UFC middleweight champion Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva (28-4) is set to defend his title for a record ninth straight time when he meets contender Yushin ‘Thunder’ Okami in Brazil in the headliner for UFC 134 later this summer.
Silva recently did an interview with O Globo, Brazil’s second largest newspaper, this past Sunday to talk about fighting Okami in front of his fellow countrymen. ‘The Spider’ was critical of Okami for having trained with a previous opponent in Chael Sonnen, calling Sonnen a “loser in every sense.”
Silva earned a victory over Sonnen last August at UFC 117 by securing a fifth round submission, after his opponent dominated most of the fight. Afterword Sonnen tested positive for steroid use and was subsequently suspended. Since then he’s faced more problems having been charged with money laundering and is not allowed to re-apply for a new license until May of 2012.
Sherdog.com translated a couple of passages of Silva’s interview.
“You have to find the best people to train with, and I think [Okami] chose wrong,” Silva said. “I’d never align myself with a loser, a loser in every sense. He didn’t win the fight [between us] and got caught doping. You want to be a champion? Get with good people, with winners. Moreover, Sonnen wasn’t a tough opponent for me. I was injured with cracked ribs and fought five rounds. If I hadn’t been injured, the fight would have been different.”Silva and Okami have met once before back in January 2006 at a Rumble on the Rock 8 event in Hawaii. Silva would lose by disqualification for an illegal upkick which knocked Okami unconscious. It was the last loss of Silva’s career.
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