Soares: I don't think we'll ever see a performance like that from Anderson Silva again
While Strikeforce's return to CBS is nearly upon us, the UFC's most recent appearance on pay-per-view is still a hot topic among mixed martial arts fans.
At the center of the discussion is the bizarre performance of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the main event of UFC 112, a bout that led UFC president Dana White to threaten to cut "The Spider" if the Brazilian issued a repeat performance.
Silva's manager, Ed Soares, recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) he doesn't think another lackluster bout is in the cards for Silva, and he insists the camp's relationship with White is just fine.
"Anderson will be back again," Soares said. "For whatever it's worth, I don't think we'll ever see a performance like that from Anderson Silva again."
White's disdain for the performance was evident even before its conclusion. Reports of White storming away from cageside were later confirmed, though Soares said descriptions of the belt being tossed at his feet were a bit exaggerated.
"All Dana did was come over and laid it on my lap and said, 'You know what, I'm not putting this belt on him,'" Soares said.
White then blasted Silva in the evening's post-event press conference, and attending media followed suit. Some MMA observers expressed frustration that the champion apologized in the cage but seemed a bit more defensive after the event.
Soares said the mood of the entire camp was down after the fight, but the negative energy of the press conference contributed to Silva's behavior in front of the media.
"After the fight, Anderson was a little bit bummed," Soares said. "Then I think he got a little bit defensive at the press conference. I feel like he walked in to people just blasting him. It really wasn't about them asking what was going wrong. It was more or less people already accusing him of doing something. I think that's when he got a little bit insulted and got a little bit bitter.
"It was a little bit of a different vibe. I guess reporters are just doing their job, but I think that's what got him a little stand-offish."
White vs. Silva
White cut the conference short and ordered an immediate meeting with his champion. While many MMA observers assumed the gathering was going to be one-sided verbal beatdown, Soares insisted White had cooled off a bit before presenting his case.
"Dana was totally cool in that conversation," Soares said. "I'm sure people were thinking Dana was going to be flying off the handle. He wasn't flying off the handle at all. He came in and talked to us, just a calm conversation. He told us what he was feeling. He told us his point of view. He told us his angle on it. It was totally cool. We told him some of the things we thought, and it was totally a constructive conversation.
"Dana told us how upset he was about the fight, what this means to him and what he's got to do. He said all of that, but at the end of the day, he was actually really cool about it. He said what he had to say, but it was handled very professionally. I thought he took a great approach. He expressed his concerns and made Anderson understand what he was concerned about.
"It's a totally good relationship. Nobody is perfect. People make mistakes. That's just how it is."
Of course, apologies have been issued before. Many MMA pundits point to disappointing performances in Silva wins over Thales Leites and Patrick Cote and wonder why history has repeated itself.
Some have theorized that Silva is trying to "send a message" to the UFC in an effort to score bigger fights and increased financial paydays. Soares insisted nothing could be further from the truth.
"It was never intentional whatsoever," Soares said. "We renegotiated Anderson's contract. The contract is good. We have nothing to complain about. It was nothing like that. We're partners with the UFC. That's our home. We weren't happy that they weren't happy. That's not what we're trying to do. How could that be a positive thing?
"We're not trying to prove any points. What really do we have to prove to them? They treat us well. They take care of us financially and in every way. Why wouldn't we want to please them? There's no point to be proven."
A matter of timing
Soares insists the dominating, taunting Silva of the opening two rounds gave way to the retreating nature of the final three based solely on a change in feel in the champion.
"The truth of the matter is that Anderson was pissed off at some of the comments that Demian Maia made about him before the fight, and he just let that emotion get the best of him at that particular time," Soares said. "I think for the first two rounds, he was on point, then somewhere in the third round he lost that rhythm or timing.
"He was actively trying to finish the fight, but he just couldn't find the right moment to do that. Maybe he should have pulled the trigger a little bit earlier, but it's real easy to say what he should have done or could have done when you're not the person in there doing it."
And besides, fans and media don't always know exactly what's going through a fighter's mind at any particular time. Take the oft-criticized Leites fight, for example.
"It was kind of the same thing in the Thales Leites fight," Soares said. "They said, 'Man, you could have finished him. You were on top of him pounding him out, and then all of a sudden you stood up and walked away.' That's what it looked like, but then when I asked Anderson about it, he said, 'Ed, what happened was I was on top of him, raining punches down on him, and one of my punches, he blocked with his elbow. As soon as I hit his elbow, I felt like, 'Oh, [expletive], I could have broken my hand right there. I'm not going to sit down there and try and punch his face while he blocks me with his arms and elbows. Next thing you know, I take my next punch and I break my hand. Then what?'
"Once again, to the general public, it looked like he stood up and let him up, but that wasn't the deal."
"That doesn't count for anything?"
Regardless of explanations, White was clear in his stance when he addressed Silva's future on ESPN's "Jim Rome is Burning." Many MMA observers have been equally critical of the champ, and while Silva, regarded by many as the best fighter on the planet, generally remains stoic in the public eye, Soares said his client is aware of the criticism.
"Whether he says it bugs him or not, I mean, it's got to bug him," Silva said. "It just goes to show you it's all about what have you done for me lately. I don't think there's anybody that's going to be stoked about people talking [expletive] about them and calling them names.
"Call him whatever you want, but the guy went in there for five rounds. We all would have liked to see him finish the fight, but he went in there for five rounds with one of the top contenders in the UFC at 185 pounds and just dismantled his face and didn't even get a scratch on him."
So Soares, like the rest of the MMA world, understands what's expected of Silva going forward. But for those quick to criticize, Soares encourages a look at Silva's UFC career as a whole to determine his value to the organization.
"That wasn't the best performance, but Anderson is 11-0 in the UFC," Soares said. "He's got 11 consecutive wins, and only two fights have gone to decision. Eight of his 11 fights haven't made it out of the second round. He had his sixth consecutive title defense and just broke a record. That doesn't count for anything?"
While Strikeforce's return to CBS is nearly upon us, the UFC's most recent appearance on pay-per-view is still a hot topic among mixed martial arts fans.
At the center of the discussion is the bizarre performance of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the main event of UFC 112, a bout that led UFC president Dana White to threaten to cut "The Spider" if the Brazilian issued a repeat performance.
Silva's manager, Ed Soares, recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) he doesn't think another lackluster bout is in the cards for Silva, and he insists the camp's relationship with White is just fine.
"Anderson will be back again," Soares said. "For whatever it's worth, I don't think we'll ever see a performance like that from Anderson Silva again."
White's disdain for the performance was evident even before its conclusion. Reports of White storming away from cageside were later confirmed, though Soares said descriptions of the belt being tossed at his feet were a bit exaggerated.
"All Dana did was come over and laid it on my lap and said, 'You know what, I'm not putting this belt on him,'" Soares said.
White then blasted Silva in the evening's post-event press conference, and attending media followed suit. Some MMA observers expressed frustration that the champion apologized in the cage but seemed a bit more defensive after the event.
Soares said the mood of the entire camp was down after the fight, but the negative energy of the press conference contributed to Silva's behavior in front of the media.
"After the fight, Anderson was a little bit bummed," Soares said. "Then I think he got a little bit defensive at the press conference. I feel like he walked in to people just blasting him. It really wasn't about them asking what was going wrong. It was more or less people already accusing him of doing something. I think that's when he got a little bit insulted and got a little bit bitter.
"It was a little bit of a different vibe. I guess reporters are just doing their job, but I think that's what got him a little stand-offish."
White vs. Silva
White cut the conference short and ordered an immediate meeting with his champion. While many MMA observers assumed the gathering was going to be one-sided verbal beatdown, Soares insisted White had cooled off a bit before presenting his case.
"Dana was totally cool in that conversation," Soares said. "I'm sure people were thinking Dana was going to be flying off the handle. He wasn't flying off the handle at all. He came in and talked to us, just a calm conversation. He told us what he was feeling. He told us his point of view. He told us his angle on it. It was totally cool. We told him some of the things we thought, and it was totally a constructive conversation.
"Dana told us how upset he was about the fight, what this means to him and what he's got to do. He said all of that, but at the end of the day, he was actually really cool about it. He said what he had to say, but it was handled very professionally. I thought he took a great approach. He expressed his concerns and made Anderson understand what he was concerned about.
"It's a totally good relationship. Nobody is perfect. People make mistakes. That's just how it is."
Of course, apologies have been issued before. Many MMA pundits point to disappointing performances in Silva wins over Thales Leites and Patrick Cote and wonder why history has repeated itself.
Some have theorized that Silva is trying to "send a message" to the UFC in an effort to score bigger fights and increased financial paydays. Soares insisted nothing could be further from the truth.
"It was never intentional whatsoever," Soares said. "We renegotiated Anderson's contract. The contract is good. We have nothing to complain about. It was nothing like that. We're partners with the UFC. That's our home. We weren't happy that they weren't happy. That's not what we're trying to do. How could that be a positive thing?
"We're not trying to prove any points. What really do we have to prove to them? They treat us well. They take care of us financially and in every way. Why wouldn't we want to please them? There's no point to be proven."
A matter of timing
Soares insists the dominating, taunting Silva of the opening two rounds gave way to the retreating nature of the final three based solely on a change in feel in the champion.
"The truth of the matter is that Anderson was pissed off at some of the comments that Demian Maia made about him before the fight, and he just let that emotion get the best of him at that particular time," Soares said. "I think for the first two rounds, he was on point, then somewhere in the third round he lost that rhythm or timing.
"He was actively trying to finish the fight, but he just couldn't find the right moment to do that. Maybe he should have pulled the trigger a little bit earlier, but it's real easy to say what he should have done or could have done when you're not the person in there doing it."
And besides, fans and media don't always know exactly what's going through a fighter's mind at any particular time. Take the oft-criticized Leites fight, for example.
"It was kind of the same thing in the Thales Leites fight," Soares said. "They said, 'Man, you could have finished him. You were on top of him pounding him out, and then all of a sudden you stood up and walked away.' That's what it looked like, but then when I asked Anderson about it, he said, 'Ed, what happened was I was on top of him, raining punches down on him, and one of my punches, he blocked with his elbow. As soon as I hit his elbow, I felt like, 'Oh, [expletive], I could have broken my hand right there. I'm not going to sit down there and try and punch his face while he blocks me with his arms and elbows. Next thing you know, I take my next punch and I break my hand. Then what?'
"Once again, to the general public, it looked like he stood up and let him up, but that wasn't the deal."
"That doesn't count for anything?"
Regardless of explanations, White was clear in his stance when he addressed Silva's future on ESPN's "Jim Rome is Burning." Many MMA observers have been equally critical of the champ, and while Silva, regarded by many as the best fighter on the planet, generally remains stoic in the public eye, Soares said his client is aware of the criticism.
"Whether he says it bugs him or not, I mean, it's got to bug him," Silva said. "It just goes to show you it's all about what have you done for me lately. I don't think there's anybody that's going to be stoked about people talking [expletive] about them and calling them names.
"Call him whatever you want, but the guy went in there for five rounds. We all would have liked to see him finish the fight, but he went in there for five rounds with one of the top contenders in the UFC at 185 pounds and just dismantled his face and didn't even get a scratch on him."
So Soares, like the rest of the MMA world, understands what's expected of Silva going forward. But for those quick to criticize, Soares encourages a look at Silva's UFC career as a whole to determine his value to the organization.
"That wasn't the best performance, but Anderson is 11-0 in the UFC," Soares said. "He's got 11 consecutive wins, and only two fights have gone to decision. Eight of his 11 fights haven't made it out of the second round. He had his sixth consecutive title defense and just broke a record. That doesn't count for anything?"