Anderson Silva distances himself from Steven Seagal ahead of UFC 168, says the 'good man' does not train him

Expect less Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) screen time for Steven Seagal when Anderson Silva steps into the Octagon to rematch Chris Weidman at UFC 168, which takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 28, 2013.

Heading into their initial encounter at UFC 162 earlier this year, Seagal was practically a walking sound byte for Silva, incredulously beating back all the doubters who thought Weidman had what it took to beat the legendary Middleweight champ.

The aging Aikido master, who famously boasted on Jimmy Kimmel Live that he trained Brazilian butt-kickers Silva and Lyoto Machida, has had absolutely no qualms with taking credit for Silva's now famous front kick that bludgeoned Vitor Belfort into unconsciousness at UFC 126.

He also was front and center to pat himself on the back for the similar move that Machida pulled off to give Randy Couture some free dental work when the two squared off at UFC 129. Afterward, "The Natural" claimed he would come out of retirement to take on the "Under Siege" star.

However, Seagal has been noticeably quiet since Weidman shocked the world with a technical knockout win over Silva on Fourth of July weekend.

In an recent interview, Silva set the record straight about how much coaching he truly has received from Seagal:

"[Steven] Segal is good man -- no coach -- no train me -- is a good man -- is a good person, that's it."

Hmm, seems like a small step backward from the claims made by Seagal prior that he had been teaching Silva the art of Ashi Sabaki, claims that Demian Maia and Bas Rutten, among others, called bullshit.

Silva attempted to set the record straight once and for all ... sorta:

"Yeah -- I trained the front kick for a long time. I start to train mixed martial arts a long time ago. Segal showed me the movement, the little movement -- but I working hard for this kick my whole life."

One thing is for certain, Silva has seemingly adopted a more serious attitude leading into his rematch with Weidman. Eliminating distractions, and taking ownership of all things good, bad and indifferent, is a big step toward redemption.

Focus!

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