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By Eduardo Alonso
It's Fun Time for Anderson Silva!
After an Impressive PRIDE Win, the Chute Boxe Sensation Gets Back to What He Loves the Most

      Before achieving success as an NHB fighter, Anderson Silva was always a Muay Thai fighter at heart, taking every single opportunity he had to be on the rings all over Brazil competing in the form of fight he adopted as his main discipline. Now, starting to get Worldwide recognition for his NHB achievements, after wins against the likes of Tetsuji Kato, Hayato Sakurai, Alex Stiebling and most recently Carlos Newton, Anderson has an established career in the sport of no holds barred, but in his heart he continues to consider himself a Muay Thai fighter, and will always do so. No wonder he personally requested Master Rafael Cordeiro [STORM Promoter] to participate in the event, not minding huge purses and fighting for the simple love for the sport and his hometown crowd, as well as trying to get one more step closer to his so awaited K-1 dream. One this is for certain, you can never underestimate Anderson Silva's training determination and skills, so when he steps in to the ring at Opera de Arame this Saturday April 12th, one can expect nothing but pure technique on the cold night of Curitiba. Before the fight becomes reality, FCF spoke with the man himself about his last PRIDE fight, his love for Muay Thai and a bit more! Sit back and enjoy!

FCF:   Your last outing was against Carlos Newton in PRIDE, where you were considered the underdog by many abroad, and still won by KO! Did you get worried when he took you down early in the match?
AS:     I was expecting it to be a tough fight, even because Carlos Newton is a well known athlete who always presented himself well in PRIDE, always fighting against great opponents. However I didn't feel surprised by him at any moment during our fight. I knew he would take the fight to the ground and wouldn't want to fight standing up, but I was very well prepared to fight him both standing up and on the ground. Of course he is more used to ground fight on the ground, so the time we spent on the ground where he could show his efficiency standing up, was the time I need to get back to my feet to show my efficiency standing up. I think it was a good fight that showed that there are lots of good people coming up and those who didn't know my work will now be able to get to know more about it because of this win, and now I'm eagerly waiting for my next fight to make things continue to progress for my career and for the Chute Boxe team.

FCF:   You had perfect timing with your flying knee that knocked Newton out. Did you train this move a lot during your preparation, or was something that occurred to you at the moment?
AS:     During the brief moments of stand up we had in the fight, he feinted some takedowns, so I had this already on my thought. At that very moment I saw him with his guard a bit low, so I thought about feinting a kick to his head to force him to try a takedown. When we got back to our feet after he took me down, he went low a couple of times in moments he shouldn't have done it, so I thought about feigning the kick to force him to try a takedown, and then I would throw the knee! And it worked! It worked very well! [Laughs]

FCF:   He fought Pele when he was still a teammate. Did Newton's win over Pele served as a parameter for your training for this fight?
AS:     I think each fight is a different fight. I saw his fight against Pele when he was there in Japan, and then I didn't see it anymore even because Pele was still a member of the team back then and it would be something bad not only for him, but for our group. So we don't use to watch our opponent's fights, and it was the case this time as well. I try even not to see fights from my future opponents, cause it makes you create an expectation and you end up trying to neutralize the guy's game instead of doing your own thing. I try not to look at tapes before the fight to even not create any ghosts on my mind that sometimes doesn't even exists.

FCF:   You're usually a quite fighter, but you yelled and shouted a lot in the PRIDE ring after your win over Newton! What was that all about? Was it the result of your emotions after all the hard training?
AS:     I was letting all go out! I suffered a lot of pressure before the fight, with a lot of people saying how good he was on the ground, and that he was going to finish me and the likes. I was a bit stressed with all this talk, and thank God all worked out well and I won.

FCF:   You didn't only win, but you won by knockout! Do you get happier when you win by KO than a regular win by judges' decision?
AS:     Man, for me the most important thing is to always perform my best without injuring my opponent and injuring myself. If the fight ends and I win by judges' decision I'm already very happy. I don't fight for knockouts, knockouts come naturally in my fights. It's a natural result of my performance, I'm not a knockout artist like Wanderlei or Nilson, I'm more of a methodical fighter, I like to keep scoring points and finding my way during the fight, if I can score a KO it's great, if not it's great too.

FCF:   You're now going to fight this Saturday at STORM, and I know you requested to participate in the event cause you love Muay Thai so much and you wanted to fight in front of your hometown crowd. Were you wanting it to be a Grand Prix as well [the heavyweights are fighting a Grand Prix in the same event] instead of a single fight?
AS:     I wanted to fight in a tournament, but since the Master [Rafael Cordeiro] had difficulties to find all the fighters needed in my weight division to fight a Grand Prix, and ended up finding an opponent for me in a single fight, so I'm anxious for the fight!

FCF:   Despite your success in NHB you make no secret that you love Muay Thai and wants to keep always competing in it. How are you feeling just two days before the fight now that you're finally fighting in Curitiba again?
AS:     I'm very anxious cause the last time I fought Muay Thai here in Curitiba was around 2 years and a half ago! I'm very anxious and I'm eagerly waiting for this fight. I'll do what I always do, and despite winning or losing I want to do a good fight.

FCF:   Do you feel the same type of anxiety a couple of days before a Muay Thai event, than you feel before an NHB event?
AS:     For me it's all the same! You're going to have to go inside the ring and face someone who is as prepared as you are. You're going to hit the guy, and the guy is going to hit you back! And it's even funny because at first one guy will hit, then the other will hit back, and all of the sudden only one guy will be hitting! [Laughs]I'm cool about it! There's not much secret into it, and I have been doing it since I was very little, for me this is all natural.

FCF:   You still plan to fight a lot of NHB matches, but do you expect that your comeback to Muay Thai at STORM this Saturday can mean the beginning of your so dreamed K-1 career?
AS:     Good question man! For me it would be even more important if I would fight in a tournament. Some K-1 representatives will surely be watching my here, and I believe that if I was fighting in a tournament it would be even more advantageous for me. Not that this single fight isn't! I expect people to pay close attention to this fight I'm going to be in, and mostly the K-1 representatives who hopefully will see a good performance. If a opportunity to fight in K-1 appear I'll grab it with all my heart and try to do my best in K-1 as well. My dream and my goal as a fighter is to be a K-1 Grand Prix champion.

FCF:   Speaking of K-1, what did you think of Jefferson Tank winning the K-1 Brazil and then fighting against Ernesto Hoost in Japan?
AS:     Well man, I didn't see his fights in K-1 Brazil, but since he was a stand out and got himself a fight against Ernesto Hoost in Japan, I'm sure he must've fought well. However I didn't see his fight against Hoost.

FCF:   I'm asking you about it cause I heard you two did some sparring in the past.
AS:     Yeah, we did some little trainings together...

FCF:   No more comments? [Laughs]
AS:     Well, no more comments. There are some things we aren't suppose to comment [Laughs]

FCF:   What's your next step after STORM Muay Thai Grand Prix, this coming Saturday?
AS:     After STORM I'll keep waiting if MECA will call me to fight in it, and training for a possible fight at PRIDE as well.

FCF:   Man! Are you that hungry for fighting? Would you fight at the next MECA as well? [Laughs]
AS:     [Laughs] Well, if they let me fight in it I'll gladly fight! It has been a long time since I last fought in Curitiba so I have to take advantage of this phase of wins. It goes like this with every fighter, it's all about phases, sometimes you're winning sometimes you're not, so there'll be a time where defeats may appear, and this is why I have to take advantage of this phase! If the Master [Rudimar Fedrigo] allow me to fight in MECA, I'll do it! If another opportunity to fight at PRIDE appears I'll do it as well! You get to the top, and then someday you'll start to fall, so you have to do your best and take the opportunities so when you retire you'll retire well, without lots of defeats.

FCF:   And now that you're fighting in Curitiba at STORM you're going to taste it again, and will be willing to fight in MECA even more!
AS:     Exactly! I know it's going to be like this [Laughs]

FCF:   Imagine if an invitation to K-1 appears then! [Laughs]
AS:     Man! If K-1 invites me then my life is complete! [Laughs] I'll just have to get heavier to fight in the Grand Prix.

FCF:   Any final message for your fans?
AS:     For those of you that enjoy my fights, please continue to follow my fights and my interviews! Cause I'll try to always bring victories for us all and show the funny and nice side of the fighters, at least my way of being funny you know [Laughs]

FCF:   And always bringing your annoying Jab as well? [Laughs]
AS:     Always trying to improve even more my annoying Jab! [Laughs]

FCF:   What about dancing? [Laughs]
AS:     Dancing is my gig! It's a lot of fun! Who dances all the time forgets his problems easier [Laughs]

FCF:   Thanks for your time and good luck on your fight!
AS:     Thank you! It was a pleasure.

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