Does Silva hurt the UFC with lack of media saavy?

Let your fighting do the talking. We hear it all the time about fighters who aren't great media soundbites. Is it a simple case of great fighters draw because of their skills alone? I don't buy it and the more Anderson Silva fights I cover, there seems to be something missing from these cards. For a guy who is considered by many as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, there isn't a whole lot written about him especially in the main stream media. The Chicago Tribune may not even show to cover the fight card tomorrow night. How can that be? This sucks to say but the Trib probably would've covered the last Kimbo Slice fight had it been in Chicago. Wouldn't it be great this week to hear ESPN1000 and The Score in Chicago talking about this fighting freak Silva that you have to see?

For Silva (pictured w/translator Ed Soares) to reach the next level promotionally he has to give the media something to latch onto. He seems like a good guy and you can tell that he has a very good sense of humor but he refuses to open up and elaborate on topics in the bigger media settings. And it's not the Portuguese to English language barrier. We've seen plenty of Mexican boxers make for great stories over the years. Silva just doesn't seem to get it.

Several media folks during the UFC 90 conference tried to develop stories with Silva but he wouldn't bite. Yahoo! Sports Kevin Iole tried to work a story on Silva about who is the best pound-for-pound fighter. Silva said he's not the best but wouldn't say who is and he wouldn't even give a list of fighters in the running. Michael David Smith of AOL Fanhouse tried for a story on Silva's goals at middleweight and light heavyweight. Silva again gave a short answer. 'The Spider' wouldn't even play along with a female Latino media member who asked him who his favorite non-fight athletes were.

UFC president Dana White does a lot to make up for some of his fighters shortcomings. But the fighters themselves need to pitch in sometimes as well.

Click below to listen to Silva speak at the UFC 90 press conference:

Fans may scoff at this and thinks it's just media guys complaining to complain.

You have to admit that it does have an effect on reeling in new fans. Brock Lesnar is nowhere near the same level as an MMA fighter as Silva yet there is something very sellable about the guy. He may be a jerk at times but he does open himself up. The Lesnar-Randy Couture fight will do in excess of 700,000 pay-per-view buys. This fight card will come nowhere near that number. That's ridiculous considering you've got a guy who's got a scary unbeatable, Tyson-like aura at the top of the card. Even from a selfish standpoint, Silva should realize that he's wasting an opportunity to make huge money on the marketing and merchandising side. Here's hoping someone from the UFC sits down with him and explains how he's cheating himself out of being a huge international star.