Tag: UFC 162

Anderson Silva: ‘I Feel Like I’ve Done Everything I Could Do in This Sport’

Anderson Silva already holds most of the major championship and fight records in UFC history, so win, lose or draw on Saturday night at UFC 162, his legacy is already intact. So when he was asked about what the fight against Chris Weidman means to him,…

Anderson Silva already holds most of the major championship and fight records in UFC history, so win, lose or draw on Saturday night at UFC 162, his legacy is already intact.

So when he was asked about what the fight against Chris Weidman means to him, Silva answered honestly on Wednesday during a media session after a workout.

“Regardless of anything I’ve done, I feel like I’ve done everything I could do in this sport,” Silva said.  “I’m the only guy whose got four belts in four different organizations, I’ve got the Shooto belt, the Cage Rage (belt), unified the Pride belt when I fought Dan Henderson and I’ve got the UFC title. So I’ve done everything I have to do in my career. 

“So now it’s just about passing on the message to the kids and everyone coming up.  Just continuing on with my career.”

At 38 years of age, Silva has won 16 straight fights in the UFC, defended his title 10 consecutive times and bounced up and beaten a former champion in a higher weight class in Forrest Griffin.

That doesn’t even mention the accomplishments he had before he made it to the UFC.  He’s secure with his place in MMA history.

Time and again, UFC president Dana White says that Silva is all about his legacy and cementing his place with the biggest fights possible.

“Anderson Silva is on the verge of signing a new big deal with us, and he wants big fights,” White said in January on ESPN Chicago 100.  “That’s what he wants.”

According to the long-reigning champion, he’s been to the biggest heights already, so now his career is just about teaching martial arts to the next generation of competitors.

“I’m relaxed because this is normal for me. I’ve been training for a long time.  I like training, I like fighting.  I don’t (fight) because I have the belt.  I don’t fight because I’m the best pound for pound in the world.  I fight because I love my work,” Silva said.  “Martial arts has changed my life, martial arts changed the life of my sons, changed the life of my friends.  Mixed martial arts, MMA is the new sport, martial arts is different.  Martial arts changed my life.”

Silva refuses to amp up the pressure for his upcoming fight against Weidman because it’s just that—another fight.

He has seen everything before, and this is just another chance to go out and ply his craft inside the Octagon.  Silva’s craft usually ends with his opponent on the floor staring up at the lights wondering what happened.

That’s the way the fights always seem to go when you’re the greatest of all time.

“The fight is the fight, it’s normal for me,” Silva said.  “A win is normal.”

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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UFC 162: Who’s on the Hot Seat Heading into Silva vs. Weidman Fight Card

A UFC event headlined by Anderson Silva is always a reason for celebration.  After all, it’s not every day that fans get to witness one of the best fighters in the history of the sport defend his title. We also don’t always get to see Silva f…

A UFC event headlined by Anderson Silva is always a reason for celebration.  After all, it’s not every day that fans get to witness one of the best fighters in the history of the sport defend his title. 

We also don’t always get to see Silva face a fighter who has more than an outside chance to defeat him, but that is what we have in Chris Weidman.

Joining Silva and Weidman on the UFC 162 fight card will be 20 other fighters. 

Some of these fighters are under no pressure, but others are facing different degrees of heat.  What follows is a list of fighters who are on the hot seat heading into UFC 162 on Saturday.

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UFC 162 Silva vs Weidman Live Streaming Pre-Fight Press Conference

UFC 162 is set to take place on Saturday, July 6 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.  The main event on the card will see middleweight champion Anderson Silva looking to extend his UFC record title defense streak to 11 consecutive v…

UFC 162 is set to take place on Saturday, July 6 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.  The main event on the card will see middleweight champion Anderson Silva looking to extend his UFC record title defense streak to 11 consecutive victories. The fighter that will be looking to end that run is top-ranked challenger Chris Weidman.

In addition to his 10 consecutive title defenses, Silva will bring a 16-fight UFC win streak with him to Las Vegas. For his part, Weidman is unbeaten as a professional, going 9-0 since his debut in February, 2009.

Before the fight card takes place, several of the fighters and UFC president Dana White will gather on Thursday in the main lobby of MGM Grand Hotel & Casino for the pre-fight press conference.  In addition to White, the following fighters will be in attendance: Silva, Weidman, Frankie Edgar, Charles Oliveira, Tim Kennedy, Roger Gracie, Mark Munoz and Tim Boetsch.

The press conference will begin on Thursday, July 4 at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT and will be streamed live right here. For those in Vegas for the Fourth of July holiday, the press conference is free and open to the public.

UFC 162 Full Fight Card:

Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman

Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira

Roger Gracie vs. Tim Kennedy

Tim Boetsch vs. Mark Munoz

Dennis Siver vs. Cub Swanson

Andrew Craig vs. Chris Leben

Norman Parke vs. Kazuki Tokudome

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Dave Herman

Edson Barboza vs. Rafaello Oliveira

Seth Baczynski vs. Brian Melancon

David Mitchell vs. Mike Pierce

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Cub Swanson: The Korean Zombie ‘Not Ready’; Will ‘Get Exposed’ Against Jose Aldo

When Anthony Pettis went down with a knee injury forcing him out of his scheduled bout at UFC 163 against featherweight champion Jose Aldo, it also adversely affected this weekend’s UFC 162 card. The show was stacked with several featured featherweight…

When Anthony Pettis went down with a knee injury forcing him out of his scheduled bout at UFC 163 against featherweight champion Jose Aldo, it also adversely affected this weekend’s UFC 162 card.

The show was stacked with several featured featherweight bouts, but when Pettis got injured, the UFC had to make the call to pull one of the fighters to fill his spot.  Ultimately, Chan Sung Jung, aka “The Korean Zombie”, got the nod and now faces Aldo next month in the main event on the card.

Needless to say, there were a lot of featherweights also fighting on the UFC 162 card that wanted the shot in front of Jung.  Count Cub Swanson among them because he believes he definitely deserved it, as well as Ricardo Lamas, who was set to face Jung before the switch was made.

Swanson is quite sure that Jung will be completely overmatched when he steps in the Octagon with Aldo.  He doesn’t even believe Jung would have gotten out of his fight with Lamas without a loss added to his record.

“It did kind of burst my bubble a little bit.  He’s not ready.  He’ll get exposed,” Swanson said during the UFC 162 open workouts on Wednesday when speaking about Jung.  “Ricardo Lamas would have beat him, 100 percent easy. Easy win for him.  That’s fine, I’ll get my chance.”

Swanson believes Jung was the chosen one for the fight against Aldo due to his popularity with fans more than his actual accomplishments in the cage.  Throughout his career from the days where he fought in the WEC all the way to his time in the UFC, Swanson has shied away from interviews and the spotlight, but if that’s what it takes to get a title shot he will add that to his resume as well.

“It shows me where I need to work in popularity,” Swanson said.  “For a little while I kind of shunned away from the media and just concentrated on my skill sets and performing and I got that down.  I feel like I’m doing well.  It’s now my chance to share my story with you guys and try to get out there more. 

“Because if the fans don’t know about me, then they don’t care about me, and I won’t get a chance to fight for the title.  I know that’s the missing piece.”

Swanson has a chance this weekend to make a statement in his fight against German-born striker Dennis Siver on the main card of one of the biggest shows of the year.

Currently, Swanson is riding a four-fight win streak with three of those victories by knockout or TKO. He would love to add another finish to his record this weekend.

“I feel like this could be my greatest accomplishment yet,” Swanson said about his fight with Siver.

When it’s all over, UFC commentator Joe Rogan will likely enter the cage and put a microphone in front of Swanson’s face to talk about the victory.  Unlike many past fighters, however, Swanson won’t start demanding title shots or saying that it’s his time to face Aldo.

Swanson wants to leave that decision up to the fans, and if they believe in him enough, their voices will speak much louder volumes to the higher ups at the UFC.

“I feel like if I get the opportunity, I’m going to ask the fans to decide,” Swanson said.  “I feel like my work speaks for itself.  I’m not the biggest media guy, I just like to fight.  I try to do my best and let my work speak for itself.  I feel like when the public, when the fans are ready to see me fight for the title, whoever they want to see me fight, then that’s what I need to do cause that’s my job.”

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted

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Chris Weidman on Anderson Silva: ‘I Just Want to Come Out and Beat Him’

Chris Weidman is days away from fighting the man that many believe is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, Anderson Silva. Silva, the UFC middleweight champion, has not lost a fight in more than seven years, and he’s never lost in the U…

Chris Weidman is days away from fighting the man that many believe is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, Anderson Silva. Silva, the UFC middleweight champion, has not lost a fight in more than seven years, and he’s never lost in the UFC. Silva was UFC champion before Weidman even had his first sparring session as a mixed martial artist.

Silva’s lengthy reign as UFC kingpin has allowed Weidman to train with a single goal in mind, not merely winning UFC gold, but winning a UFC title by beating an icon. Weidman made it clear that he’s had Silva’s image tattooed on his brain from day one. “As soon as I started my first sparring session ever I envisioned beating Anderson Silva.”

During the lead up to Saturday’s fight, we found out that a lot of fighters share that vision. The fact that he is getting so much support from fighters outside of those that he trains with on a daily basis has not been lost on Weidman, “He’s [Silva] one of the greatest of all time, and he’s been unstoppable. For people to see something in me that they think I can beat him, that’s pretty cool. Honestly, half the guys that are picking me, I’m like, how are they picking me? I don’t know where they’re getting it from, but it’s cool.”

With UFC 162 fight night fast approaching, Weidman has a very positive mindset, and he’s ready to step into the Octagon inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena and go to work, “It’s time to do my thing. I’ve been envisioning it, now it’s just time to get out there and do it. It’s time to shine, it’s time to go out there and make a statement. I just want to come out and beat him.”

That’s a refrain we have heard in the past from Silva’s UFC opponents. No one walks into a fight telling the press they are going to lose. However, Weidman feels that sometimes that has been the case, “It’s easy to beat yourself in any fight, and I think Anderson does a great job in making people beat themselves, and I’m not going to let that happen.”

There have been some questions of Silva looking past Weidman. Some feel that the recent statements Silva made about Jon Jones were somehow Silva looking to set up a superfight with the UFC light heavyweight champion. Weidman does not share that view, but if Silva is looking past him, all the better. “I don’t think he’s overlooking me. If he is, that’ll be an easier night for me.”

Weidman is confident he is ready for the style of the champion, “He’s long, he’s quick, he’s a finesse fighter, definitely hard to prepare for, but I brought in a lot of different guys that can emulate him.”

As for how he will beat Silva, Weidman has a simple plan, “I just got to go out there and make it my fight and not worry about what he’s doing.” 

**All quotes obtained first hand by Bleacher Report MMA.

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Chris Weidman: ‘I Will Beat Anderson Silva on Saturday’

If there really are no guarantees in the sport of MMA, someone should alert Chris Weidman.On a recent episode of UFC Tonight, the middleweight top contender was asked if he will defeat Anderson Silva at UFC 162 this weekend. A confident Weidman assured…

If there really are no guarantees in the sport of MMA, someone should alert Chris Weidman.

On a recent episode of UFC Tonight, the middleweight top contender was asked if he will defeat Anderson Silva at UFC 162 this weekend. A confident Weidman assured analysts Chael Sonnen and Kenny Florian that he would, though he didn’t stop there. 

I will beat Anderson Silva on Saturday, and I’m going to be going for the finish. I honestly have a hard time visualizing this fight going five rounds, to be honest with you—with all due respect.

Silva has not only avoided a stoppage loss during his UFC career; “The Spider” hasn’t even been defeated in 16 fights under the Zuffa banner. 

His title reign has aged seven years since he earned the 185-pound belt back in 2006. Weidman was just 22 years of age at the time, and the New York native did not make his professional debut until three years after, in 2009.

Silva’s fortitude compared to Weidman‘s relative inexperience places the champion as a 2:1 favorite heading into the Las Vegas event. The betting line hasn’t swayed the challenger, however. The five-fight UFC veteran already envisions himself with the middleweight belt.

Oh, I’ve envisioned (winning the title). I feel like any goal you have, you’ve got to live from that goal. So I’m living with that belt on right now. I’m already feeling that belt around my waist. I just have to make it happen on Saturday, and that’s what I’m going to do. 

Twelve men have presumably entered a contest against Silva with that same mentality. The Brazilian sent all of them home (or to the hospital) without UFC gold. 

But many consider Weidman as the top threat to superstar Silva. Plenty even believe Weidman is the man to finally end the champion’s longtime reign, including a number of UFC stars. 

Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is one fighter picking Weidman to defeat Silva. Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre is another. 

Silva doesn’t seem to mind, and the hype surrounding Weidman doesn’t take away the fact that he’s fighting arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time this Saturday.

But Weidman isn’t concerned with Silva’s all-time status. The contender is only concerned with getting in the Octagon.

My biggest concern was getting through this camp injury free, and I’ve done that. I’ve gotten through the hard work already. My biggest concern now is just to go in there and work hard. You know, fight my fight. That’s really it. I feel very confident, and I just want to get inside that cage. 

UFC 162 takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, this Saturday. The middleweight title fight headlines the pay-per-view event. 

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