Anderson Silva's Manager Talks Chael Sonnen, Demian Maia and UFC 112 Title Match
by Kid Nate on Feb 13, 2010 4:45 PM EST
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Ed Soares, Anderson Silva's manager talks to MMA Junkie:
"I think it's a shame that Chael wasn't able to take the fight because I know with all that crap he was talking about Anderson this and Anderson that it would be interesting for him to put all those things he had to say into the octagon," Soares said. "But then again, you've got Demian Maia here who is a guy who submitted Chael stepping up here and taking the fight on less-than-two-months' notice.
"We appreciate Demian stepping up and taking the fight on such short notice, and now you've got two of the best at what they do stepping into the octagon."
Soares also addresses Maia's knock out loss to Nate Marquardt:
"It's a bummer to have a loss two fights ago," Soares said. "But a situation like that, that can happen to anybody. That just goes to show you that if anybody gets hit in the chin with a four-ounce glove, you can go down.
"And it wasn't like he got beat up for three rounds. He literally got caught, and anybody can get caught. I think it was unfortunate, but I don't think it takes away from Demian Maia as a fighter."
It's sort of funny that Soares is happy with Maia as the title challenger, since he objected to Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson and Nate Marquart.
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Meh...it's kinda hard for me to get worked up for whatever fighter Soares approves/disapproves....
No matter what Ed says he’s got about the same amount of power to book a fight that the rest of the MMA community has:
None whatsoever.
If Derek Jeter clubbed a baby seal on earth day while wearing a mink coat and crocodile skin boots while burning tires on an iceberg, the reaction would be "Its OK Derek, you’re a Yankee." -First mammal to wear pants
He really can prevent fights involving his fighters from happening if he wants.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 13, 2010 5:09 PM EST up reply actions
Sure...
but what fights has he come close to stopping though?
Seems like every time some one he doesn’t like is booked against a fighter he says a couple of sentances about it, the MMA blogosphere reports it, and then the fight Zuffa wanted is booked anyway.
If Derek Jeter clubbed a baby seal on earth day while wearing a mink coat and crocodile skin boots while burning tires on an iceberg, the reaction would be "Its OK Derek, you’re a Yankee." -First mammal to wear pants
They were flat out unwilling to accept a fight against Marquardt or Henderson (prior to the contract talks breaking down).
Now, we don’t know how much he had to do with those fights not happening at that point. But the reason Anderson was jumping up to 205 was that they weren’t going to accept the fights presented to them at 185.
I know of several fights that have been flat out shot down by fighter management (not just Ed). The idea that any fight the UFC wants the fighters and their people take is not exactly right.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 13, 2010 5:56 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
You are right
Fights get turned down all the time by fighters but that’s part of the game. If DW and company really want a fight to happen they will make it happen. It’s funny to me to think that somebody like Ed Soares has more power than DW in the making of fights.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
Exactly
they didn’t want the Belfort fight but the UFC was making them fight anyways. I don’t see how they had anything to do with the Nate or Hendo rematch not happening, that was ultimately the UFC’s call
Pain is Temporary
Pride is Forever
Bingo
And if anybody needs any further clarification on the matter read this.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
Can’t you see that by fighting at light heavy weight, Anderson would be delaying a fight. It’s three card monty and you are bewildered.
He fought James Irvin when there was tougher and possibly more catastophic fights at MW. He fought Forrest under the same circumstances.
It’s really not that clever but it has so many fans convinced that Soars is a straight shooter. I’m not bashing Soars — he’s a damn good manager.
I'm just a dude who's trying to put it together.
I'm hardly bewildered
but it seems that maybe you have your facts disjointed. He fought James Irvin because Dana and the UFC brass asked him to so they could hastily counter the Affliction show and Fedor’s American debut. They had asked several different fighters, possibly as many as four or five, and they all turned down the fight with Silva. Irvin stepped up and took the fight. I hardly see how that is Silva or Soares fault. If anything he’s being a company man through and through. If you need proof that all of this is correct google Brandon Vera’s interview on the subject.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
And another thing
He offered to fight at LHW to help further the likelihood of finding and opponent on short notice. Once again, he’s being a company man through and through. He could have turned down the Maia fight and then everybody would have complained about that. He could have taken a fight with Couture and people would complain about that. He could sit out and wait for Sonnen and people would complain about that. Silva and Soares are in a no win situation it seems. He took the fight that the UFC offered him and quite frankly it’s the toughest fight out there considering the circumstances.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
by dedstrk316 on Feb 13, 2010 8:02 PM EST up reply actions 4 recs
woh -- slow down...
He chose to fight James Irvin when he could have fought demian maia at that time. And, at that time, Maia had a more respectable ufc resume than leites had, when leites fought silva.
I'm just a dude who's trying to put it together.
Please tell me you are joking...
lol…
He was deducted 2 points and still lost by split decision.
I'm just a dude who's trying to put it together.
Agreed
I mean, Leites really didn’t deserve a shot but who else was there at the time? Cote didn’t really deserve a shot either. I always say that the UFC shouldn’t manufacture a title shot and they should let it sort itself out naturally but at the end of the day it’s a business and they need championship fights to sell. Not that I agree with it but it is what it is.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
That's just wrong
as stated in my above post. DW and company asked several different fighters to fight Silva and they turned it down.
And you think that fighting Maia, after he had fought two fights in the UFC against Ryan Jensen and Ed Herman, would have been a much more dangerous challenge than fighting Irvin? Also, Maia would have been fighting Silva on two months notice. I just don’t see it. Sorry.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
In addition
It’s obvious that Maia didn’t deserve a title shot at that point. People are complaining that it’s to soon now. Everybody would have been in a tizzy if it would have happened then.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
He’s fighting silva on 2 months notice now — for one. for two — leites had only beaten jensen and mcfedries when he fought silva. Unless you want to count Marquardt. And if you do really want to count marquardt, like madiq does, then you see the genius and luck that soars is working with.
I'm just a dude who's trying to put it together.
Quick answer
Nobody. That’s why he got the shot in the first place.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
Maia, Marquardt, and yes… even hendo would have been better fights. Maia and Marquardt were certainly deserving at that point.
Remember that leites had only really beaten jensen and mcfedries. How can you count Marquardt as a win — as a fan. Marquardt had a spectacular win over kampmann before the leites/silva fight.
I'm just a dude who's trying to put it together.
I'm not comparing Leites and Maia
I’m comparing Irving and Maia. Neither Leites nor Maia deserved a shot back then. And Maia doesn’t technically deserve a shot now. Problem is the top two guys are hurt and the third guy just got beat down by the top contender.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
Ed Soars is like Dick Cheney...
It’s gonna take years before we are able to see the devious shit he’s done.
I'm just a dude who's trying to put it together.
You could be right
But if he is a problem do you really think DW would hold his tongue? I know Dana is bashful and shy about sharing his opinion of people but I think if Ed and company were real problems he would probably find a way to overcome that and tell us his true feelings about them.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
by dedstrk316 on Feb 13, 2010 8:33 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
dana can only play the cards he’s dealt — we don’t know the wording of the contract between Silva and Zuffa.
I'm just a dude who's trying to put it together.
I don’t think DW would agree to put in writing not allowing him to cuss at someone
Pain is Temporary
Pride is Forever
why would dana want to tarnish either the champ or the champs management when there is STILL lots of money to be made. Soars and DW are both playing there hands flawlessly — we, the fans, are the ones being taken (or obliged, depending on your perspective).
I'm just a dude who's trying to put it together.
This was fun dude
but I have to be up at 3:30 am to go to work. ttyl
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
this I agree with
He was trying to keep it on the down low but the reason Andy needed elbow surgery was to remove a bullet Ed shot him with while hunting… true story.
Pain is Temporary
Pride is Forever
I’m sorry but am I missing something because last time I remember neither Nate nor Hendo were in a position for a title shot without fighting each other so how can Soares deny a title shot to guys who weren’t next in line.
Now it’s been made clear that guys have a first fight refusal but it also not clear if that’s even possible as a champion since their contracts are different than the standard one.
Again i’ll keep repeating it, if the UFC wanted Andy to fight someone it would happen look at all the bitching they did with Vitor it didn’t matter why? because Soares has no stroke period.
I remember neither Nate nor Hendo were in a position for a title shot without fighting each other so how can Soares deny a title shot to guys who weren’t next in line.
wasn’t it Soares and/or Silva who introduced this idea? It was highly justifiable to defend the belt against Marquardt or Henderson before Hendo moved to SF. Marquardt was on a hotstreak , and Hendo was “promised” that shot. They weren’t next on line? Actually I believe it was a fiasco of debates who between Marquardt and Henderson should get the shot because they were legit contenders.
I am. I think. I will. - Ayn Rand
Both guys had lost definitively to Anderson, and both men had fairly equal claim to a title shot. Silva could have fought either one, and the other one would have felt passed over. Then he would have had to have fought both rematches. The logical thing to do WAS have them both fight it out.
However, given what we all know, that had Bisping defeated Hendo, he would have gotten the shot without facing Marquardt, I can understand Hendo feeling screwed over. But that’s kinda how things work in the UFC: a big main event in England with Bisping in the main event is something UFC would push hard, while back-to-back rematches against Hendo and Marquardt were not fights the company was eager to do to burn through 2 of the 3 fights remaining on Anderson’s contract.
Isn't this the same Soares
that said Chael had no right to fight Anderson for the title just a week ago? Now just who is the politician here?
Ed Soares Says "Chael Sonnen Should Fight Demian Maia First"
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/2/8/1301538/quote-of-the-day-ed-soares-says
I am. I think. I will. - Ayn Rand
Isn’t this the same Soares
that said Chael had no right to fight Anderson for the title just a week ago?
"We are fine if this is what the UFC wants, but if you look at this logistically, Sonnen should fight Demian Maia first. Demian beat him up easily, by submission, so why not make them fight first, to determine who gets a shot at the title?
It’s never good to put words in people’s mouths, when their actual words are right there for the cutting and pasting.
Wow, dude, you really want to push this narrative. Ed is saying what we’ve all been saying, which is that Maia is the best choice, given the circumstances.
agreed
I hate Ed as much as anybody out there, but he’s speaking the truth here. He made truthful points in the other proposed fights.
Belfort-first time fighting at 185 in the UFC and only one fight in the UFC.
Nate + Hendo-were already beat by the spider, fight each other for number one contendership
Chael- Submitted by Maia, submission takes skills and you don’t get caught with submissions as you get caught with a punch
Maia-got KO’d in the first exchange of his fight, no other loss and all dominance performances inside the octagon
Seriously though, I still think Chael is more deserving right now than Maia, but given the circumstances I can see where he’s coming from.
Plus, DW has already been on record saying that Andy’s camp has never refused a fight officially proposed to them, and never had a problem dealing with them.
Pain is Temporary
Pride is Forever
by Orcus on Feb 13, 2010 5:40 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Amen
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
Belfort has 12 fights in the UFC
this is his first time fighting at 185 in the UFC and he has only had 1 fight in the UFC in 5 years but overall he has 12.
yeah, I meant it was his first time fighting at MW in the UFC, I’m not sure if I wrote that wrong but when I read it back right now it still sounded ok to me :p
Pain is Temporary
Pride is Forever
What effect does this fight have on the rest of the division? Is Chael gonna have to wait until Vitor fights for the title, or is he gonna get the winner of Silva vs Maia?
Personally I’d like to see Vitor fight Marquardt
Your style's like garbage cans meant to be taken out on a weekly basis
Ever since your first record you've been in a state of suspended animation
You look like Snuffleuffagus and Australopithecus
Me cray, you abacus
From my understanding Vitor is out until the end of 2010
So I would assume Chael gets the next shot.
However a lot rides on Machida/Shogun 2. If Shogun wins and especially if he ko’s or sub’s Machida, I think the UFC would love to set up Shogun/Silva superfight.
He’s right though if anything it just continues to show just how desperate Soares is to get attention he has no stroke so even if he hated the match up he has no say in it.
Soares is happy...
…because Maia is an easier opponent. Everyone else has something that could give Anderson some trouble. IMO, Silva would be in trouble only if decides to roll with him.
That’s simply not true. Anderson has only lost due to submission (aside from his first loss and the DQ), and going against the best in the business is not as easy as taking on a wrestler like Chael. Although for me I don’t see either winning, saying that Maia is easier is just not true!
Pain is Temporary
Pride is Forever
True, but Maia has to get Silva to the ground first (barring flying/inverted triangles, etc), When it comes to takedowns, Sonnen and Hendo are far superior. I just can’t see Maia shooting effectively. Silva’s “weakness” is takedown defense, but only in the face of elite wrestlers.
If there was a way to merge Sonnen and Maia like Voltron, Silva’d be in trouble.
yeah, I can see where you’re coming from, I just felt that the word easier was a bit strong there. But at the end of the day I don’t think neither Maia nor Chael is any threat to Silva right now.
Pain is Temporary
Pride is Forever
I think Maia
May even have a better shot than Chael because if nothing else he can actually pull of a miracle finish. We know that Chael would need to grind out a decision or hope to cut Anderson while Maia can pull out some incredible flying whosawhatsits.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
And really, what exactly did that (singular) take down by an elite wrestler get him?
I think we are assuming alot to call take down defense Silva’s weakness. He has been taken down in many of his fights, and yet achieves success there as well.
Nice to see Soares sweating at the thought of Chael getting a few more months in at the gym to perfect this technique.
by yukkurishiteittene on Feb 13, 2010 4:58 PM EST reply actions
This is Rashad/Thiago Silva all over again
Only in the UFC can 2 top 10 fighters face off and people will have a problem with it.
This match-up is just as competetive as Fedor/Werdum. Sure Werdum has better striking then Maia but Werdum has the same chance of winning the Fedor fight as Maia does with Silva.
As Madiq said above it’s the best choice under the circumstances. Hendo is at Strikeforce, Belfort is hurt, Sonnen is hurt, and Nate just lost.
I think Nate would probably be the better fight but at the same time if you give a fighter coming off a loss a title shot it destroys your credibility.
So now he is disappointed that Chael is not getting the fight that Ed Soares himself said that he did not deserve.
mmmmmmmmkay.
"Just push the ice outside the octagon so Arianny can fall on her head!" - Joe Rogan
He said that he should fight with Maia first, and it was before Belfort got injured.
by dancingChicken on Feb 13, 2010 5:08 PM EST up reply actions
I think it’s a shame that Chael wasn’t able to take the fight because I know with all that crap he was talking about Anderson this and Anderson that it would be interesting for him to put all those things he had to say into the octagon
Regardless of whether Chael deserves the fight or not, he did talk a lot of trash, and now he won’t get the chance to back it up sooner rather than later. Anything else you need help with translating?
He has legit arguments against everyone else
Vitor – title shot after one fight that wasnt even at MW
Chael – Lost decisively to Maia about a year ago
Henderson – Already beat him
Marquardt – Already beat him
If you can't hold Maia's loss to Marquardt against him,
then you can’t Sonnen’s loss to Maia against him either.
by yukkurishiteittene on Feb 13, 2010 5:10 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
excellent point
You make an excellent point there. That is all.
I wouldn’t say they are the same though, Maia got KO’d in the first exchange of the fight whereas Sonnen got submitted, IMO there is a big difference between the two.
Pain is Temporary
Pride is Forever
He got Tossed, and submitted beautifully...
I find Maia’s performance against Chael much more indicative of his actual skill set than his loss against Marquardt…
I'm like PacMan fightin you silly kids... throw ya Hatton the ring, and get knocked outlike Ricky did.
lol.
Its times like this i wish BROCKLESNAR could cut 100lbs for a fight.
"Just push the ice outside the octagon so Arianny can fall on her head!" - Joe Rogan
by Earl Montclair on Feb 13, 2010 5:11 PM EST up reply actions
If he would cut 100lbs his name would be brocklesnar
by dancingChicken on Feb 13, 2010 5:15 PM EST up reply actions 8 recs
Chael has a trump card that gets him out of the logic circle of death: he beat Okami.
I specializes in grammar fail.
by a tommy point on Feb 13, 2010 6:42 PM EST up reply actions
it is kinda funny, soares does seem to excited for maia…..oh-well id rather see anderson fight maia then not fight at all….
This also gives Silva a chance to answer the critics
the one’s who said he was scared to tangle with Leites.
If Maia goes to the ground and Silva is still standing up he can answer the critics and go flying in ala Shogun and tangle with him on the ground.
I dont know if he will and I have my doubts because he has gotten sub’d 2x before but this is his chance to shut up the people who say his ground game is “weak”.
Silva won’t be standing up when Maia takes it to the ground.
by yukkurishiteittene on Feb 13, 2010 5:51 PM EST up reply actions
IF, not when.
"Just push the ice outside the octagon so Arianny can fall on her head!" - Joe Rogan
by Earl Montclair on Feb 13, 2010 7:47 PM EST up reply actions
It's too easy to bash ed soares...
He’d be making more money if a) Anderson wasn’t so dominating and was in some more entertaining fights and b) if Anderson could speak English. Given these problems, if I was Anderson’s Manager, I would resort to the classic boxing technique of padding the stats while waiting for the big one. It just doesn’t make sense to fight guys that have a chance to beat you unless your getting paid couture, liddel, lesnar type money.
Why fight someone who can beat you when you can make the same money fighting someone who can’t.
I'm just a dude who's trying to put it together.
thats a weird way of looking at it...
I don’t think henderson or Marquardt should’ve got the title without facing each other because they both lost to Anderson before.. Vitor was a viable option (fresh competitor, UFC history, beat the previous MW Champ decisively… Chael has a case for beating Nate, but Maia beat him decisively even tho he lost to Nate….
Maia is the best option available… I think being upset about this match is ridiculous, as is implying that Soares and Silva are looking for easy fights.
I'm like PacMan fightin you silly kids... throw ya Hatton the ring, and get knocked outlike Ricky did.
lol.
the best way to market silva is to point to his unbeaten streak...
Actually, at this point, that might be the only way to market silva.
I'm just a dude who's trying to put it together.
This isn’t bad for Silva, in a way. He’s on a big card already, so he doesn’t need a big name to fight against to get a good slice of PPV (though there was that nutjob in an earlier thread saying this would get 250k buys)
He gets his base pay, gets to fight a guy who isn’t a huge threat to him, gets on a PPV that’s bound to bring in some good revenue for him. I wonder too if either of them held out for more money to take a new opponent. Probably not, but we never know.
Making the world a better place, one dirtbag at a time.
by CC11 on Feb 13, 2010 8:19 PM EST reply actions 4 recs
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