<! mediaid=3243778 AP: img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="" src="" />DETROIT -- After suffering through bruised ribs that affected his last week of training camp, a subsequent fight against Chael Sonnen, and lingered on for months afterward, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has resumed training in the last 10 days in preparation of his UFC 126 title defense against Vitor Belfort, his manager Ed Soares told MMA Fighting.
Soares said that after a few attempts at resuming training were ultimately aborted, Silva is finally at 100 percent and back in the gym in earnest.
"He took quite a bit of time," Soares said. "He tried earlier but it's finally feeling good."
Silva (27-4) originally hurt his ribs about a week before his UFC 117 bout with Chael Sonnen, while training with Olympic judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii.
The ensuing bout was a classic, riveting comeback win which many have called the fight of the year. He seemed on the way to a sure loss after getting taken down, controlled and outworked through the first four-and-a-half rounds of the fight with Sonnen. But with less than two minutes left in the bout, Silva trapped Sonnen in a triangle choke, forcing the challenger to tap out.
The win was Silva's 13 straight overall, and made him 12-0 in the UFC, extending the longest unbeaten stretch in UFC history.
Silva's bout with Belfort takes place on Feb. 5 in Las Vegas, and his timetable will give him nearly three full months to prepare.
"He's very focused and he's looking forward to defendoing that title," Soares said.
Soares said that after a few attempts at resuming training were ultimately aborted, Silva is finally at 100 percent and back in the gym in earnest.
"He took quite a bit of time," Soares said. "He tried earlier but it's finally feeling good."
Silva (27-4) originally hurt his ribs about a week before his UFC 117 bout with Chael Sonnen, while training with Olympic judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii.
The ensuing bout was a classic, riveting comeback win which many have called the fight of the year. He seemed on the way to a sure loss after getting taken down, controlled and outworked through the first four-and-a-half rounds of the fight with Sonnen. But with less than two minutes left in the bout, Silva trapped Sonnen in a triangle choke, forcing the challenger to tap out.
The win was Silva's 13 straight overall, and made him 12-0 in the UFC, extending the longest unbeaten stretch in UFC history.
Silva's bout with Belfort takes place on Feb. 5 in Las Vegas, and his timetable will give him nearly three full months to prepare.
"He's very focused and he's looking forward to defendoing that title," Soares said.
Get the latest gear
