From the Octagon to the silver screen?
Anderson Silva, the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter of all time, plans to soon make the transition to movies. Silva told The Post in a phone interview last week that he has been taking acting lessons with a personal coach both in his native Brazil and in Hollywood with the hopes of starring in feature films in the near future.
“It’s something I always wanted to do,” the UFC middleweight champion said through a translator. “And I want to be as good at acting as I am as a fighter. I want the fans to enjoy that as much as they enjoy me fighting.”
Silva, 38, says he has gotten offered movie roles, but is currently focused on the UFC, where he just signed a 10-fight extension. “The Spider” defends his title against Long Island native Chris Weidman on July 6 in Las Vegas at UFC 162.
“Much like my fighting, I want to do it right,” Silva said of easing the transition to acting. “I’m taking my time, taking my lessons. I’m waiting for the right moment.”
He has made a career out of doing that in the cage. In a rough-and-tumble sport with car crash-like collisions, Silva has done it with impressive finesse. He has set the UFC record for most consecutive wins (16) and title defenses (10). Silva has not lost since 2006, before entering the UFC, and that was by disqualification. You have to go back to 2004 for the lanky, 6-foot-2 fighter’s last actual defeat.
Despite his advanced age, Silva has shown no signs of slowing down. Yet many believe Weidman, a former All-American wrestler at Hofstra, has the skill set and size to beat him. Silva is a more than 2-to-1 favorite, a much smaller number than his typical fights.
Weidman himself has said he “knows” he can beat Silva and UFC president Dana White said last week that UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will not be preparing for a champion vs. champion superfight with Silva because he’s convinced Weidman will win.
“I’m the champion and I’m the guy to be beat,” Silva said. “People are always going to be looking for someone to beat me. I’m not worried what anyone is saying. If Obama was saying something, I’d be worried.”
Another challenge Silva has taken on is attempting to improve his English. He frequently sends out pictures to his more than 3 million Twitter followers of him in a classroom with an instructor trying to learn the language.
“Speaking English is just as important as anything at this point in my career,” Silva said. “It’s important to a lot of personal plans I have outside of the UFC.”
Acting included. According to IMDB, Silva has a role in “Rising Sun” starring Terrence Howard, which is currently in pre-production, and “Tapped,” an MMA movie. But he’s just dipping his toe in for now until he’s ready to take on films as his second career.
There’s still little doubt where his mind is and that’s on Weidman and continuing his legacy as MMA’s best of all time.
“What really motivates me is the love of the sport and the love of what I’m doing,” he said.