Anderson Critical of Wand's Move to 185

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Anderson Criticizes Wanderlei’s Move to 185
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Anderson Criticizes Wanderlei’s Move to 185

Friday, April 10, 2009

by Marcelo Alonso (malonso@sherdog.com)





They have the same surname, grew up in the same Brazilian city and trained together for years at Chute Boxe. But things have changed, and destiny has put Wanderlei Silva and Anderson Silva on different sides.



“I always helped Wanderlei in training,” Anderson explained in a November 2007 interview with Tatame magazine. “We were really close.”



Anderson eventually left Chute Boxe, though, and in the Tatame interview he said that the team’s coach, Rudimar Fedrigo, forbid him from fighting in Pride, where Wanderlei was a champion.



“Wanderlei didn’t say anything to help me,” Anderson said. “He even knew that I had four children to raise. If it were not for ‘Minotauro’ putting pressure and bringing me to Pride, I would certainly be retired.”



At UFC 79 in December 2007, however, Anderson couldn’t hide his support for Wanderlei against Chuck Liddell. After the fight, he visited Wanderlei’s locker room with Lyoto Machida to congratulate him on a gutsy performance.



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Marcelo Alonso/Sherdog.com



The Silvas in friendlier times.


<!--/PICTURE R-->“I’m free now, whenever you want to train,” said Wanderlei, who had also left Chute Boxe by then and was happy to have the support of Anderson and Machida.



But now the relationship has soured again. Fifteen months after they shook hands in the locker room, Anderson learned that Wanderlei is on his way to the UFC middleweight division, where Anderson is king.



In an interview with the popular Brazilian TV program Sensei Sportv that will air Saturday, Anderson said he doesn’t have any problem fighting his former training partner.



“How much do you weigh? So why are you going to get yourself in trouble?” Anderson asked of Wanderlei.



Anderson has his own answer to the question: He called Wanderlei’s move to 185 “pretentious.”



Asked to name five opponents that he considered ready to face him for a title shot, Anderson didn’t include Wanderlei or Wanderlei’s new training partner, Demian Maia. In fact, he had a message for Maia too: “Saying that you will beat me up or submit me is very easy, but there have been people trying to do that for some time and are not reaching their goal, Demian.”



Anderson also confirmed during the Sensei Sportv interview that he plans on more fights as a light heavyweight. He dismissed the possibility of fighting Machida, whom he considers a close friend and the best fighter in the weight division.



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That picture is awesome

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Neither wand nor anderson looked anything like what they do now

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that would be an awesome fight...I 'd hate to say but Anderson would beat the shit outta Wand

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Sounds like Anderson's getting saucy!

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Maia will tap Anderson if that fight happens.

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looking for attention^^^

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Silva is at the top of his career and not a shittalker, so when he says something, it's hard not to listen, believe, and fear for anyone who he's got any sort of personal problem with.

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And after Okami loses, CRE will be here to congratulate Silva for being the best P4P fighter in the world and being unstoppable...till CRE can jump on some new guys nuts...then make the claim the new guy will dismantle Silva with no problem...


Rinse, repeat every 2 months.

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i doubt the word "pretentious" is even in the portuguese language

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lol

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CRE - Anderson would lose to Okami, you know it too. You have to at least admit it's a pick em 50-50


I know right, I'd have made him fight the two best 185 pounders a combined 3 times. Certainly one of them would have beat him...


oh wait.

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Anderson's ego gets bigger by the day. What has happened to him? He used to be so humble and cool and now he gets insulted by a friend moving to his weight class?

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gangsta101 - Anderson should be more concerned about figuring out a gameplan for the next title contendor; Michael 'The count'  Bisping 


 


I can't seem to understand how people are buying into Bisping giving Anderson a tough time. Bisping first needs to get through Henderson. While Bisping has looked good, look at his level of competition compared to Silva's. I believe Bisping has looked good in the small pond but once he starts moving to deep waters he's going to have his hands full with either Marquardt or Maia. If Bisping gets past either one of those guys I believe he should get a title shot - no questions asked.

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No one is beating Anderson @ MW right now.

Not Wand, and not Maia.

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 CRE and gangsta101, what are your opinions about what I had to say on Wanderlei in the other thread on this topic? I'll paste it here:



'Wanderlei will never get on another roll to even merit a title shot in the MW division. He's not even going to win his next fight. I'm sorry but the reality is after he loses to Franklin, it's definately time to call it quits and focus on his gym. If I had to pick one fighter on the international stage who should retire for his own good, it would be Wandy. If he wants to enjoy his older years with any semblance of knowing what the fuck is going on, his next loss should be his last fight. '



And then a couple of posts later I said:



'I'm sure he is working harder than ever, he needs to just to keep up. I'm sorry, on the whole he seems a really nice chap and he's provided a lot of memories, but enough is enough. If Dana White is showing concern for Liddell's health based on his last few fights, then I can guarantee Wanderlei is in the same position. He's been brutalised in the last two years, and it just seems like its the right time to call it a day, for his own sake. Its his right to carry on if he wants to, of course, but I fully expect the UFC to call time on his career with them soon if he takes one more bad KO.



Five fighters who would easily beat Wanderlei at this time in the UFC MW division:



Anderson

Marquardt

Bisping

Okami

Dan Miller



And that's after Franklin beats him, plus I didn't include Henderson. Nor did I include Maia obviously. Leites would probably beat him.



He might get a string of wins over people like Ed Herman, Jason McDonald but his time as a relevant top level fighter is over. Sorry. '

 

Was wondering what you both thought.

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CRE - 
sadic1 - Silva is at the top of his career and not a shittalker, so when he says something, it's hard not to listen, believe, and fear for anyone who he's got any sort of personal problem with.


he talks plenty of shit


prove it. now.

anderson may talk sternly sometimes, and he should. everyone is hunting for his head and talking shit about how they will beat him. he talks stern but never talks shit.

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When has Maia said that he would easily submit Anderson?

My guess: never. Not his style at all.

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Kneeblock -  It's not ego.  Anderson is just more about the loyalty than the $$.


I don't know. He says:

"So why are you going to get yourself in trouble?"...He called Wanderlei's move to 185 "pretentious."

Sounds like someone is insulted. He doesn't mention loyalty. He is insulted over the challenge.

Also, the implication that MW is a much easier class that Wand can resurrect his career in is kind of a slap in the face to Anderson's accomplishments.

Sorry, that sounds absurd. Wand is NOT saying Anderson would be an easy fight, but that he feels a drop in weight would give him certain advantages in that weight class and he is CORRECT. That is the reason everyone fights. He did not single out Anderson.

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disbeliever did your name just turn green or did you just always post in blue before?