Fighters Only

Issue 115

June 2014

All the head-turning information every MMA fan needs to know,

ANDERSON SAYS HIS ‘PHASE AS THE CHAMPION IS OVER’

Former UFC middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva recently told Brazilian media his “phase as the champion is over.” And that he doesn’t believe he’ll be competing for the 185lb title again any time soon.

“These rumors that I’ll fight at UFC 181 or any other event around that date aren’t true,” said Anderson at a recent promotional event. “This year is over for me. There’s a chance I’ll fight in the first half of 2015.”

‘The Spider’ made the comments in spite of routinely posting videos online of himself training just months after surgery to repair his left tibia, which he snapped fighting reigning champ Chris Weidman in late December.

He added: “Anderson’s phase as the champion is over. Fighting for (the title) is a little far away from me.”

The ex pound-for-pound king calmed concerns he was considering retirement, although confessed he wasn’t certain he would fulfil the 10-fight contract he has with the UFC as he’d previously indicated.

“My family has been asking me for years to stop fighting, and they need to understand that this is what I love to do and that I need to have my time,” he said. “My goal in the sport was to become a reference in this sport, and I’m achieving this.”

FO SCORE: Presumably Silva is hinting at a preference for superfights or centerpiece bouts to close out his career – which is probably most appropriate for the 39-year-old legend. Still, considering Silva has been so keen to document his rapid rate of recovery with online images and videos, it’s surprising he’s not considering entering the Octagon for another year.

200

Combined, the animation team working on EA Sports UFC have 200 months’ worth of training experience in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

$25,000

Following charges of aggravated assault, ex UFC fighter Thiago Silva was bailed on a $25,000 bond.

SUPERFIGHTS ON HORIZON FOR SILVA?

Potential opponents for Anderson Silva’s 2015 return

JON JONES

Giving Silva a title shot immediately after two consecutive losses in middleweight championship fights is a hard sell, but a catchweight bout (possibly even at 210lb considering Silva’s 230lb natural weight and Jones’ heavyweight aspirations) could be one of the biggest fights in UFC history.

NICK DIAZ

Welterweight Diaz actually asked for a fight with Silva at 185lb in 2012, in between the Brazilian TKO’ing Chael Sonnen and Stephan Bonnar. While of late he’s been busy calling out 170lb champ Johny Hendricks, Diaz, like Silva it seems, has developed a taste for superfights too.

LYOTO MACHIDA

A quasi training partner of Anderson, the pair (for a long time in different weight classes) had always said they’d never fight – until recently. Silva said he’d agree to fight him if Machida was middleweight champion, and ‘The Dragon’ said they cannot avoid each other.