Anderson Silva talks about his preparations for Chael Sonnen, UFC career and Fedor Emilianenko
Posted By Daniel_Cassidy UFC News

With all the heat surrounding Anderson Silva's Abu Dhabi adventure, all eyes will look to his upcoming fight to see what has changed. Set to take on Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 on August 7th, people will want to see the return of "The Spider", the knockout artist, one of the most vicious strikers in the game, not the guy who could take first place in dancing with the stars.

This time, with Dana White giving him an opponent who is his biggest challenge to date, we can expect to see the return of the real Silva. It's already been seen that Anderson struggles against wrestlers, and Chael will look to fulfil his promises of slamming him on his head over and over again. But thing appear to have changed. In his last fight, Silva said he acted as he did because Maia disrespected him, but with some of Chael's trash talking, surely at this stage Silva must be fit to be tied? But Silva as usual seems totally unfazed.

The Champ was asked about his training for Sonnen, and Silva was more than happy when talking about his preparations:

"The preparation is nice. People have helped me a lot. Black House family is supporting me so much. Lyoto Machida and Mark Munoz, among others, are focused for this match-up. I'm very happy. Regardless the result, I think it will be a good experience for all of us and I'm preparing for the worst"

When asked the inevitable Fedor questions, unlike some of his UFC cohorts, Silva was keen to praise the Russian:

"In my opinion Fedor still is the best heavyweight for all the achievements he has gotten. Regarding to Fedor-Lesnar clash, I think it would be a big fight, a great spectacle and the MMA fans would be the winners."

Finally, Silva discussed his improvements, especially in his striking, since making the jump to UFC:

"Well, I guess the technical evolution that I had was impressive. I owe this to all my coaches who helped in my formation as a fighter, athlete and trainer. I'm always in search for the perfection. Though it is something impossible, I keep improving and trying to make the difference. I watched many fights of Roy Jones Jr and Muhammad Ali. I inspire myself on them and try to give my best in a different way, more intelligent and superior."

Silva will meet Sonnen at the headline of UFC 117, where Silva will defend his Middleweight belt for the 7th time, and looks to extend his winning streak to 12, but Chael Sonnen will certainly have other ideas.