'I'm here to test myself, not to prove anything', says Anderson, about the fight with Cormier

A. Silva (photo) will face Cormier at UFC 200. Photo: Reproduction

Appointed at the last minute as an opponent of Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, this Saturday (9), Anderson Silva He seemed relaxed about the challenge ahead and insisted that he accepted the fight with the sole aim of testing himself.

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The Brazilian was cast in the attraction to replace Jon Jones, Cormier's original opponent who failed a drug test. About two hours after learning of Jones' cut, “Spider” called Dana White, president of the UFC, to ask for the fight at the historic event.

Even facing the champion of the top category in which he is used to fighting and who had been training intensely, Anderson was excited about the commitment. “It’s a challenge I’m facing. I don't want people, including Cormier, to think I'm belittling myself by challenging the champion like that. I didn't come here for that, but to test myself. I believe I can have a good fight, even though I haven't trained for so long and come from surgery”, said the fighter, at a press conference held in Las Vegas (USA).

Despite the difficulty of the challenge ahead, Anderson denied any type of fear about accepting the fight. “If I was worried, I couldn’t be here. A fight is a fight, I've been through the worst possible things that can happen in the UFC. But I'm prepared. I'm here to test myself, not to prove anything to anyone. What I did is already done, and no one will come close to doing what I did,” he pointed out.

Anderson was recovering from gallbladder surgery in May, a few days before his fight at UFC 198, in Curitiba (PR). Precisely for this reason, the fighter confessed that he was not doing intense preparation. “I never stopped training, actually. But training, really training, I wasn't. I didn't imagine I would fight. But if you want peace, you need to be prepared for war, so I was training. But I was enjoying time with my family. I did some boxing sparring yesterday [Wednesday, 6] night”, he detailed.

Finally, Anderson made a humorous prediction about the fight. “It will be interesting. I'm going to need to run away from him a lot... I'm kidding, boss. I am joking. I came here to fight,” he said, addressing White.

the fight between Anderson Silva e Daniel Cormier will be the third most important of UFC 200. In the main attraction of the event, the Brazilian Amanda nunes challenges Miesha Tate for the women's bantamweight belt.