FCF:   You had to wait a long time for this opportunity to fight in PRIDE. Was all this time waiting for this opportunity to finally fight in the event since PRIDE 16, due to the problems involving a contract with the UFC, leaving you impatient?

Anderson:   No, in fact there was no such thing as getting impatient. It’s a question of work and patience. We were waiting, but I was always very tranquil. I was always tranquil about it because Master [Rudimar Fedrigo] always told me that my opportunity at PRIDE would come. So the time has come and I will try to continue with my work and take my chance!

FCF:   Even now for PRIDE 21 your fight was only confirmed a few days before the event. Did you get afraid you could end up not fighting again?

Anderson:   I was a bit worried but thank God Master Rudimar was able to solve all the problems and issues that were making difficult my entrance at PRIDE, and the important thing is that now everything is right and we’re going there to win!

FCF:   Is it tougher to prepare without knowing for sure if you’re going to fight or not? Or does your training routine doesn’t change very much?

Anderson:   My training never changes! It’s getting even more intensified as my career goes on.

FCF:   You fought in Japan before, winning twice in Shooto. Besides that you went with the Chute Boxe team for PRIDE several times. What are you expecting from the Japanese public reaction towards you?

Anderson:   I expect the Japanese public to receive me there with a lot of joy. We already have a good relationship with the Japanese public, and my last name is also Silva! So I expect the Japanese public to receive me very well in PRIDE.

FCF:   Another Silva is coming to PRIDE? (Laughs)

Anderson:   For sure! (Laughs)

FCF:   Do you feel comfortable fighting in Japan?

Anderson:   I feel good fighting in Japan! I feel very tranquil, relaxed. I also don’t have any problems with the time-zone thing. We try to get there with a good amount of time to prepare, to train there, so we get in good shape in the event. I don’t have any problems at all.

FCF:   You trained a lot to face Tito Ortiz; in fact you were supposed to face him twice. What changed in your preparation now that your opponent is Chuck Liddell?

Vitor:   Chuck is a fighter that likes to trade standing up more than Tito, so the strategy will be a bit different. I’ll have to study the game a bit more and I won’t have to worry that much about the double-leg takedown attempts. So I’ll have to worry more about the stand up part, because I believe he is going to want to strike with punches, like crosses and hooks. I believe he will want to use those sorts of strikes more. I believe he is going to want to strike with me.

FCF:   Tito Ortiz has been saying on the Internet how he is going to beat you, crush you and things like that once he is recovered. What do you think of those statements by him?

Vitor:   Well, if your mouth would win the fight for you brother, whoever had the biggest mouth would win, and that’s not the case. It’s all about who trains more and has a better condition. I think he has a good condition, but his mouth speaks more than his acts sometimes. I think it’s okay, it’s his style so let him do what he wants. I have another style, I’m an athlete and I see it as a sport. I don’t see it as a form of promotion or as an opportunity to please my ego. I don’t have this need for self-promotion.

FCF:   Because of all those statements from him, or even because of the fact that he is the UFC champion, do you still want to fight him after the fight was postponed twice?

Vitor:   Man, I’ll tell you something, I don’t even want to talk about Tito Ortiz because he is not the one who is in-line now. I want to talk about Chuck Liddell. So, here at my training camp, my trainers like to pick fight by fight. So Tito Ortiz isn’t even on my mind right now. For me he is on the "waiting-list" and Chuck Liddell is what matters right now. So we have to face Chuck Liddell, who is a great athlete, a great fighter and maybe has an even bigger potential than Tito Ortiz.

I just came back from Las Vegas. DSE got a license from Nevada State Athletic Commission. It has been almost 16 months since we applied for the license. This is the first case that a foreign company was licensed in the USA. We were very honored that it was a unanimous vote. We are going to release an official announcement through our PR firm Bender/Helper on Monday.