Anderson Silva documentary video: Misunderstood or has he mismanaged his brand?

The main event is set for the UFC's August stop in Brazil. The middleweight champ Anderson Silva will face Yushin Okami.

If the first thought that pops into your head is, "this could be trouble," you're not wrong based on historical data.

Okami, a grappler, may have trouble getting his hands on the champ. On several occasions like that in the past, Silva has clown, danced and made a mockery of the fight when his opponent (Demian Maia, Patrick Cote) was unwilling to engage a striking war. Why does he do that?

A new documentary featuring Silva, "Like Water," may give us an explanation. It's set to debut at the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival at different theatres around New York on Apr. 21, 23, 28 and 30.

The preview (NSFW) focuses an awful lot on Silva's performance issues in the past, but the overall piece sounds like an effort to show us the true Silva.

From TribecaFilm.com:

[...] From Silva's life in Brazil with his wife, three sons, and two daughters, to training with his team in Los Angeles and Miami, first-time filmmaker Pablo Croce peels back the layers of an ultimate fighter to reveal the heart of a champion.

A man of few words, Silva does not shamelessly play into the media hype machine?although he is continuously taunted by opponents who do. [...] Croce's hard-hitting documentary exposes the unseen side of Ultimate Fighting and culminates in one heart-pounding fight that signifies more than just another championship.

Croce says the name of the documentary was inspired by a Bruce Lee philosophy:

"Water has the adaptive abilities, but also the power to crush."

Croce, a first-time filmmaker, wasn't familiar with the world of MMA and started with a fresh slate:

"There is a huge contrast in what I got personally from this man?not what I know from the media or his job as a fighter?but the first few weeks, when I saw there's a great character here; a guy who is very open and friendly?there's a whole stereotype how media casts fighters.� I think there's a really good look at the pressures behind the man who prepares for such a big event, a fight.� There's a good look at what can be driving his persona, to be perceived somehow differently or stereotyped."

It should be noted Ed Soares, Silva's manager, is listed on the project as an executive producer.

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