Anderson Silva sometimes avoids talking to the media. But he makes an exception for Ariel Helwani. So what? He likes Ariel. Es normal.
Silva puts his arm around Ariel’s back, a square gold medallion dangling over a stylish black shirt. “I come to talk to you because it’s very important. My fans watching you, no?”
Perhaps it’s just a matter of brain chemistry. After all, Silva felt “very emotional” after being reunited with his fans. “I’m very happy, and more exciting for back.” Not Ariel’s back, which he had just been touching delicately seconds earlier. He is excited to return to fighting. “All the time when people talk my name, Spider, Spider, it’s the same as first time . . . I’m very happy.”
Bromance aside, Anderson has backtracked on that phase where he didn’t appear to care about whether or not he was champion. “I’m hespect this one,” he says.
Ariel insists that for a long time, Anderson was the King of MMA. Anderson corrects him. “I’m very happy that people talk this, but not the king, no, I’m normal guy.”
No doubt, you can hear his voice just reading the words, but it’s still a lot better when it’s coming into your ears. For a long time, people questioned whether Silva was an appealing champion, and whether he was really connecting with fans. After he’s been gone for a while, hearing him talk is a nice reminder that he’s a unique personality and the sort of guy it is a pleasure to have around contending for the belt. We also might get that GSP fight we’ve always wanted. “Maybe,” he says. “Yeah, very interesting.”
