Anderson Silva: "I don't feel any pressure to fight with Demian."

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Anderson Silva will look to keep his UFC record, 10-fight win streak, going when he faces Demian Maia to defend his middleweight title at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi on April 10.

Maia stepped in against Silva to replace an injured Vitor Belfort just a few days after defeating Dan Miller at UFC 109. Maia is 12-1 in his career, and is known as one of the best grapplers in MMA, taking home "Submission of the Night" honors four times in his seven UFC appearances.

Anderson Silva seized the UFC middleweight title in just his second fight with the organization by way of a brutal first-round knockout of Rich Franklin at UFC 64 back in 2006. Silva has held the belt ever since, though he's also made two successful forays up to the light-heavyweight division. His last fight was at UFC 101, where he scored a first-round knockout of former light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. Silva has a career record of 25-4, but has never lost in the UFC.

Silva recently spoke to Tatame.com to discuss his training to face Maia, and how the change in opponents has affected his preparations.

You can view the transcribed version of the interview in English below:

Originally you were supposed to face Vitor (Belfort), and now that has been changed to Demian Maia. You have already made it clear you prefer to fight foreigners, but you will be facing a Brazilian. Does that bother you?

It's alright, there's no problem. It's a great opportunity, not only for him but for me as well. I'll do my job, he'll do his, that's not a problem man.

Even though Vitor is a black belt in jiu-jitsu, he likes to keep the fight standing. Demian is the exact opposite. How does that affect your training?

We are training for him. We will just need to adapt our gameplan. Some are black belts, others brown or purple...but me, I'm black all-over (laughs).

In the last fight, he (Maia) changed his strategy and fought Dan Miller standing up. Did you watch that fight?

I haven't seen it yet, man. I've been so focused on my own practice here, I'm not watching anything. I've avoided getting on the internet, I haven't given interviews. I'm very focused now on doing my job well and making sure everything is in place to succeed. Regardless of whether I win or lose, I'm not too concerned about this circus. I'm worried about doing my job.

Sylvio Behring, your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach, praised your ground game and said that if you focused on Jiu-Jitsu the way you devote yourself to Muay Thai, you could be one of the best (grapplers) in the world.

Master Sylvio is giving me great strength, and everyone on the team really helps me out. We have Andre Galvao, (Ronaldo) Jacare, (Rafael) Feijao, and Ramon (Lemos) who are coming to help with my training. I have many people helping me, and I think I am gradually improving. With the training that we have, you see results. I have trained in Jiu-Jitsu for a long time. I have never fought in any of the big (Jiu-Jitsu) tournaments like Galvao or Jacare, but I have been training with the gi for a long time. I'm not at the level of Andre Galvao or Jacare, but I'm learning, and I think one of the coolest things in life is when you can develop yourself like this.

My goal is to always learn and increasing my knowledge, both inside and outside of fighting. Ricardo Demente is also here helping us. His Jiu-Jitsu is very good. He is making me stronger, and from every practice session I learn. I am evolving. People can say whatever they want, we are going to do our work. Regardless of whether I win or lose, this is what I do. I train and study, and I try to eliminate my mistakes. If I try to follow what I've learned in training, the results will show.

Before your fight with him was confirmed, Demian said that you would knock him out in a standup fight, but that he would finish you if the fight hit the ground. Do you think this is how your fight will go?

This isn't a Jiu-Jitsu fight, it's an MMA fight, which is a new style that comprises various techniques and elements. It is not easy to say that I would beat him standing or that he would win on the ground. Of course each of us has our specialty, but fighting is fighting. MMA is a new sport. There isn't any specific study for it, so we study as we train. I think we need to sit our butts down and evaluate what we have been doing, read and review, take a look at how we've been training. I will continue studying for the rest of my life. I know that for sure. Sometime this may end, but it is working for me right now. For me, every fight, I take it as if I was studying for an entrance exam.

I do not worry about what people say about me. I always do my job with my head held high. That is the most important thing to me. People say, "You do this, you go do that". It's MMA man. It may be that we end up on the ground in a position where I can find a submission, or he may surprise me in the standup with a punch. That is just one part, but there are many things behind it all. People talk a lot, but when it's the moment of the fight, things change. One day maybe you did not sleep very well, or maybe somebody said something bad at the wrong time. You have to be in the right moment, with good people by your side, and not with people who feed you falsehoods. Some people throw away the proof of everything you love, and that makes the difference at the top.

So your best training takes place inside a classroom?

Man, I'm in the classroom every day. I have a lot of teachers with thick skins, and that is what is cool, the exchange of knowledge. There are always new things (to learn), and that is great.

You have an ace in your sleeve with Andre Galvao, because he trained with Demian in Brasa for quite some time.

We are training, if it is God's will that I continue as the champion, I will continue. If He thinks that I am spent, then someone else deserves this opportunity. My head is in a different place right now. I'm focused only on this fight. I'm not upset or stressed, I don't feel any pressure to fight with Demian, or any other fighter in this (middleweight) or any other weight class. I'm worried only about what I'm doing for training every day. If I can succeed in that, then what we are doing is working for me, and is a good fit.