Anderson Silva remembers the fight with Daniel Cormier and regrets: 'It wasn't long before he knocked out'

A. Silva (right) faced D. Cormier in 2016. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @spiderandersonsilva

Considered one of the greatest fighters in MMA history due to his achievements in the UFC Octagon, Anderson Silva recalled the scene of the historic struggle against Daniel Cormier, in July 2016, after assuming responsibility about two days before the fight, due to the positive test of Jon Jones for doping.

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In an interview with the podcast 'More than 8 Minutes', led by comedian Rafinha Bastos, the 'Spider' revealed that he asked for the fight against Cormier after hearing about what happened with Jones on the news. He also says that he even called the 'Bones' before entering the UFC 200 card.

“He would fight with Jon Jones, who ended up falling into doping. I was coming back from gallbladder surgery, so I didn't train for a while. When I was returning to the gym, I saw the news about doping and called Jon Jones and I asked, 'Can I take the fight?' and he told me yes. I called Ed (Soares, businessman from Anderson Silva) and said: 'Tell the bald guy (Dana White) that I'll fight with the chubby one (Daniel Cormier) and hung up the phone,” Anderson recalled.

In a three-round fight,'Spider' suffered from 'DC''s takedown game, but had a good moment in the match. After spending much of the third round with his back on the ground, the Brazilian landed a kick to his opponent's ribs and came close to knocking him out. He evaluates the experience as positive and says it was worth accepting the risk for the adrenaline.

“I went to Las Vegas and got hit with the 'fat guy'. During the fight he knocked me down and it looked like I had fallen off my motorcycle because the guy pressed me to the ground so much. I felt bad, but there wasn't much left (to knock out). When he was on top of me, I was feeling his breathing. I thought that when he got up I would only need one (blow). I even hit the shot and he felt it, but it was already at the end and I couldn't continue. It was cool for the adrenaline,” he concluded.

Anderson Silva he had already lost the middleweight belt (up to 83,9 kg.) and, subsequently, had an unsuccessful fight against Nick Diaz and another defeat for Michael Bisping. The Brazilian, however, was widely celebrated by the fans and fought at catchweight against Daniel Cormier, who was the lineal light heavyweight champion (up to 93kg.) at the time.