(Well, I guess it’s back to the dollar menu for a while.)

Anderson Silva was recently fined $50,000 for missing what the UFC described as a day of media obligations in Los Angeles to promote his July UFC 162 middleweight title defense against Chris Weidman. A pissed-off Dana White said of Silva, “Everybody wants more money, more money, more money, but nobody wants to sell the fight or go out and talk to the media. Talking to the media is part of your job, whether you like it or not.”

Had Silva really turned the corner from giving his usual reluctant, terse (if occasionally clever) answers to press and gone Full Diaz — skipping media events entirely with both middle fingers in the air? According to the champ, no. Although his response to getting punished by the organization was quite Diazian. In short: Bro, Anderson totally didn’t even know about these appointments. And, besides, his job is to train and fight, not talk.

“I’ve never missed any commitment to the UFC. I would never have made the trip to Brazil if I knew I had to be in Los Angeles,” Silva said, according to a translation by Sherdog of an interview given to Brazilian outlet, Veja.

(In addition to the fine, Silva will be forced to do Thomas Gerbasi‘s job for the next month. Brutal.)

Anderson Silva was scheduled to be in Los Angeles this week for a media day promoting UFC 162. Instead, the UFC middleweight champion flew home to Brazil — a decision that landed him a $50,000 fine from the UFC. MMAJunkie broke news of the punishment yesterday evening:

Silva was scheduled to talk with a few of Los Angeles’ largest media outlets on Tuesday but ultimately skipped the session and instead flew home to his native Brazil.

“We had a full media day set up for him in Los Angeles, and he just decided he didn’t want to do it, so he’s being fined $50,000,” UFC President Dana White told USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie.com…

“He doesn’t like talking to the media, but it’s part of his contractual obligation,” White said. “Everybody wants more money, more money, more money, but nobody wants to sell the fight or go out and talk to the media. Talking to the media is part of your job, whether you like it or not.”

(via YouTube.com/CagePotato)

On July 6th, top-ranked UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman will return from a year-long layoff to challenge Anderson Silva, considered by many to be the greatest mixed martial artist who’s ever lived. It goes without saying that the UFC 162 main event is the greatest test of Weidman’s career — and one that would make most middleweights more than a little nervous — but the Long Island-bred “All-American” isn’t the least bit intimidated. And he knows exactly how he’s going to steal the belt that Anderson’s held for six-and-a-half years.

CagePotato reporter Brian J. D’Souza caught up with Weidman recently at Grants MMA Gym in Toronto, and got his take on a number of interesting subjects, including his gameplan for the Spider, the rib injury that spurred his foray into MMA, his surprising contract status with the UFC, and more. Some highlights:

Why he hasn’t signed a new contract with the UFC yet: “I’m not looking to negotiate an extra couple grand right before a title fight. My goal is to be champion, and I know that’s where you get the real money. That’s where you get the ‘Anderson Silva money,’ so that’s what I’m looking to get.”

How he’ll beat Silva: “I think the biggest thing is once you get him down, to stay relaxed and not to be so tense. I think I have a pretty smooth, aggressive game, and I’m pretty relentless with my cardio, and that’s one of my things that I have most pride in. So, I feel like I’m going to have the cardio to where he’s going to break before I break. I’m going to be all over him.”

Anderson’s mind games: “One of Anderson’s Silva’s best traits in MMA is that he gets inside people’s heads. Before they even step in the cage, he has a certain mystique about him that intimidates people. He earned that over the years. But even when they get in the cage with him, he makes sure to make them feel as if he’s on a whole ‘nother level. And then he waits for them to believe him in that, and he freakin’ mentally and physically breaks them…I’m just going to be confident. I’m not going to be worried about what he’s doing, I’m worried about what I’m doing.”

Please subscribe to CagePotato’s YouTube channel, and visit BrianDSouza.com for more of Brian’s MMA coverage.

(Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.) 

In one of the greater upsets of 2013 thus far, Robbie Lawler returned to the UFC last February and successfully smashed former top contender Josh Koscheck in the opening round of their UFC 157 main card scrap. Although the fight was not without its share of controversy (because it is physically impossible to fully knockout a Fraggle), the UFC quickly took notice nonetheless and has now booked “Ruthless” against the final Strikeforce welterweight champion, Tarec Saffiedine, at UFC on FOX 8. 

On the heels of the aforementioned Strikeforce welterweight championship-earning performance over Nate Marquardt at the final Strikeforce event, Saffiedine was originally tapped to face Carlos Condit at UFC 158 following Rory MacDonald’s withdrawal. Saffiedine declined the matchup, however, and has now been given what many fans would consider a much easier fight as punishment. The UFC rewards system at work, ladies and gentlemen.

Also booked for UFC on FOX 8, is a battle of exciting lightweights…

(Make no mistake — when Edgar’s at his best, he’s capable of losing a close decision to any fighter in the world. Photo via Getty Images)

UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman is turning out to be a can’t-miss showcase for featherweight talent. With Ricardo Lamas vs. Chan Sung Jung already on the lineup, the UFC has just added two more big-name 145-pound scraps to the July 6th card in Las Vegas…

- Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira: Following his unsuccessful title challenge against Jose Aldo — which gave Edgar his third decision loss in a row — “The Answer” returns to the featherweight division to face dangerous grappler Charles Oliveira. Though Oliveira hasn’t competed since his knockout loss to Cub Swanson at UFC 152, his two previous fights resulted in submission victories over Jonathan Brookins and Eric Wisely. It’s a logical rebound fight for Edgar, and a huge opportunity for Oliveira.

- Cub Swanson vs. Dennis Siver: Speaking of Swanson, the Jackson’s MMA product is red-hot lately, with four straight victories in the UFC (three by KO/TKO). Fresh off his recent decision win over Dustin Poirier, Swanson will try to add to his streak against the hard-striking Dennis Siver, who is 2-0 since dropping to featherweight, with decision wins over Diego Nunes and Nam Phan.

In other notable UFC 162 news…

(“Don’t worry, Leonard, if this doesn’t fix your aching back, it will probably just break it.” Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

Two featherweights who have long since punched their tickets to a title shot are set to face off at UFC 162. Of course, now that Jose Aldo is fighting #1 lightweight contender Anthony Pettis and receiving a lightweight title shot if he is successful, we should probably assume that both the winner and loser of this fight will be sitting in title shot purgatory for at least a few months. So hooray for that.

That being the case, we should still prepare for one epic clash when top featherweight contenders Chan Sung Jung and Ricardo Lamas meet at UFC 162, which transpires at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on July 6th.

We haven’t seen Jung in action since he submitted fellow top contender Dustin Poirier in a Fight of the Night, Submission of the Night, and Fight of the Year-earning performance back at UFC on FUEL 3 last May, as he was forced to undergo shoulder surgery shortly thereafter. Lamas, on the other hand, has been picking off contenders ever since entering the UFC. With victories over Cub Swanson, Hatsu Hioki, and most recently one-time title hopeful Erik Koch at UFC on Fox 6, it would be almost impossible to claim that Lamas hasn’t earned his shot should he best the South Korean.

Who do you like for this one, Potato Nation?

After the jump: Some highlights from Jung and Poirier’s FOTY scrap, as well as Lamas’ destruction of Koch.

(“I…[*punch*]…HATE…[*punch*]…FRIGGIN’…[*punch*]…CLOWNS!!!” Photo via MMAWeekly)

From threatening a year-long vacation to suggesting far-less-worthy challengers, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and his management team did their best to avoid fighting undefeated contender Chris Weidman. But according to a new report from Mark La Monica at Newsday, the match is going to happen, whether they like it or not. Here’s the scoop:

ALBANY — Chris Weidman will finally get the title shot against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva on July 4th weekend at UFC 161 in Las Vegas, Newsday has learned. [Update: The fight will actually headline UFC 162, on July 6th. UFC 161 is the Winnipeg event that will be headlined by Barao vs. Wineland.]

UFC chief executive Lorenzo Fertitta on Wednesday told Weidman, a Baldwin native, in the Capitol building that he spoke to Silva and that he agreed to the fight.

“Dream come true,” Weidman said. “Ever since I’ve been fighting, Anderson Silva has been the champion and I’ve been visualizing beating him. Now I have the opportunity. I have to make the most of it.”