Anderson Silva entourage changes

The modern sports entourage was created around the pound for pound greatest boxer of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson, and it included his barber. Sugar Ray died broke. More recently, Mike Tyson’s extensive entourage is associated with a decline in both his business and his professional fortunes.

Thus fans of former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva should be heartened to hear Silva say that he has pared the group around him, ahead of Saturday’s rematch with Chris Weidman at UFC 168.

At UFC 162 where Silva lost his belt, he was surrounded by coaches, friend, fans, and family including Rogerio Camoes, Rafael Cavalcante, André Galvão, Ramon Lemos, Pedro Rizzo, Brazilian soccer giant Ronaldo, and Usher.

“I have not talked about it yet,” Silva told Paula Sack as transcribed by MMAFighting. “It is the first time I’m commenting on this. This is one of the things that we change. Our team had a lot of people with different thoughts. Although it was not the reason why I lost, from that we analyzed what was good and what was bad, so we decided to change it.”

“I am the one who goes out there to fight. I am the one who trains four, five months. I am the one who is far from my family. So, people can say whatever they want. It is a matter of opinion. I’ve always been motivated because I love what I do. Everything that happened was important to my improvement as an athlete and as a person.”

Although Silva did not specify exactly what changes were made, the hardcore fanbase hopes it included leaving pop star Usher on a bus somewhere, after the locker room speech he gave following the loss to Weidman.

Times like this are a lesson, said Usher. And I think you know the lesson. I guess the student becomes the teacher a lot of times. You’re still going to be an incredible teacher, but as a student you have to understand the responsibility that comes with wearing that crown. And I just wanted to say this to you because you give me hope.