UFC Warriors Silva And Maia On Brazilian Talk Show

This weekend's post-fight brawl at the Strikeforce: Nashville event finally edged Anderson Silva's disrespectful performance at UFC 112 out of the media's spotlight. That did not stop MMAFighting.com from getting their hands on a video of an April 18th Brazilian talk show appearance made by Anderson Silva and his UFC 112 opponent Demian Maia. In the following translated quotes from the Domingão do Faustã appearance, Anderson Silva plays it characteristically safe and Demian Maia reacts coolly when questioned of the bout.

Anderson Silva and Demian Maia each complained that he had been disrespected by the other at UFC 112, but a week later the two appeared on a Brazilian television show, shook hands and were civil – if not exactly warm to each other. And Anderson Silva indicated that he doesn't have anything to apologize for in the way he approached the fight with Demian Maia, which has been criticized by many members of the media, MMA fans and UFC President Dana White. 
  

"I think I fought well, executed my game plan and disrupted Demian's game, I couldn't fall to his game because he's a Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist. Even though I train BJJ as well, I don't even come close to his BJJ level.Said Anderson Silva in an interview.

"I have nothing against any of my opponents, have nothing against Demian. I respect his work a lot." Anderson Silva added.

According to BloodyElbow.com the Silva-Maia fight has gotten more attention in Brazil than any other UFC fight in history. Some of that attention has been negative, but Silva was cheered by the crowd when he was introduced on Domingão do Faustão, and he said his antics in the Octagon shouldn't be interpreted as disrespectful toward Maia.

After Anderson Silva said that, Demian Maia was introduced and brought on stage, where he shook hands with Silva and answered questions from the show's host, declining to say whether he was still angry with Silva over the way the fight transpired. 

 

In the teeth of demonstrating quite the opposite at UFC 112, Aderson Silva maintained that he holds no grudges against his opponents and has no problem with Demain Maia in particular. Demain Maia seemed to be a bit less willing to let bygones be bygones and would not give away his personal feelings towards Silva.

"I don't have much to say, it was what happened, The fans saw what happened." Demain Maia said.

All that there is to be said of the bout has been said by now. What is left is to look forward to and ask questions about Silva's next bout with Chael Sonnen. Questions like, will Anderson Silva have an answer for Sonnen's grinding wrestling offense? Or, can Sonnen get inside Silva's striking range without having his face Picasso'd? With their bout rumored to take place at UFC 117 this summer we won't have to wait too long for the answers.

I'll put here my two cents: Anderson Silva needs to get it straight. It's not about showboating per se. Or about trash talking. What it is about is whether it's all in the nature of the sport and ultimately in good fun. Brock Lesnar obviously didn't understand that w/ Mir, and it remains to be seen if he'll pick up on it. The Diazes obviously didn't understand that with Miller and it was a joke that the Strikeforce event turned into a brawl.

But there are plenty of fighters who are pseudo-psychos in a quirky way that works. If Silva had been coming across this way during the fight, or even said things like this after and congratulated Maia for his gutsiness, it'd have been totally different, showboating or not. 


Click the whole interview here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA2jv71N2gw&feature=player_embedded

The Worst Fight Of Maia; Silva Still Hold The Middleweight Title

The UFC broke new ground all night long in with its first show in Abu Dhabi and its first show outdoors. Until Anderson Silva hit the cage, at least. That's when Dana White should've told everyone, "You can leave if you want, we're going to show the champ's fights from UFC 90 and UFC 97”. Silva, clearly not challenged nor feeling threatened at all, by Demian Maia, danced, clowned and fooled around for the United Arab Emirates' royal family and the fans who paid up to $1,007. But he didn't do what the truly great fighters do: Go for the finish. 

With 2:40 remaining on the clock in the first round, Anderson Silva began steering like a huge predator preparing to strike. Silva dropped down onto one knee in front of Demian Maia while dropping both hands onto the mat leaving his head unprotected and appeared to be reckon Maia and preparing to strike. 

Viewers present at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi as well as those watching the middleweight title match on pay-per-view were anticipating Silva's attack. With just over a minute left on the clock in the first round, there was a flurry of activity coming from Silva and Maia was knocked down. Silva appeared to be toying with Maia like a cat with a prey item. 

 

Round two of the UFC 112 middleweight title match was largely an exercise in anticipation as well. Demian Maia lunged several times in an attempt to get Anderson Silva onto the mat where he would have a chance to submit him but seemed to lack the speed required to get a grip on his opponent. This is when things took a turn for the worse.  

Anderson Silva began taunting and mocking Maia with total disregard for honor and humility. Booing from the crowd ensued as Silva continued to clown around and toy with Maia. The wishful thinking was almost palpable with the desire to see Demian Maia get Silva onto the mat where he would have a chance.

It was obvious that Anderson Silva could have ended the UFC 112 middleweight title match at the time of his choosing. With 2:30 remaining in the fourth round, Demian Maia's face and trunks were covered in blood yet he remained on his feet continuing to look for an opening that didn't exist. The crowd at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi began to chant loudly in unison, "Maia, Maia, Maia", showing support for the battered challenger.

It was between the fourth and fifth rounds when UFC president Dana White approached Ed Soares, Silva's manager, giving him the UFC 112 middleweight title belt and told him that he was going to have to put it on Anderson Silva because White wasn't willing to do it. White proceeded to walk out of the UFC 112 Middleweight title match disgusted and embarrassed by the champion's behavior.

At the beginning of the fifth round, Demian Maia's left eye was swollen shut. It appeared that he had blown his fractured nose between rounds causing his eye to immediately swell shut. Without anything to lose and only 3:50 remaining in the fifth round, Maia exploded, throwing all that he had left into an attempt to take Silva down. 

By that time the two were so completely drenched in sweat in the humid Abu Dhabi air that Silva was simply too slippery to hold onto. With fifty seconds remaining, the ref called a time out and warned Anderson Silva to stop running around or he would take a point away from him. In the end Silva simply burned off the remaining time and won by unanimous decision.

A lot of UFC audiences who had paid top dollar for tickets to the Silva vs. Maia UFC Middleweight title fight left early in disgust. The UFC 112 post fight press conference showed Dana White's anger and embarrassment over what had just transpired. He was disgusted by the first impression the UFC had made in Abu Dhabi. He felt that Anderson Silva owed an apology to everyone and was left apologizing for him instead. 

It was unclear what action, if any, Dana White would be taking against Anderson Silva. He left to have a private conversation with Anderson Silva about what had just happened. Many people would have loved to be a fly on the wall in that room.