19 Questions for Anderson Silva

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Sherdog: What are your feelings about the media? Here in Brazil, it’s clear that your fight with Vitor is drawing higher than normal interest, not only because the UFC “Rio” event has already been announced but also because you are two icons.
Silva: I’m always focused on my training. I do few interviews. I’m training hard, and I always try to be focused. It will be another fight like all the others, and I’m going there to do my job well and go home.

Sherdog: Junior dos Santos will now be coaching a team on “The Ultimate Fighter.” Do you plan to make a visit and help him?
Silva: I plan to go there to provide help to him. It’ll be fine. I think dos Santos will be the next heavyweight champion.

Sherdog.com: Do you think he beats Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez?
Silva: I think so.

Sherdog.com: What do you expect from these two fights, provided they happen?
Silva: I hope to see knockouts in the two fights. That’s dos Santos’ style.

Sherdog.com: Do you expect to fight at the UFC “Rio” event in August?
Silva: I don’t know if I will fight at this event, but I think it’s a great opportunity for Brazil and for the sport in the country. This will help people to have a different image of the sport. I have a grasp of the scale of this sport here, so I think it’s cool.

Sherdog.com: What would be your ideal card for the UFC “Rio” show?
Silva: A nice card that I would think is cool would be Wanderlei [Silva] against Chael Sonnen, [Mauricio] “Shogun” [Rua] against Quinton Jackson and Lyoto [Machida] against Rashad Evans.

Sherdog.com: After your fight with Vitor, do you want to rest or are you willing to accept new challenges and move up and down in weight classes to meet them, perhaps against fighter like Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones?
Silva: I’m an employee of the UFC. Given mission is mission accomplished. I’ll do my job and give my best. I think the match against Georges St. Pierre would be a great fight. It would be a fight that many would like to watch and sports fans truly want. Let’s wait and see what happens in the future.

Sherdog.com: What would you expect to change in terms of preparation for a fight against GSP?
Silva: I don’t change a lot in my training. I think I would still train the same way I’ve been training all this time for all my other opponents. Not much would change.

Sherdog.com: UFC President Dana White said he would like to see a fight between you and Jon Jones. Jones says you’re his idol and that you inspire him a lot. How would a fight between you and him play out?
Silva: It would be a tough fight. Jon Jones is a young guy. He’s just beginning, and he’s on the rise. He has a good projection in the UFC and will have a tough fight ahead now [against Ryan Bader] on the same card that I’ll be fighting. Only the future will tell what will happen. Dana has said he would like to see me fighting in the top category, but that I had to fight for the belt. I don’t have that intention. My focus is still on my class and keeping me at my weight.

Sherdog.com: We talked a year ago, and you said you would have six more fights in your career. Now, I see you fighting happy and not mentioning retirement. What do you think about it today?
Silva: [Antonio] Rodrigo [Nogueira] and [Antonio] Rogerio [Nogueira] took it out of my head. I talked with Rodrigo some time ago, and he convinced me not to think about it now. Nevertheless, everyone has to at some point realize that it’s your time to stop. I’m focused on finishing my career, as well, and I hope I can only finish with victories. I think it’s something that may seem impossible, but I’ll try.