my heart that I did this.’ That’s a sincere man.
“If you’re telling the truth, you want to scream it from a mountain top. If you’re not telling the truth, you don’t want to talk about it at all.”
Hard man to beat
Rockhold’s the real deal
“I’ve held pads for Luke Rockhold and he’s a strong dude, he’s athletic as they come,” Parillo says. “He’s a guy I don’t think has even hit his peak potential yet.
“He’s a guy that’s a dangerous fighter for anybody, it’s just about how he handles himself outside the gym.
“I don’t know his personality well enough, but if he decides to stay as focused as he has leading up to this point he’s going to be tough to beat for a while. Unless he’s fighting Bisping, of course!
“He’s a better athlete than Weidman. Power’s similar, speed is close but I’d have to say Rockhold might be a bit quicker. He’s going to have the psychological advantage in this (rematch) too.”
