Yesterday, Anderson Silva and Michael Bisping met yesterday and as expected the Brit had plenty of words for his illustrious opponent. The two were in Los Angeles for open workouts and to handle some media obligations, and both offered an interesting insight to their mindsets coming into their bout.
The bout is Silva’s first appearance since his suspension from the sport after his failing of drug test after facing Nick Diaz over a year ago. That failed test was something that Silva denied, instead appearing in front of the Nevada Athletic Commission and claiming the drug came from contaminated vial of a sexual aid.
Not that Bisping’s buying that.
“Listen, Anderson is a great fighter, he’s achieved many, many things,” Bisping said at the media scrum. “But the fact of the matter is, he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in his last fight. Apparently, that’s the first time he’s been tested. That’s what he said. His words, not mine. A cynic would lead me to believe that he was using his whole career. Shame on him. How he calls himself a martial artist and takes performance enhancing drugs is beyond me, it really is.”
“If you look at him, in PRIDE, he weighed in at 168 pounds, and now walks around at forty pounds heavier. Do the math.”
For what it’s worth, Silva himself continued to deny the accusations with help from his manager and long time friend Ed Soares.
“The past is the past, I didn’t want to get too much into that,” Silva said (translated from Portuguese by Soares). “I wanted everyone to know that I’m not a liar and unfortunately it didn’t come off that way, but I always told the truth. I never used any sort of PED. I’m excited to get back in there and fight and, who knows, maybe even fight for a title.”
Regardless of PED allegations and suspensions, the fight has been one that Bisping has pursued for a long time, and drugs or no drugs, the Englishman still considers Silva to be one of the greatest.
“He is still who he is,” Bisping said. “He’s achieved what he’s achieved and that will never change. He has a huge standing in this sport. No disrespect to Gegard Mousasi, I was fighting him and [when people would ask me] ‘who’s your next fight?’ I’d say ‘Gegard Mousasi’ and they’d say ‘who?’[…]everyone knows who Anderson is.”
It’s unclear if Silva feels the same reverence for Bisping. When asked about his future plans, Silva repeatedly eyed a path towards the title, even estimating three more years in the sport. Regardless of respect (or potential lack thereof) between the two, the event took an interesting turn when Silva was being interviewed by various media outlets and Bisping approached him to have a word. A word delivered in his own inimitable style.
“See you in London my friend,” Bisping said. “No viagra[…]bye sweetheart, I’m gonna fuck you.”
Silva, for his part, seemed more amused than offended.
“I understand your frustration because you’ve never [fought] for the belt,” Silva said.
The fight is an interesting one, and comes at perhaps the perfect time for both men. Bisping has never got his shot at the title (and as such no shot at Anderson). With Silva’s return, it offers both men an opportunity to face each other as both attempt to take the next step up the ladder.
It must be said, Silva has looked less than himself in his previous fights. Losing to Weidman twice, and then an uninspiring fight against Nick Diaz after his year out with injury has made Anderson look more human than he ever did during his peak. Bisping, who has never lost on UK soil, will no doubt draw confidence from this and fancy his chances.
Regardless of the outcome, you can be sure that for as much as people watch Bisping talk trash, it won’t bother ‘the Spider’.
“Come on, people,” Silva said. “I’ve been in this sport for a long time. People have said a lot of things, but once the octagon door closes, it always changes.”
