Anderson Silva Claims He ‘Misspoke’ About Being Knocked Out Twice in Sparring

According to Anderson Silva, he didn’t say exactly what he meant to say in an interview that became a hot topic heading into this weekend’s fight with Jake Paul.

Concerns regarding Silva’s health became a focus earlier this week when “The Spider” said in an interview that he had been knocked out twice in sparring during camp.

“I talked to my coach and even said, ‘Coach, let me tell you something, why the guys knock me out two times?’” Silva told MMA Weekly at a press conference for the event on Sept. 13. “And the coach said, ‘You need to prepare for war, and you prepare for war.’”

The interview prompted the Arizona Gaming Department, which is regulating the event, to look into the matter. However, Silva recently issued a statement via TMZ Sports claiming that he misspoke during the interview with MMA Weekly.

"After seeing the reports and concern for me, I'd like to clarify two important things. 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,” the statement read.

"Second, this sparring session I referenced was in early September. The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn't recent.”

According to TMZ Sports, sources close to Silva revealed that the former UFC middleweight champion meant to say “knockdown” but inadvertently said “knockout” instead. Meanwhile, Silva’s coach, Luiz Carlos Dorea, also issued a statement to MMAFighting.com confirming that an instance where Silva was knocked out “never happened.”

Silva vs. Paul takes place on Saturday at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. and airs via pay-per-view on Showtime. Silva concluded his statement by adding that he is ready to put on a great performance against the YouTube personality turned boxer.

"More importantly, my training camp has been great,” Silva said. “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.”