Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva – Photo by Esther Lin for Strikeforce
Heavyweight fighter Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva (16-3) has one of the biggest fights of his career coming up at the end of the month when he faces former UFC champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 146.
Not only is ‘Bigfoot’ making his Octagon debut on May 26 against a former champ, but he’s the co-headliner for the event. So one could hardly blame him for pulling out all the stops in preparation for Velasquez.
Speaking to Tatame.com, Silva tells them that he’s brought in a few wrestlers and strikers into his camp for the fight. One of those wrestlers happens to be someone who competed against Velasquez in high school, former 2008 Olympian Steve Mocco.
“I was really glad about the opportunity. It’s my UFC debut and they are giving me a chance to fight one of the top two guys of the division, a former champion. I have two and a half weeks ahead of me and I guarantee it’s going to be a good fight”, said the heavyweight fighter.
Questioned about the changes on his trainings with his opponent replaced, the Brazilian affirmed he needed to bring two wrestlers to help him out, besides some strikers.
“I brought a couple of wrestlers to help me out. One of them (Steve Mocco) fought Cain Velasquez three times in high school and defeated him every single one. He’s spending a couple of weeks here to give me tips and tell me why I should worry about Cain Velasquez”, said.
“He’s a good guy. He’s very strong, about the same height as Cain and has a lot of experience for having fought him before. It’s a great thing for me. There’re some strikers coming to support me too, like Mark Hunt, who’s being really helpful. There’s Thiago Silva, who’s a great helping hand at this point”.
We’ll have to wait and see if bringing in a wrestler like Mocco, who defeated Velasquez in high school, will help him or not.