Exclusive: Wanderlei Silva Talks Rich Franklin, Anderson Silva, and Says He’ll Retire If Dana White Tells Him To

(It's a bad day to be a focus mitt.  Photo courtesy of our friends at Fight! Magazine.)

I met Wanderlei Silva for an interview in his new gym in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, and to my surprise he showed up only a half-hour late.  He was sporting one hell of a black eye from a recent training session, but despite his busy schedule the always-gregarious Wanderlei was kind enough to give me a little of his time to talk about his upcoming bout with Rich Franklin at UFC 99 on Saturday, his thoughts on the rivalry and proposed bet with former friend Anderson Silva, as well as what he thinks about Dana White threatening to “pull the trigger” on him like he did to Chuck Liddell.  Enjoy.

CagePotato.com: Thanks for talking with me Wanderlei.  Looks like you have a pretty nice shiner there.

Yes, I was training with one of my partners here the other day and, you know, the fight is never like the training but I try to train like the fight.  The last two movements he hit me in each of my eyes.  It was the last few seconds even, and now I have this.  He got me and time was up before I could get him, but next week...(laughs)

What do you think of Rich Franklin as a fighter?

He’s a very professional guy.  Every guy who comes to fight me, they are going to train hard and train more.  This is real.  Because of this I know I need to train more too.   I train every day, two or three times a day.  So I will be ready too.

And what do you think of him training with Anderson Silva before his fight with you?

It’s good.

Good?

Yeah, because if he trains with Anderson, he won’t pass the second round with me.  You’ll see.

I heard you offered to put $50,000 down on this fight in a bet with Anderson.  That's pretty bold.  Have you heard any word from him about whether he’ll take that bet?

No, no.  You know, I believe in myself.  I believe in the job I can do.  And because of this I will put money down.  But who will put down against me?  He will not say yes, so you tell me who believes more.

I was talking with Shawn Tompkins and he said you two weren’t working together any more because you had trouble getting places on time.  You know, “Brazilian time,” and all that.

(laughs) He’s a great coach.  I like Shawn very much.  But he has a lot of work and I have a lot of work.  Two or three times I cannot come and I forget to call him, and he is too busy for this.  I understand.  I like him and I know he like me.  Sorry, Shawn.

A while back Thiago Alves was telling me that you were the guy who made him want to become a pro fighter.  Many young fighters, especially Brazilians, seem to feel this way about you.  You’re a hero and a pioneer to them.  How does that make you feel to hear that?

I feel two ways.  One, it’s a great honor for me.  Somebody like [Alves], who has a title shot, for him to like me and like my style and want to fight like me, this makes me feel very proud.  This is the good side.  The other side is, someone says, ‘This guy is my hero.  I watch him fight a looooong time ago.’  It makes me feel so old.  But I know this, I represent the old school now.  That’s what happens.  How old are you?

I’m 29.

See, you’re going to start the old school next year.  Thirty is when you are smarter, you have more technique, more experience in what you do.  You’ll see. (laughs)

Do you think the time is coming soon for you to retire?

I don’t know.  The future, only God knows.  Now I have a good body, a good mind, a good space.  I have a lot of experience to pass on to my guys here.  This game is about more than just the body.  It’s also about the mind.  Many things that I know now I didn’t know before, and I can open my game to show other fighters.  That’s why I opened this gym.  I didn’t open it to make money.  If I wanted to make money, I would buy apartments.  But this is not my job.  My job is to fight.  This is an open gym.  Guys can come here and I will do anything I can to help them.

What do you think about Dana White telling Chuck Liddell to retire, and making similar comments about you, suggesting that before too long he may say the same thing to you?

This is hard news.  A few years ago I was at the end of the line [of fighters to retire.]  Now I am at the front of the line.  But I respect the boss.  Dana is a smart guy and I respect him.  One day I will talk with him about this.  He is a man who is the best at his job.  If he comes to me and says to stop, I will respect this.  But after my next fight, you’ll see, he will say, ‘Please don’t stop.’  

I know what the fans like, what the fans want to see in the Octagon.  I am a fighter.  I give you the show.  For this I lose sometimes because I take more chances.  But because of this I have more fans, I have more respect.  My fans know I will give to them everything I have.

It does seem like your desire to put on a show has cost you fights at times.  Do you ever regret that and wish you could fight a little more conservatively sometimes?

For me, it’s hard to understand the way some guys fight.  I would rather lose a fight like the fight with Chuck Liddell than to win like Anderson [Silva] with Thales Leites.  Win or lose, that’s just one detail of the fight.  But to give a good show, after that the numbers are up, the fans are up, and this is good for the sport.  I give to the fans what they want.

So you think your aggressive style will make sure Rich Franklin doesn’t get past the second round with you?

I don’t know how it will happen.  My plan is to beat him in the second round.  In the first round I study him, and in the second round I will go.  

And if you put on a good show but you don’t win, where do you think your career will be after that?

It’s impossible to say.  Sometimes when you lose, some guys, they speak too much from emotion.  My fighters here, sometimes they lose and after this they feel like to quit.  But I tell them, there is nothing to do but go on to the next one.  This is life.  It never stops.  Life is like a bicycle: if you stop, you are down.  Never stop.

(BF)