Less than a month away from one of the biggest rematches in the history of the UFC, Anderson Silva feels ready to get back the middleweight title.
Silva, who suffered his first loss inside the Octagon at UFC 162, when Chris Weidman stopped him with punches, meets the champion at UFC 168 on Dec. 28 in Las Vegas, Nev. He doesn’t regret his behavior during the first fight, blaming “basic mistakes” for his loss.
“My mistakes in that fight, and that’s the first time I’m saying this, were basic mistakes,” Silva told Sportv. “I did everything I had to do except hit him. I didn’t counterattack. When I stopped with my feet parallel, I should have hit him and walked one step behind. I didn’t do that. I saw my mistakes and I’m working on that to train for this next fight.”
The Brazilian won his 16 previous bouts under the UFC banner with 14 finishes, and expects the rematch to end the same way.
“It’s going to be a tough fight,” he said, “and it won’t last too long if it stays standing.”
After scoring the upset of the year, Weidman doesn’t expect an easy bout in the rematch.
“I wish I could sit back and relax and I feel like I’ve accomplished my goal, but I gotta win this next fight bad,” the undefeated champion said. “Every fight just feels like it’s the life changer, feels like the most important fight of your life, and we’re still there. This next fight is huge for me, I gotta win.”