Despite the fact he’s from Brazil, Thiago Silva (14-3
MMA, 5-3 UFC) has never been to Fortaleza, where his next fight is set to take
place against Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC).
Silva isn’t happy that fighting in his home country means
giving 27.5 percent of his income to Brazil’s government, as he told
MMAjunkie.com.
“That’s one more motivation to win,” he said. “Because if
I lose, at this rate, there’s not much left.”
But he is nonetheless looking forward to making the
13-hour trip from his current home in Florida to the beachside city. It’s a
chance to redeem himself for headlines that have focused far more on what he’s
done outside the cage than in it.
Post-fight suspensions for drug offenses twice have put
Silva’s career on the rails. First, he was benched for providing a false urine
sample in Las Vegas at UFC 125, and three years later, he was suspended for
marijuana following his most recent fight at UFC on FUEL TV 6 in Macau.
Of course, he’s convinced the latter isn’t as big of a
stain as the former.
“I obviously didn’t like seeing the no-contest on my
record, but I know that I won against Nedkov; I took my money home,” Silva
said. “So, to be sincere, what’s on my record doesn’t matter much. I won the
fight. Everyone saw that. It wasn’t a decision. My victory was erased, but I
won nonetheless. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”
Still, sunny Fortaleza isn’t just a pretty place, but one
without memories.
“I’m happy,” Silva said. “That, and I get to slap ‘Feijao’
around. I can’t wait.”
While the genesis of Silva problems with Cavalcante are
unclear, it’s clear that the two used to be friendlier than they are now, and
that difference is measured in the way he speaks about the fight, which serves
on the main-card of UFC on FUEL TV 10 on Saturday at Paulo Sarasate Arena.
(Main-card fights air on FUEL TV following prelims on Facebook.)
Somewhere along the line, Silva believes Cavalcante got a
little too big for his britches, and when you do that, you’ve crossed over to
his bad side.
“I don’t respect other fighters’ reputations,” Silva
said. “Someone can have a big name. I don’t respect that. I go in to fight. If
he’s man enough, he’ll meet me in the middle, if not, he can run. Let’s see how
he shows up, because he sure is talking a lot.”
It’s hard to tell exactly where Cavalcante is doing most
of his talking, but wherever he is, Silva is listening.
To illustrate just how much the talk is rubbing him the
wrong way, Silva uses another guy whom he didn’t like very much: Brandon Vera.
When they met two years ago at UFC 125, before his commission woes began, Silva
briefly broke character as a fighter to literally slap “The Truth” around – to
semi-comedic effect.
On Saturday, he plans to do all that and more against “Feijao.”
“He thinks he’s a superstar now – I tried to be cool with
him, to talk to him,” Silva said. “Now he’s acting like he doesn’t know me. He
thinks he’s a Hollywood celebrity.
“When I rain down punches on his face, what is he going
to do? I never disrespect anyone before a fight, but he’s talking too much. I
want to see what he does when I slap him around like Vera.” (Source)
