Thunder (right) poses with A. Silva (left) PHOTO: Personal Archive
The former champion Anderson Silva returns to the octagon at UFC 208 this Saturday (11) in search of redemption, after two consecutive defeats. And few people can speak better about the Brazilian's state of mind than Vinícius “Thunder” Cruz, Brave fighter and responsible for simulating the fighting style of Spider's opponent, Derek Brunson. In an exclusive interview with SUPER LUTAS, the X-Gym welterweight guaranteed that his teammate regained the confidence he lost after his injury in the rematch against Chris Weidman and is ready to shock the world with a historic knockout.
“I was with Anderson in preparing the fight for the Nick Diaz and he felt a little afraid because of the injury. I think he was a little like that against Bisping, but now I think the Anderson Silva is back. Confident and ready to put on a show”, said Thunder, who will make his Brave debut at the end of March in an event to be held in the United Arab Emirates.
See too
Left-handed like Brunson and with a brown belt in jiu-jitsu, Vinícius did several sparring sessions with Anderson, always trying to emulate the North American, who is coming off a defeat to Robert whittaker. In Spider's teammate's analysis, Brunson's style is good for the former champion.
“We know how Brunson fights. He has good striking, but his strong point is takedowns. But it's a stop. Any human being who stands still in front of the Anderson Silva you run the risk of getting hit out of nowhere, of being knocked out. This is Anderson”, confided Vinícius, who faces Lebanese Mohammad Fakhreddine in Abu Dhabi, in his Brave debut.
Read the interview with Vinícius Thunder:
SUPER FIGHTS: How are you feeling Anderson's state of mind for the fight with Brunson?
Vinícius Thunder: I was with Anderson in the preparation of the fight for Nick Diaz and he felt a little afraid because of the injury. I think he was a little like that against Bisping, but now I think the Anderson Silva is back. Confident and ready to put on a show. I also participated in his preparation for the Uriah Hall and I can say that now he is much more motivated, focused and really wants to win. He's back.
SL: How did you contribute to Anderson’s preparation?
VT: As I'm left-handed and weigh similar to him now, I simulated Brunson's style. In the standing part, mainly. But I'm a brown belt in jiu-jitsu, so I also focused on my takedown and ground defense training. But we work more on the stand-up fight.
SL: What can you say about Derek Brunson? What is your analysis?
VT: We know how Brunson fights. He has good striking, but his strong point is takedowns. But it's a stop. Any human being who stands still in front of the Anderson Silva you run the risk of getting hit out of nowhere, of being knocked out. This is Anderson.
SL: In the time you trained with the Anderson Silva, is there anything different that you noticed about him in relation to training?
VT: He's much faster, more forceful. It really hurts (laughs). I'm welterweight, but now I'm 92 kg. and he arrived at 91 kg. So the training sessions were great, but he's much more forceful.
SL: You said that Anderson is more confident. What's the difference with his last fights?
VT: That's what I said. You felt like Anderson was a little afraid in training, he was really on the back foot. A natural thing for anyone who has experienced a serious injury like his. I have rarely seen Anderson so well in training, confident and happy. Victory is coming.
SL: And you make your international debut in March. What are the expectations?
VT: I have a good career on the national circuit and now I'm taking my first steps out there. Brave is an important event in the Middle East and I want to put on a show. I'm going to take on a tough guy in Mohammad Fakhreddine, but I want to win and attract attention.
[vox id=”56573″]
Comments