Getting ready for one of the biggest challenges of his career the PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) spoke exclusively to Sherdog.com.
Sherdog.com: What do you think about facing Kazuyuki Fujita (Pictures) in this Grand Prix?
Wanderlei Silva (Pictures): I think the promoters have taken a good choice. He is a tough guy, strong and well rounded. I am training really hard for this match because I know this will be a hard fight. He holds hard shots, has heavy hands and I must be careful and be in perfect condition.
Sherdog.com: The promoters want so much to see a Japanese fighter defeat you thats the reason why youve faced so many Japanese fighters in your career. Do you think Fujita is the best youve faced?
Silva: He is the biggest one that I can say (laughs) because he is about 265 pounds. He is not a fat guy, hes a strong guy, so he is the heaviest one! And, just like you said, they are crazy to see a Japanese guy beat me so I think that is the reason they gave me that fight, cause Ive beaten Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures) twice before. So, I think that was a good choice of them.
Sherdog.com: Hows your preparation for this fight?
Silva: Really hard. I think I am training more than ever for this fight. My personal trainer, Rafael Alejarra, is giving me a lot of work; he is doing a real good job, well done. He is developing a training method thats been shocking me its totally focused on fighting abilities. He creates amazing exercises. Im getting used to my new weight. Im weighing 216 pounds and I must cut two pounds until the day of the fight. Im training a lot of jiu-jitsu, a lot wrestling and Muay Thai with my teammates.
Sherdog.com: Hows your preparation going in order to face a guy whos heavier than you?
Silva: I think I have to be careful in the opening round because he is totally gassed up and I cant take a shot in the beginning because this will be the end for me. In my opinion, the advantage to fighting against a bigger guy is its easier to hit him; he is not as agile as a man in my weight class. I told Alejarra: You must make me a heavy hitter cause this guy has an iron chin. I will test my punch against him.
Sherdog.com: This Open-Weight Grand Prix has the toughest guys on earth, am I right?
Silva: Thats true. Its just like the Coliseum in the Roman Empire when they had to kill a lion. Then they say, You can kill a lion, but you cant kill a lion and a tiger. And if you do this, they say, OK, but you cant kill two lions. So, let us see. I think this will be a big challenge to me in my career. I know my responsibilities. In the backstage theres a TV screen and everybody sits around it to watch my fights, so I have to make an amazing fight. Everybody expects me in a great performance, and I promise I will do this. Im working hard to please my fans and get the win. I think fighters have value based on their performances, so if the guy fights bad he is in trouble.
Sherdog.com: You said already you would like to fight Minotauro. Its coming closer to happening.
Silva: If both he and I win our respective matches he will be my next challenge. Imagine that Im winning and taking Minotauro for the next. If I win Ill face Mark Hunt (Pictures)! Its gonna rock, man! But a fighters life thats it, and Im glad to do this. I respect Minotauro a lot. He deserves respect and wonder of everybody. It will be an honor for me to fight him. He has a great name in Japan and Im sure, if this fight happens, it will make history. This will be a boundary mark for us.
Sherdog.com: Besides the money, what else is motivating you to get into this tournament?
Silva: Every time Im traveling Im in touch with the fans. I was in Porto Alegre (a Brazilian City) last weekend and a lot of people came to me and gave me a positive response. I think its what they want, everyone is tired of legends. Nowadays we have to be real fighters that step in the ring and fight. Results dont matter. Thats a lot of people defaming Royce Gracie (Pictures), but fuck off he had the balls. Hughes is a current champion, a top fighter, and despite this Royce fought him. After this I became a bigger Royce fan. He doesnt live like a legend. He does his job. He is a honorable man, a guy to be admired. So I think this is what my fans wants from me; they wanna see me facing bigger and better fighters. Is this hard? I say this is the hardest. Today, for example, Im in pain all over my body. Im tired, just came home, hard working. But thats it. If someone wants to have fans, have a name, he must fight for it.
Sherdog.com: Will you defend your title this year?
Silva: Maybe in December. But it will depend on my performance in this Grand Prix. This tournament is a good thing for me. Everybody is expecting a great show from me, for sure, but Im maybe the underdog because I will face bigger guys. So it is their responsibility, not mine. I will be confident and I think I can show my game. But I hope to defend my title because Id like to face guys in my weight class too.
Sherdog.com: Your number-one contender seems to be Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures).
Silva: Yes, if he beats Shogun. Minotoro is a tough guy. I must be prepared to face him. He is winning a lot, doing a great job, and he is a good fighter.
Sherdog.com: Evangelista Cyborg will make his debut in PRIDEs next event. What youre expecting from him?
Silva: Cyborg is training with Alejarra and is surprising us. He has great determination. I have a private gym on my house and he comes here everyday. He knows thats the biggest chance of his career and I always knew that he would fight in PRIDE. For him, this opportunity is the best goal ever. Im glad for him, he deserves it. This will be the fourth or fifth fight in this year and he deserves respect. He does his job.
Sherdog.com: The Grand Prix winner will probably face Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) in New Years Eve. You are one of the contenders. What do you think about that?
Silva: Its like I said once. Nobody wants to face Fedor, but if this has to be, let it be. He is the man to be defeated. No one could do a great job against him until today. Fujita hit him hard but he was not knocked out. So I think he is the main man today. I respect him but if I have to fight him I will. If someday I say I dont wanna fight a guy, no matter who he is, I will retire. This will be the end of my career.
Sherdog.com: To finish this interview, leave a message to everyone who accesses Sherdog.com.
Silva: I would like to say Im glad to talk to the Americans. I know I have fans on there. I hope to fight in the U.S. very soon because PRIDE said they will promote an event in America and Id like to fight there. I was in Vegas to watch UFC and a lot of people came to talk to me. That made me happy because everyone was nice with me. I wish to thank everybody who is shopping in my Web page. Im doing a lot of sales to USA and the guys there are buying a lot of my products. For those ones who want to be a fighter: choose a good gym that can put you in the right way of fighting. Work hard, because the beginning is difficult but works because the events are popping out all over the planet bringing better fighters. So, if youre having hard times, work harder, because you will be rewarded. If you are a hard worker, if you have a good head, and a good team and the eye of the tiger, you will become a professional fighter. God bless you all, a big hug to everybody and I will see you soon.