"Jose is doing great. He is training very hard and he knows this is the fight of his life. This is probably the biggest fight of his career, fighting against a well-known and talented guy like Kenny Florian. He is taking this fight very serious and he's training very hard and I think we're going to see the best Jose Aldo that you've ever seen," stated world-renowned manager Ed Soares, who gave us an update on a number of his fighters, including UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and former champions Lyoto Machida and Antonio Nogueira. Check it out!
PC: How have you been, Ed?
ES: Everything has been great, man. Our guys have been winning and it's been great. I can't complain.
PC: Feijao had a hell of a knockout win, but unfortunately, he suffered a broken arm in the process. What's his status?
ES: Yeah, he broke his arm in the 1st round and he fought through the 1st round and pretty much the whole 2nd round, and then ended up knocking him out towards the end of the 2nd round. I was very happy and proud of him. It kinda showed the world what kind of heart the guy has. Not everybody can fight through a broken arm.
PC: Does it require surgery and do you have a timetable on him? Any medical update for us?
ES: No surgery needed, thank God, and they say he will be in a cast for about 6 to 7 weeks.
PC: Good deal. Ever since I have been speaking with you, I tell you how Anderson Silva impresses me each time out. The guy is phenomenal. Was the win over Yushin Okami as big of a deal to him, to erase the disqualification loss, or did the media make more of it than Anderson actually thought about it?
ES: I think every win at this point in his career means a lot to him, to cement his legacy as the greatest of all time. I think he needs to keep that going and keep putting on those types of performances. I think at this point, every victory is important.
PC: As his manager, do you sometimes fear he may be getting bored with the sport, being that, for the most part, he wins relatively easy, with the exception of the Chael Sonnen fight?
ES: Um, nah, I don't worry about that. Anderson has a very good head on his shoulders and I think he knows how to focus and channel his energy in the right direction when he needs to.
PC: I understand fighters say what they have to in order to get the fights they want. Dan Henderson recently said Anderson must be scared to fight him. We know that's not the case, but was there an offer for a Hendo fight on FOX to Silva?
ES: They mentioned it to us. Anderson had a shoulder problem that he actually injured a few weeks before the Okami fight. He wasn't able to take the fight as quick as they would have liked him to. At this point, he's 36, about to be 37, so he has to make sure to nurture those injuries, and in order to keep putting on these types of performances, he has to make sure that he is 100% every time he goes in there.
PC: Speaking of being healthy, Big Nog definitely fights with more of a purpose when he's healthy. What did you think of his performance against Brendan Schaub?
ES: I think his performance was incredible. I think him coming back from hip surgery and all of the injuries could be the biggest comeback of the year. As good as he looked, he's still not 100%. I would say he was probably 80%. But his 80%, you can see the difference in the type of fighter he was compared to how he fought against Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir. I think it's going to be a different fight against Mir than we saw the first time.
PC: Big Nog has really wanted this rematch with Mir. I'm sure partly due to with him knowing he wasn't healthy for that first fight and feeling like he could have done so much better against Mir.
ES: I think any loss bothers him a lot, but I think knowing that he wasn't 100% gives him a lot more confidence, especially coming in and fighting the way he fought against Brendan Schaub, who is a very young, strong and quick fighter. Nog did very well and knocked him out, but before he knocked him out, he was bobbing and weaving and moving around and just doing great, so I think that he is going to be even better than the Nog that you saw against Schaub.
PC: Lyoto Machida always seems to be the guy on the outside looking in. Is there any update to when he may fight again?
ES: Hopefully he will be fighting by the end of the year; at some point in December. I'm hoping they are open to having him back in the Octagon. We're not sure who his opponent will be, but whoever they put in front of us is fine. He just wants to work his way back to a title shot.
PC: Jose Aldo will face Kenny Florian in Houston. He is another guy you have who has been somewhat snake bitten by injury. How is he?
ES: Jose is doing great. He is training very hard and he knows this is the fight of his life. This is probably the biggest fight of his career, fighting against a well-known and talented guy like Kenny Florian. He is taking this fight very serious and he's training very hard and I think we're going to see the best Jose Aldo that you've ever seen.
PC: Thanks for your time Ed. I wish you and your fighters the best of luck in their upcoming fights and battles with injuries. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
ES: No man, just thanks for the interview.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]