Former UFC 185-pound champ Anderson Silva is set to make his Octagon return next month (Saturday, February 11, 2017) when he takes on No. 8-ranked Derek Brunson in the co-main event of UFC 208 live on pay-per-view (PPV).
Silva recently spoke to Sportv (via Bloody Elbow) to discuss his upcoming match-up with Brunson, stating he needs to be very careful inside the Octagon against his ‘dynamic’ adversary:
“He’s very young and that helps a lot. But we don’t usually focus on an opponent’s strong suits, we look for their weak spots. We need to be very careful around him, because he’s so dynamic. He has very good wrestling, so we are training a lot of ground techniques and we are working on what I do best. Footwork, movement and using my experience.
“My patience and timing will help me focus on my specialty, which is my striking. It’ll be a very interesting fight to test everything we have been drilling and training over the years. He’s so dynamic and never stands still.”
Silva comes off of a unanimous decision loss to current light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 200 this past July, marking ‘The Spider’s’ fourth consecutive loss. Silva’s January 2015 win over Nick Diaz was overturned to a No Contest after the Brazilian tested positive for a banned substance following the bout.
‘The Spider’s’ last victory came in a light heavyweight contest against the now-retired Stephan Bonnar in October of 2012, when he finished the bout with a first round knockout after a nasty knee to the body.
Brunson comes off of a first round knockout loss to Robert Whittaker in November, having his five-fight win streak snapped that stretched back to August of 2014. Prior to his loss to Whittaker, Brunson had finished four of those five wins via first round knockout.
How do you see the bout between Silva and Brunson going down?
Silva and Brunson will meet in the co-main event of UFC 208 live on PPV, from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, February 11, 2017.
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