“Can you deny [Anderson] Silva’s the best?”
— Dana White
Earlier this year, UFC President Dana White stood by his company’s claim that Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva is the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter even as the fighter took massive criticism for his lackluster performance in the UFC 97 fight with Thales Leites. After Silva’s impressive knockout of light heavyweight Forrest Griffin, White was as far from the defensive as possible–those present at the UFC 101 press conference did not possess a hint of doubt in Silva’s dominance.
“He’s the most talented fighter in the world. He can dominate in two different weight divisions,” said White, who noted that Silva’s next fight will likely be a Middleweight title defense against Dan Henderson.
After that, White said that Silva will likely have another fight at 205.
Silva did not personally issue any challenges to opponents, with manager Ed Soares simply saying that he wants to be involved in the biggest fights UFC can put together, whether they are in the middleweight or light heavyweight division.
The champion does not, however, yearn for a bout against Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida. “Lyoto’s my friend, he’s my brother,” said Silva, who added that there was “no way” he would take the fight (a sentiment Silva confirmed literally seconds after White said he could envision running the bout in the future). Silva also admitted that Machida possesses the tools to pose a problem in a potential fight.
For as much as Silva’s UFC 101 success meant for the UFC and media members, Forrest Griffin’s loss–and his immediate exit from the arena following the knockout defeat–was also on the industry’s mind.
“We’ve seen it before with him,” said White in reference to Griffin’s post-fight reaction. “He’s an emotional guy. He came into this fight very confident that he was going to beat Anderson Silva.”
“I haven’t seen him – he might be in Georgia right now, but I haven’t seen him since [he ran out of the Octagon],” joked White about Griffin’s absence from the press conference.
Despite making easy work of Griffin, victor Silva had no trouble conveying his respect for the former UFC Light Heavyweight champion.
“The reason Forrest ran out of the cage – that’s with him – but he’s a great champion and he should be respected by everybody,” said the Middleweight Champion.
While Silva’s definitive win was the talk of the town, Lightweight Champion BJ Penn’s win over Kenny Florian–which many believe solidifies Penn’s standing as the best lightweight in the world–was not to be ignored.
In discussing his victory, Penn criticized Florian’s strategy of trying to wear him down with takedowns.
“I was kind of surprised that Florian was going to use that tactic. He’s not a Matt Hughes, he’s not a GSP as far as that goes. I didn’t think that was the best idea for him,” said Penn, who explained that his biggest concern for the fight was Florian’s kicking ability, something he actively worked to avoid.
Given that the takedown that ultimately led to the fight’s finish was executed with ease by BJ Penn, critics questioned why Penn did not attempt to bring the action to the mat earlier.
“I didn’t want to get tired trying to take him down,” answered Penn, who confirmed that his corner gave him the go-ahead on the takedown in round four.
White, who proudly expressed his happiness with the Penn and Silva performances, said that Penn’s next challenger is likely to be Diego Sanchez.
MORE NEWS
— The official gate was $3.55 million with attendance of 17,411. White said that more than 11,000 were in attendance for the very first preliminary fight, indicating how passionate the Philadelphia crowd was for UFC.
— White on the Alessio Sakara’s controversial split decision victory over Thales Leites: “I don’t know. People are always subjective. I didn’t think [Sakara] won, but I’m not a judge.”
— White took a similar stance on the controversial stoppage in the Johnny Hendricks-Amir Sadollah fight: “I thought it was stopped early, but I’m not the referee.”
— Ricardo Almeida discussed a possible move to Welterweight after his decision Middleweight win over Kendall Grove, noting, “I just felt I was too light – I weighed 187 pounds [a few hours before the fight]. By the end of the third round, I felt the size difference.” Almeida also stressed that he was very close to being submitted by Grove’s second round armbar–“I felt that I was caught and there was no way out.” It took an ill-advised readjustment from Grove to give Almeida an escape opportunity.
— Kurt Pellegrino acknowledged Josh Neer’s toughness; he also noted that the two were exchanging trash talk for much of the fight.
— White teased a possible Boston show at the famous Fenway Park.
— White again dismissed talk of a Roy Jones, Jr-Anderson Silva fight, “I don’t know what would happen if Silva went in to box Roy Jones, Jr…I just don’t see the point.”
