Thiago Silva :: TATAME

Thiago Silva is no longer undefeated, but he doesn’t lose the trust in the work and will come inside in his next UFC fight. Scheduled to fight the former champion Forrest Griffin, the Brazilian is now with a new opponent, and faces Keith Jardine at UFC 102, hold in the U.S at August. In an exclusive interview to TATAME.com, Thiago spoke about the fight against Jardine, Griffin’s fight against the middleweight champion Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, the man who defeated him, fighting for the belt against Rashad Evans and more.

How is the training to fight Keith Jardine?

The training is being the same, I’m keeping it the same and the only difference is that now I have two more weeks to train even more. I’m doing a whole complete work here, working on my back so that I have no more injuries, but it’s cool, everything is going right. Keith Jardine is a good athlete. Of course his style is a little different, but I think that, by now, I’m just working the technical and physical part, and I’ll set a strategy closer to the fight.

What difference this fight changes for you, coming from Forrest Griffin, a former champion, to Jardine?

I wanted to fight griffin, I think it was a good fight for me, but Jardine is also a good fight and I can’t pick up fights for me. I’m coming from a loss and I have to win, put my money on the pocket and renew my contract… I have to keep my job, right?

How do you think it’ll be Griffin’s fight against Anderson Silva?

It’ll be a good fight, but I think Anderson has more tools. Everybody is watching it, this guy is unbeatable. Besides people talk about his style now, being defensive, I think he’s smart, needs to continue as the champion. To remain champion, you have to do everything. I think the 205 division is a little more complicated for him, because the guys are heavier, but I think this fight will be excellent for Anderson, because Griffin has a lot of heart, goes inside and this fight will be awesome.

Do you think Forrest surprise, just like he did against Shogun?

Sincerely, I trust on Anderson, this guy is fuckin’ awesome. I still didn’t see in the UFC a technical quality as his, and he’s no fool on the ground. I cheer for Brazil, of course.

Your division is the most stacked in the UFC. How do you see the next fights of your division?

I think that the 205 is the most unpredictable division in the UFC, because has a lot of good athletes. I think Lyoto’s fight (against Rashad) will be good and I have to cheer for him to win, because I want my revenge against him, that’s what I’m going after now.

Wanderlei recently dropped to middleweight. How do you think will be his fight against Rich Franklin?

I already trained with Wanderlei a long time ago and I think he, at 185, will put a lot of guys in trouble, because he’s very strong, explosive. I believe he’ll smash Rich Franklin, for sure. Wanderlei is great.

Do you think about going to his gym for a training, like Thiago Alves did?

He invited me on my last fight, but it depends on the situation. I want to, but, for now, ATT offers me a good training, but maybe I can go there and do a little training with him. I love Wanderlei, he’s one of the guys I looked after when I started fighting.