Older and wiser, welterweight veteran Erick Silva believes he has matured as a fighter ahead of UFC 212.
A wiser Erick Silva believes he has finally matured as a fighter, as he makes the final preparations for his fight against Yancy Medeiros at UFC 212. Always aggressive and somewhat careless, Silva feels like the secret is to only show his aggression at the right moment.
“Obviously, I’m and older Erick now, so I have a little more experience. Which counts a lot. The Erick from the beginning of my career wanted to show himself to everyone.” Silva tod Combate. “Now, I take one fight at a time. I focus and I’m more cautious so I can get the win. It’ll be the same strategy as my last fight. Just because I’m cautious doesn’t mean I won’t be aggressive.
“When I feel it’s the time to attack, I’ll be aggressive. I’ll just have to be careful not to expose myself. I made that mistake before and I don’t want to make it again. It’s like anything else in life. You learn by going through it. You try to avoid your previous mistakes. I’ve been trying to learn from my mistakes, so I’m more careful today.
“The important thing is to get the win, not to finish the fight quickly. If I win, I get more confidence, I’ll climb the rankings and I’ll get to the belt. I’ll be aggressive at the right time.”
UFC 212 takes place at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 3. The card will be headlined by a featherweight title unification bout between interim champion Max Holloway and champion Jose Aldo.