"I mean, I don't necessarily think an immediate rematch is legitimate. It's not like he won by decision. You got submitted, man. You were on top of him for 23 minutes of the fight and you couldn't finish him. Anderson got a few bumps and bruises, but let's be realistic, you're on a guy 23 minutes and you couldn't finish him? Why should he get a rematch," stated manager Ed Soares as he talked about Anderson Silva's win over Chael Sonnen and his future plans. You don't want to miss what he had to say about the fight, as well as Junior Dos Santos' win over Roy Nelson, Lyoto Machida's return against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and much more. Check it out!
PC: That was a nail-biter Ed. Congratulations on the win. How do you feel about the performance?
ES: Well, I mean, he showed what a champion is made of. He fought through all of that adversity and through all of the things that were going on in there and he stayed focus and never gave up and that's the heart of a champion.
PC: Could you elaborate on the rib injury a little more and how close was Anderson to having to pull out of this fight?
ES: It was really close because the doctors didn't want him to fight. He hurt his rib last Friday in sparring. He hurt it, but he didn't think it was hurt that bad and then Sunday morning, I had about 13 missed calls in a matter of 25 minutes. They were all from Anderson and he was calling me to tell me he was in pain. He couldn't breathe. I took him to the hospital and they X-Rayed each rib and they noticed that it was a bit swollen, but there was no fracture. They said it was bruised ribs, but the way he reacted when they touched it and how tender they were, they said it was in the muscle as well as the bruise. I'm not a doctor, but this is just what they told us. They prescribed some Ibuprofen 800 for him because it was so close to the fight, they couldn't do any Vicodin. The doctors said, "I really don't recommend that he fights," but Anderson said, "No man, the show must go on. I'm going to fight." I put it this way, he was supposed to corner Mark Munoz on Sunday for his fight against Okami, but I made him stay at home in bed. He was just lying around and letting his ribs heal up on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday because we traveled. He didn't train again until we got to Oakland. He gave his ribs about a 5-day rest.
PC: We haven't seen Anderson in that type of danger. What was your thought process as the fight progressed?
ES: I knew he was losing the fight and it was weird man. It was almost like a bad dream. It was like a nightmare, you know what I mean? It was weird because I was stressed and it was a nail-biter, but I don't know man, I was still pretty relaxed.
PC: Anderson almost landed a few submissions and we rarely see his Jiu Jitsu, but I think Chael started just hanging around from top position and once he was kind of inactive, Anderson took advantage of it.
ES: Totally!
PC: Was the issue at the end of the fight Anderson not wanting to let go because he wanted to make sure it was a definite tap?
ES: Yeah, because once he tapped, Chael kept fighting. He didn't let go because he wasn't sure of what was going on. He wasn't going to give that position or submission up until he was sure. Once again, Chael tried to deny that he tapped until he told the ref, "I believe you." it's like, come on dude, that's the same shit you did with Filho and Babalu. If you're going to tap, then tap.
PC: How relieved were you when you saw the fight was over and The Spider had pulled it off?
ES: Ah dude, I was ecstatic.
PC: I know Anderson stays pretty relaxed, but was the talk starting to bother you a little bit?
ES: Ah dude, it bothered me, man. I like Chael, to be honest with you. Chael has been nothing but super cool to me and we've always had a pretty good relationship, but I've never seen Chael act like that. I guess I never really paid too much attention to him. I've just always treated him the way that he treated me and that was with the utmost respect. As a matter of fact, when he fought Paulo Filho the second time and beat him, it wasn't for the title.
PC: Yeah, when Filho missed weight.
ES: Right, when Filho missed weight, but I took Filho's belt and sent it to Matt Lindland to give to Chael. I sent it to Matt Lindland's house that following week just to show them that I was going to do the right thing. Ever since then, I felt our relationship was good and that he respected me because of the type of person I was and I respected him. some of his talk was bothering me because he was talking like he had been dominating guys and the only times his fights ended before going to the scorecards is when he was getting submitted.
PC: There are rumblings of an immediate rematch or maybe Vitor Belfort. What would you like to see them do with Anderson next?
ES: I mean, I don't necessarily think an immediate rematch is legitimate. It's not like he won by decision. You got submitted, man. You were on top of him for 23 minutes of the fight and you couldn't finish him. Anderson got a few bumps and bruises, but let's be realistic, you're on a guy 23 minutes and you couldn't finish him? Why should he get a rematch?
PC: Roy Nelson proved to be a tough guy, but Junior Dos Santos was too tough for him. What did you think of Cigano's performance?
ES: We were very happy with his performance. I think it was very good experience for him to put that type of fight underneath his belt. He went 3 hard rounds and he still had the gas to go more, which is a good sign. That was a war man and I tell you, it made me a much bigger Roy Nelson fan. Now we will wait and see how the Lesnar-Velasquez fight turns out, but he will be in the gym training because, you never know, one of those guys could get injured.
PC: Lyoto Machida will be making his comeback against Rampage Jackson. Stylistically, do you like that fight for Lyoto coming off of his first career loss?
ES: I think Quinton Jackson is a super tough opponent. I think that styles make fights and I think Lyoto's style might be a good match for Quinton, but by no means do I think that's going to be an easy fight. Quinton Jackson is a stud. No one could take anything from Rampage. I see people saying, "Well look how he fought against Rashad." Let me tell you something, Rampage hadn't fought in awhile, he had done a movie and he had a big weight cut. That wasn't Rampage's best performance. I think Rampage is a tough opponent any way you slice or dice it. Look at some of the people he fought and some of the people he has knocked out. He's a tough guy that has heavy hands and he's not an easy guy to knock out. It's going to be an interesting fight, but I believe in Machida. I think he has what it takes to beat him and I don't think it's going to be an easy fight. I think Rampage is a tough guy. He poses some serious threats.
PC: I appreciate your time as always. It's always a pleasure to speak to you and congrats again on the wins.
ES: It's always good talking to you too Percy. Thanks.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]