Anderson Silva’s longtime manager Ed Soares stopped by Submission Radio to discuss Anderson’s upcoming fight against Nick Diaz at UFC 183, “The Spider’s” leg and if he’s kicking with it yet, Nick Diaz’s trash talk, Silva’s motivation, a possible move back down to Welterweight, Steven Seagal, fighting Roy Jones Jr, the Nogueira brothers and how little Nog is doing after his decimation at the hands of Anthony Rumble Johnson, Lyoto Machida, Glover Teixeira and more.
Interview highlights below
On if Nick Diaz’s trash talk will be issue for Anderson come fight night
“Yeah I think he’s prepared to deal with that, but I honestly believe that Nick Diaz is going to take a different approach. I don’t think Nick Diaz has anything personal against Anderson Silva. I think Nick Diaz looks at Anderson Silva as a true, real martial art challenge and he believes he’s got what it takes to be able to fight him. “
“Most of the time Nick Diaz doesn’t start off with the trash talking. It’s normally somebody else that starts off with the trash talking and he kinda finishes it off. But Nick Diaz overall, I don’t see him much as a guy that starts off talking trash.”
What attracted Anderson Silva to the Diaz fight
“Well I just think it’s just a fight that makes sense. I mean, arguable these guys are two of the best boxers in Mixed Martial arts, they both wanted to fight Roy Jones Jr, you know they’re both coming off two loses, they both have been out of the ring for over a year, so it’s just a fight that makes sense.”
On Anderson’s boredom in past fights & motivation for his fighting return
“I think that’s going to be the biggest motivation, just seeing Anderson back to what he once was. I believe that there got a point in Anderson’s career where maybe subconsciously he forgot what it was like not to be champ, and I think now he’s kinda looking up at that hill realizing that he’s got some more challenges to conquer.”
(Ed Soares comes on at the [32:49] mark)
How Anderson is doing after his horrific injury
“I think he’ll be back and he’ll go as far as he wants to apply himself to. I think if anybody can come back from an injury like this and come back and put that title around his waist again, if anybody in the world can do it it’s Anderson Silva. “
If Anderson is throwing kicks yet with the injured leg
“He’s doing great, he’s throwing kicks, he’s doing everything.”
If Anderson Silva would consider a move to the welterweight division and could he still compete at the highest level
“I do think he could make it, but it would take a long process because he’d have to definitely cut out some muscle in comparison to what his body’s at now. But I don’t that’s too much in the future. I think him competing at Middleweight Is where he’s at.”
If Steven Segal will be working with Anderson Silva ahead of his fight with Nick Diaz
“I don’t think so, not at the moment.”
On Ed’s facial expression in Like Water when Anderson said he was training with Steven Segal
“Well you know, I knew that he was training with Steven Segal and I just thought it was a kick that out of all the different things that he was doing, that’s what he mentioned, you know what I’m saying. And I can tell you that, you know him training with Steven Seagal, maybe what he was training with Steven Segal didn’t completely affect that fight, but I can tell you this, I did see Steven Segal and him training that kick that he knocked out Vitor with. I’m not saying Steven Segal taught him that kick. No I’m not. But I can say that maybe Steven Segal made some adjustments in his kick that maybe helped him score that knock out. That’s not saying anything too farfetched.”
What was Ed’s reaction when Silva slipped on the triangle choke at the very end of the Sonnen Fight?
“Man, you know what man, that was pure ecstasy man. That was awesome dude. I gotta tell you, that was, as a manager in the fight business that was definitely one of the great moments in my career without a doubt.”
On Lil Nog how his spirits are after his last fight and if he’s planning on fighting again
“Oh of course we are. I believe that we’ll see him again without a doubt. I think he was out of the octagon for a while and he had a little bit of ring rust and you know, he’s just gonna have to get back on that horse sooner and get back in there and fight. I think Lil Nog is still one of the top 10 fighters in the light heavyweight division without a doubt. He got caught. Someone gets caught like that, you know the fight didn’t even really start. It was 40 seconds, you know. It didn’t seem like it’s a lot, but a lot can happen in 40 seconds and Nogueira sometimes has the tendency to start a little bit slow, and this time he got hit, he got rocked, and Anthony Jonson capitalized on it and finished him.”
Submission Radio is Now Available on Stitcher Radio, iTunes and Tune In radio!
« Submission Radio 24/8/14 King Mo, Ed Soares, Chris Leben, breakdowns of UFC Fight Nights 48 & 49 King Mo: “Pro Wrestling is harder than MMA” »
