Silva lashes out at Drysdale

Going into his UFC 101 bout with Forrest Griffin (16-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC, #4 IWMMAR), Anderson Silva (24-4 MMA, 9-0 UFC, #1 IWMMAR) didn’t take too kindly to criticism from Griffin’s jiu-jitsu coach, Robert Drysdale.

Drysdale, a world class jiu-jitsu competitor and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt, commented that: “We saw in the Travis Lutter fight; he stays flat on his back, he doesn’t hip out, he gets very frustrated off of his back, and he just doesn’t react well… I see Forrest submitting Anderson Silva. There’s no question in my mind.”

Apparently, Silva was a little annoyed with Drysdale’s comments, stating:

Who is this guy, Robert Drysdale? First he wants to train with us, and work out with us, and now that he’s training with Forrest Griffin there’s no question in his mind that [Forrest] is going to submit me? This guy is a fool. Who is this guy? He’s an idiot… I have a question for you Robert Drysdale: What titles have you won in MMA? Who are you in MMA? Who are you to judge what I do?

For those who don’t know, when Drysdale was looking to make his way into MMA, he expressed interest in training at Black House, the camp Anderson calls home. Drysdale was not brought in, and went to train with Xtreme Couture instead. So his claim that Forrest is a better submission fighter has a little personal flavor to it.

Of course, for those who remember how the Lutter fight ended (and note that Forrest only has two submissions in ten MMA fights), it seems more like an empty statement made by a coach who feels like his fighter’s not getting enough respect.