His career in MMA : "I never, ever would have thought that I would be fighting for a living. I wrestled at Oklahoma State and really had no plans of pursuing a career in mixed martial arts. At the time, I was really good friends with Urijah Faber. Urijah was training MMA and kept bugging me to give the sport a chance. I never gave it a chance until one day I finally gave in. The first guy I got into the cage with was Randy Couture and I took him down a few times. Randy got up like Randy does and started taking it to me. I loved the competitive aspect of the sport. But I was a wrestler, not a striker at the time. Urijah asked me to come spar one day and I told him that I wasn't interested. Then he told me it would only be wrestling so I agreed to go. That wasn't the case at all when I arrived. The first thing I saw when we got there were guys strapping on gloves. I knew right then and there I was tricked. I looked at Urijah and he laughed. I started sparring and just fell in love with the sport.
Convincing his wife:) : "The hardest part was coming home and telling my wife that I wanted to pursue a career in fighting. At first, my wife's image of mixed martial arts was really negative as she thought it would set a bad example for others, especially our kids. t was difficult convincing her that this was what I wanted to do for a living. We already had a family started and had four kids of our own.
About Chris Leben: "It's really a shame about Chris because I really like the guy as a fighter and a person. He's a great guy. Every time I see him, I try and catch up with him, as I've gotten to know him more and more over the years. I hope he can overcome this difficult time in his life. The stuff he was taking was some serious stuff. It wasn't any type of drug but it was to improve an individual's way of living. I actually invited Chris to come and train with me, and he told me that he might have to take me up on that offer.
About his injury: "My injury was brutal, man. I had 24 bone chips removed from my shoulder that kind of developed over time from constant training and fighting. You know, I always had pain in my shoulder but I always fought through it. That's just who I am. As time progressed, my injury got worse and worse to the point where I couldn't train with it. So, we got on the phone and the UFC flew me to Las Vegas to get it checked out. They determined that I needed immediate surgery and had no idea how I went that long without getting it fixed. The injury actually really affected my previous fights even though I was still able to have my hand raised. I had problems defending against the left hook. I would actually hide behind my bicep as it was really the only thing I could do at the time. I also lost power in my punching. So, I'm hoping this surgery could be a blessing in disguise. I'm hoping that I come back better than ever and that this will help me moving forward.
On his comeback : "Well, when I originally went in the doctors thought I could possibly make a return at some point in May. However, after taking a deeper look at things they determined that I would be sidelined until at least June or maybe even into July. I don't think that my injury should hurt my position in the middleweight division. I believe that I've done everything I can to get to the point where I'm at today. I've won four consecutive fights and I was in the position to fight for the No. 1 contender's spot. If I don't get that fight when I return, I'll fight another opponent and then request a title shot. I feel that I deserve it."
On Chael Sonnen: Chael is one of my very close friends. We've been friends for a while and we wrestled and competed against one another in college. Every time I see Chael, we pick up where we last left off. He's great. You know, I don't mind fighting him because I don't believe fighting should be personal at all. It's a competition between two men. Friends will fight one another and I'm sure Chael and I will eventually have to fight.
About Silva potentially ducking Chael : You know, I'm not really sure. I don't know if he is or not because I haven't gotten the chance to talk to him in a while. I'm actually friends with both Chael and Anderson.Things got blown out of proportion not too long ago when I stated that I wanted a title shot against Anderson. It wasn't anything personal; I just felt that I was ready for the title shot. Anderson always told me that when it was my time to fight for the title that he would already be retired. So, I'm really not sure what he's going to do."
