Diaz (photo) faces Anderson at UFC 183. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
Nick Diaz will have a somewhat thankless task next Saturday (31). In the main fight of UFC 183, in Las Vegas (USA), the North American will be responsible for welcoming Anderson Silva to the octagon, in what will be the Brazilian's first fight since breaking his leg in front of Chris Weidman. However, anyone who thinks Diaz is intimidated by the opportunity is mistaken.
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The fighter guaranteed that his long experience in MMA will help him in one of the most important moments of his career. Furthermore, Diaz assures that, despite being used to fighting at welterweight (up to 77 kg), he will not be at a disadvantage when facing the former middleweight champion (up to 84 kg). “I feel normal going into this fight, I’m 100%. I've been doing this for a long time, so I'm used to it. I always faced guys who were theoretically better than me: they were either monsters at striking or someone who was supposed to destroy me in minutes. Being very realistic and honest, I've always faced guys stronger than me, whose blows are more powerful than mine. In fact, some of them. People like to say I don't hit hard, but I think I have some heavy punches. Most of the time, these guys I face in MMA are strong, many were on the wrestling team or do a lot of weight training. Naturally, I'm not that strong, I don't have a large physique, but I'm also not the weakest fighter at 77 kg, maybe not even in the 84 kg division. I always have my weapons. It's not the first time I've had a big fight that I'm supposed to lose. What matters is my head and I know I'm not at a disadvantage against Anderson Silva”, said Diaz, in an interview with the website of the “Combate” channel.
Diaz guarantees that he is prepared for the fight, having already seen the fight unfolding in several different ways. “I think we'll both probably punch a lot. No, actually I don't think so. I see a lot of things happening… I already saw myself losing this fight, I already saw Anderson losing. I've already visualized every possible scenario. I've visualized all the ways I can win and all the ways I can lose. Same thing for him. I can see everything now. You can't even think how many different shapes I've visualized. Most of the time, people who don't struggle can't imagine many shapes. I see every shape, every possible scenario, every scam, every possibility. That's how I like to go in to fight. It makes things a lot easier,” he explained.
The fight between Diaz and Anderson will be the main attraction of UFC 183, which will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the same gym where the Brazilian suffered his serious injury. In addition to “Spider”, the event will feature eight more Brazilians: Thales leites, Thiago Pitbull, John Lineker, Rafael Sapo, Diego Brandao, Ildemar Marajó, Rick Monster e Thiago Marreta.
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