UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva

By FCF Staff

Less than two weeks away from its next event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the UFC held a media call today which featured main competitors Anderson Silva, Stephan Bonnar, Dave Herman and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Of course, the four men were signed to the card as a result of injuries to Jose Aldo and “Rampage” Jackson, which left the UFC scrambling to secure two more high profile fights.

The reigning middleweight champ Silva agreed to move up to light-heavyweight to challenge former TUF star Stephan Bonnar, while Nogueira elected to make his long awaited return at the event and fight the heavyweight Herman.

Nogueira will be competing for the first time since last December, when former champ Frank Mir broke his arm at UFC 140 with a first round, Kimura.

UFC 153 will take place on October 13^th at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Here were some of the highlights from the call.

-Herman said he’s “really excited” about fighting Nogueira, due in part to the fact that the fighter has fought “pretty much everybody.”

-Bonnar relayed that “I’ve been doing an ungodly amount of media stuff” and as a result, he’s “on the verge of going postal.”

-When asked if he fights with a chip on his shoulder, Silva said “the main thing for me stepping in a fight is to keep my mind at ease” and to be as technical as he can.

-The middleweight champ stated that all of his fights have been important and have helped bring him to where Silva’s at today.

-Silva also added that he’s not overlooking Bonnar: “he’s a great athlete; he’s very dangerous, he’s good on his feet and the ground.”

-Silva said he wanted to “do his part” to help the UFC salvage the October 13^th card, after injuries removed headliners Jose Aldo and “Rampage” Jackson from the event.

-Bonnar relayed that he never said making weight was going to be tough, but rather, he questioned whether he would be able to get in shape in time. The accomplished fighter furthered that he’s ready to compete in a three round fight.

-Silva acknowledged that “it’s a great challenge to fight Stephan Bonnar.” The Brazilian then added that he believes it’s “one of the biggest” in his career to date.

-Silva relayed that “I won’t be pretentious” and try to fight light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones, while also citing the fact that several of his teammates fight at 205 pounds. The middleweight champion added that “I’m 37 years old” and that his future is at 185 pounds.

-When asked to comment on previous comments from Dave Herman questioning the effectiveness of jiu-jitsu, Nogueira responded by saying my “BJJ works very well”, and added that he’s used his jiu-jitsu extensively to record wins. The former interim champ also relayed that he’s been training on his BJJ a lot for this bout.

-Nogueira also relayed that he’s “ready to go” and that he’s recovered from his arm injury.

-When asked about possibly making another title run, Nogueira said if teammate Junior dos Santos is still champion, then he will not fight for the belt.

-Bonnar relayed that he’s never been hungry for a title, which he furthered is contrary to the viewpoint of Dana White. In the past, the UFC President has expressed his opinion that fighters should be working towards a belt.

-Nogueira said it’s “going to be a huge honor” to fight in Brazil.

-Bonnar added that “it depends on how I do” when asked if he believes fighting Silva may result in a coaching position on the next season of TUF, opposite Forrest Griffin.