The former UFC middleweight champion had to do some clarifying over worrying comments he made earlier this week.
UPDATE: According to MMA Fighting’s Steven Marocco the Arizona Boxing and MMA Commission is meeting today to discuss their sanctioning of Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva. It is believed that this meeting was prompted due Silva’s initial statement that suggested he had been knocked out, twice, during sparring sessions.
The AZ Boxing & MMA Commission is meeting tomorrow at 6:30pm regarding Anderson Silva, the AZ Gaming Department just emailed me.
— Steven Marrocco (@MMAFightingSM) October 27, 2022
Anderson Silva has had to address some concerning comments he made about his final sparring session for his upcoming fight against Jake Paul.
In an interview with MMA Weekly, the ‘Spider’ seemingly revealed that he had been knocked out twice by a sparring partner.
“I’m training hard for win,” said Silva. “I’m training with the good boxers, high-level, and five guys come to help me. And the last sparring with Eliezer [Silva], he’s my partner, he knocked me out two times. When I finished the training, I talked to my coach and even said, ‘Coach, let me tell you something, why the guys knock me out two times?’ And the coach said, ‘You need to prepare for war, and you prepare for war.’”
The comments caught the attention of the Arizona Department of Gaming, which regulates and oversees boxing, kickboxing and MMA events. In a brief statement to Steven Marrocco of MMA Fighting, the ADG said it would be ‘looking into the matter’.
In the meantime, Silva and his team have released a statement on the matter, saying he simply ‘misspoke’ in the interview.
“After seeing the reports and concern for me, I’d like to clarify two important things,” said Silva (H/T TMZ Sports). “One, I was NEVER knocked out in sparring. I misspoke in that interview as I sometimes do when interviewing in English and exaggerated the normal back-and-forth action that occurs in sparring.
“Second, this sparring session I referenced was in early September,” continued Silva. “The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn’t recent.”
The outlet has since backed up Silva’s story that the interview was conducted during a pre-fight press conference held on Sept. 13.
With the clarification, Silva said he is more than prepared for his fight against Paul, and it is one that he intends to win in devastating fashion.
“More importantly, my training camp has been great. I am fit and ready to fight and the only knockout people should be worried about is the one I’m about to deliver to Jake Paul on Saturday night.”
Since returning to boxing, Silva has gone 2-0. The former UFC middleweight champion earned a split decision over Julio César Chávez Jr. and finished Tito Ortiz by first-round KO.