Anderson manager: 80% of Americans will root for Silva over Sonnen

Tatame magazine recently sat down with Anderson Silva’s manager, Jorge “Joinha” Guimares, to talk about the recent transfer of the Silva vs. Sonnen rematch from Brazil to Las Vegas.

Eduardo Ferreira: How was the negotiation to move the fight from Brazil to Las Vegas?

Jorge Guimaraes: I had a meeting with Ed Soares, Dana and Lorenzo (Fertitta) a couple of weeks ago and it was a sure thing it would happen at Engenhao. They were apprehensive wondering if it would be crowded. Big investments… Everything was fine, everybody was excited about it happening in Rio. We were caught by surprise too, they had to logistic problems. It’s not happening in Rio de Janeiro, but it’s happening in Las Vegas, which is the biggest fighting place in the planet.

EF: What was Anderson’s reaction towards this transfer?

JG: Obviously Anderson wanted to teach Chael a lesson in front of Brazilian fans. He told me: I owe it to them. This guy disrespected me, disrespected my wife, my family, my people and my country. I wanna teach him a lesson in front of the Brazilian people.” Since it’s no longer possible, he’s doing it in Las Vegas, at Sonnen’s house, on the 4th of the July week.

EF: You live on the United States. How do Americans view Sonnen?

JG: Chael Sonnen is a guy who came from the shadows using that marketing thing. He was unknown and then started talking about everyone, he’s talked about Lance Armstrong. He’s a bully, but got the promotion he needed. He’s not a complete MMA fighter. In matters of resources, Anderson has plenty more resources than him. As Dana White said, this sport has transpassed all limits and there’s no such thing, this kind of feeling. Here in Brazil we have that Latin blood, there’s this fanaticism, but in the United States they really admire Anderson as the best MMA fighter ever and I guarantee you 80 percent of the fans will be rooting for Anderson Silva.

Read entire interview…