EXCLUSIVE MMABay interview with UFC lightweight heavy hitter, Dennis Siver
MMABay sat down this week for an EXCLUSIVE interview with heavy hitting lightweight, Dennis Siver to talk to him about his upcoming fight at UFC 127 with tricky submission wizard, Georges Sotiropolous. We asked him what he’d been doing to prepare for the fight, where he thinks a win would put him in the division and is there any of his past opponents he’d like to face again. Check it out…
Hi Dennis,
Thank you for taking the time to sit down with MMABay and answer a few of our questions.
MMABay – You were last in action on the UFC 122 card in Germany, defeating “Ultimate Fighter” season nine runner-up, Andre Winner in the co-main event of the evening. What are your thoughts on how the fight went, where does it rank in your list of victories to date and what was it like being in the co-main event in your native land?
Siver – It was a very tough fight, Andre is a strong opponent and a great stand up fighter with a great style. His reach advantage was enormous, but in the end, I caught him with a counter left hook and knocked him down. The rest is history. This victory was really important for me, I received the “Submission of the Night” award and I was so happy, to win in my home country. It was also an honour, being the co main event.
MMABay – There always seems to be a lot of negativity surrounding the UFC whenever they head to Germany for an event. Can you give us some idea how the last show went down in the media and with the government and what you expect it to be like for future visits?
Siver – There was no PR at all for UFC 122. For UFC 99, there was so much PR and so much critics, that everybody spoke about the UFC. And we all know, “bad PR is good PR“. So I think it was a tactical thing of the government, that there was no PR. But I think, MMA gets more and more excepted in Germany and all over the place, and I´m really happy to see this happen!
MMABay – You’ve had quite the rivalry with UK fighters over the past couple of years, facing Paul Kelly, Ross Pearson and Winner in your last four fights. How have you found this trilogy of fights, would you welcome a rematch with any of them and why?
Siver – I would love to fight Ross again! He is a strong fighter, of course, but I suffered from a bad cold and I was not in shape at all. If I were in shape, I think I would perform much better than I did. The fight against Paul Kelly was my favourite fight so far. It was a great fight with great technique and power.
MMABay – You return to action next month when you travel to Australia to take on tricky submission specialist, George Sotiropolous at UFC 127. How’s the training been going for this one and what have you been working on specifically?
Siver – There is nothing special I´ve been working on. It´s MMA so every discipline is very important! Of course, I will have a look on my ground game and train BJJ in Frankfurt, with the ALLIANCE Team (www.alliance-frankfurt.de)
MMABay – The two of you are mirror images of each other, you being a kickboxer with a developing ground game, him being a Jiu-Jitsu fighter with a developing stand-up game. How do you see the fight panning out and do you think we’ll get to see that patented spinning back-kick land during the fight?
Siver – We will see how the fight will be and end. I would love to fight him in stand up and try to know him out. To fight me on the ground, he has to take me down, first of all and my wrestling skills are trained quite well. And when we end up on the ground, we will fight there. I’m ready.
MMABay – Many people have begun speaking about Sotiropolous as a contender in the lightweight ranks over the past year. Where do you feel a win over the Aussie will put you in the list of fighters vying for a shot at the gold?
Siver – It would be a very important win over George. So even more people recognize me as an strong contender in the lightweight division. And hopefully I will get the shot one day, this is my biggest dream!
MMABay – Looking down your record you’ve fought mostly strikers over the past two and a half years, something that has seemingly played into your hands. How confident are you that you’ve improved your wrestling sufficiently enough so that you don’t suffer the same fate if you were to meet Gray Maynard and Melvin Guillard again inside the octagon and why?
Siver – The fight against Gray was very intense. And if there where a rematch, I would do better. And Gray also knows, that the fight was very close. I´m confident, that I can also take George down and ground and pound him. But he is one of the best ground fighters in the UFC and very dangerous on the ground. But you never know who the best man is that night, it’s a fight and might the best man win!
MMABay – Finally, for any new fans that will be tuning in for the first time on February 27th, what can we expect from you at UFC 127?
Siver – Action, technique, power and hopefully a knock out!
MMABay – Have you got any sponsors you’d like to mention or people you’d like to thank before we finish?
Siver – First of all I would love to thank my fans, for supporting me and the sport! I would like to thank all of my sponsors, my training partners, my trainers and everybody who cares about me! Also, check out my
MMABay – Thanks for taking the time to speak to MMABay.
Siver – Thank you for your interest!
(An exclusive interview for MMABay.co.uk)
By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)
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