Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will hold a media conference call today (June 25, 2013) in advance of UFC 162: "Silva vs. Weidman," which will take place next Saturday night (July 6), at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The conference call will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET. Scheduled to attend will be the headlining fighters for the evening, Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman, as well as UFC President Dana White.
Silva is the current UFC Middleweight champion, having won the title from Rich Franklin back in 2006. "The Spider" is widely considered the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. He's still undefeated in the UFC today after winning a rematch against heated rival Chael Sonnen in his last title defense.
He also stepped up and volunteered to save UFC 153, smashing upcoming UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar in a non-title catchweight bout.
Weidman is a former collegiate wrestling All-American and has yet to be defeated or even tested to be honest. After working his way up the UFC's middleweight roster, he had a very strong 2012, defeating Demian Maia on short notice and then smashing top contender Mark Munoz with a violent second round knockout.
Injuries and a hurricane have kept him sidelined for over a year, but he was granted the title shot when every other top contender in the division dropped the ball.
Now, Weidman feels like it's his time and many pro fighters agree with him.
Brian Hemminger here. The conference call is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Sorry, Hemmi short circuited. Nostradumbass swooping in late.
Weidman open to Jon Jones fight after UFC 162 if he squishes "Spider."
Hemmi's back!
Chris Weidman: We brought in a few guys for the first time in my career. The main guy for emulating his stand-up the best he could was Wonderboy Stephen Thompson. Then I had a bunch of really good kickboxers that were living in New York City that we used. We used a couple time national champion boxer and we had a lot o fgood jiu-jitsu guys from the Renzo Gracie academy. I think we did the best we could in this camp preparing for Anderson.
Chris Weidman: The obvious answer is the takedowns, trying to expose him with the wrestling. We're totally different fighters. I believed I could beat him before that fight. If he's relaxed and you're all hesitant, he can get off with what he wants. I thought Chael was too uptight and tense after getting his takedowns and that helped Anderson. He was able to get his triangle choke after the takedown in the fifth round and props to him for that.
Anderson Silva: Of course I want to fight Roy Jones Jr. Maybe after the fight against Weidman, regardless of the outcome, I'd like it to happen. He's said he'd like it to happen also so I'd like that to happen.
Anderson Silva: I don't train for my opponent. I train to do what I do best and that is fighting. I train to overcome myself and getting better at what I do.
Chris Weidman: I think he definitely has a strong mental game. A lot of the guys he beats them before he walks to the Octagon. It's not his mental game, it's the performance he puts on. His performances speak for themselves and draw into the minds of guys before he walks into the cage with them if you don't have the most confidence with yourself. I'm not going to let that happen to me at all.
Chris Weidman: I've been a big fan of his. He's been the champion since I got in the sport and I've had my eye on him since day one. He's done things that no one has done in this sport and he's always a pleasure to watch. I definitely admire him.
Chris Weidman: I've got to beat Anderson first. Tha'ts a pretty big step. Whatever the UFC fans and UFC want to do, I'm willing to do. I've got a big test in front of me and my job is to shine on July 6th and I'll show the world what I can do. If I do end up shining, we'll see what happens.
Anderson SIlva: I think that regardless of the pressure and the media, when you're doing this for a while, it doesn't bother you.
Anderson Silva: I think Brazil's going through big changes right now and people are becomign more conscious to what's going on. Now people are going to the streets in Brazil and demanding from the politicians.
Anderson SIlva: I pronounced on twitter what I thought of the protests. I thought they're valid as long as they're peaceful and have no vandalism. As long as people have knowledge of what's going on and they're valid, then I think it's a good thing.
Anderson SIlva: There's a lot of possibilities of things that could happen. That's a fight I have always wanted (Roy Jones). We'll have to see what the next chapter is for Anderson Silva in the UFC.
Anderson Silva: I feel his boxing style is something I'd like to test myself against. I've always been a fan of his and I've always wanted to test myself against Roy Jones.
Anderson on fulfilling his 10 fight contract
Anderson Silva: It's going to come down to my willpower and my desire to still be fighting. I have a lot of things I want to do, a lot of desires and one of them is fighting Roy Jones. We'll have to see how I feel.
Anderson Silva: My job right now is to fight and people have to do their job which is exercise their rights whether it's on the streets or whatever. People are pursuing that.
Anderson Silva: I didn't call Dana on UFC 159. I don't even have his phone number so no, I didn't speak to him.
Anderson Silva: Win or lose, a loss and a win are always walking side by side. There's always new challenges and new things. My biggest concern is going out there and doing better for myself. I'm not concerned about what my opponents do. I want to do better and show what I have.
Anderson Silva: St. Pierre had his chance to pronounce himself fighting me and he chose not to do it. That's what he chose to say.
Chris Weidman: The right questions to ask me. I think this is going to be a huge fight for the UFC and I'm excited to go out there and shine.
Anderson Silva: The training went great in Brazil. I brought in Andre Galvao to help with jiu-jitsu. I had Pedro Rizzo for Muay Thai and I had fighters from Thailand come to help. I had wrestlers from Cuba come to help. I feel very happy to find new positions I may have forgotten in the past and it gives me confidence to go for new things. I feel great for the fight.
Anderson Silva: I've already pronounced myself on Twitter. Brazil needs to go through some political and economical and educational changes. I'm supporting and I'm doing what I can do.
Anderson Silva: Age doesn't have anything to do with it. Weidman's been wanting this fight for a while so I know he'll be very well prepared. For me, regardless of whether I win or lose, I want to do my job and return to my kids in one piece.
Anderson Silva: It's about setting examples for the kids. Everything extraordinary I've wanted to do in my career, I feel that I've done. Now it's a matter of clocking in and doing my job.
Anderson Silva: It's never easy to see a friend lose or have to go to the hospital with them. We have a family relationship so it's not easy for me. If he wants to keep fighting or not, that's a question that needs to be asked for Nogueira. I can't answer for him.
Chris Weidman: I think if I let all that stuff get set in my mind, it definitely gets to me. I'm really focused on this fight. I don't need a mental coach or a psychologist. I talk to Ray Longo every day if that counts. I have a degree in psychology if that helps. I know what type of mindset I need to enter the cage. I think of the fight every day and stay confident, stay relaxed and make sure it's my fight when I step in there. I'm pretty good with having a good mindset.
That's a wrap folks. Thanks for stopping by!