Editor’s Note: This article was originally published at MMAJunkie.com.
Anderson Silva clarified recent comments in which he said he was knocked down twice in the final session of Saturday’s boxing vs. Jake Paul.
In a prepared written statement released by Showtime on Wednesday (via TMZ Sports), Silva says he “wrote it wrong” and excited it to a language barrier as a non-native English speaker.
“After seeing the reports and taking care of me, I want to make two important things clear,” Silva said. “One, I was NEVER killed in a match. I omitted in that interview as I sometimes do when interviewing in English and exaggerated the normal back-and-forth that occurred during the interview.
“Secondly, this matchup that I was referring to was in early September. Interview with Weekly MMA was made on September 13th and for some reason, just released this week. So it’s not recent. More importantly, my training camp has been fantastic. I’m fit and ready to fight, and the only one who should worry about the knock-out I’m about to deliver to Jake Paul on Saturday night. “
In an interview released Tuesday with MMA Weekly before the match, Silva said the following, which sparked the controversy:
“In the last match against Eliezer (Silva), my partner knocked me down twice. When I finished the training, I talked to my coach. I said, ‘Coach, let me ask you something,’ Why did those guys knock me down twice? ‘ And the coach said, “You need to be prepared for war.”
Silva, 47, faces boxer Paul in YouTuber an eight-round main event on Saturday at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz. The Best Value Promotion event will air on Showtime’s pay-per-view channel.
