Anderson Silva minimizes pressure for results at UFC 183: 'Now, I fight for love'

Anderson (photo) is back in the UFC after a year and a month. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

One year and one month after suffering a serious injury in the octagon, Anderson Silva He returned to the routine that precedes a UFC fight. The former champion, who will face Nick Diaz this Saturday (31), in Las Vegas (USA), he admitted that he went through different types of emotions during the preparations for the fight, but that now the focus is completely on his performance.

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“The heart rose. It accelerated, came back, accelerated, came back... Now, it's normal. But I'm feeling like it's the first time I'm fighting. I'm remembering my first fight [in the UFC], with the Chris Leben, and I’m feeling the same emotions,” said Anderson, in an interview with the UFC’s official website. “I'm trying to give more than my 100%. We will get the result we need.”

As for the sporting aspect of the fight, Anderson will try to avoid his third consecutive defeat, something that would be unprecedented in his successful career. The fighter says, however, that the result itself is not his priority at the moment. “I will feel very happy, fulfilled, to be able to return after this terrible year that I spent professionally speaking. Just the fact that I can go back to doing what I love, what makes me feel alive, is already a fantastic thing,” he commented.

“You need to know how to live with defeat and victory, and I learned to live with defeat very early on. I lost at times when I couldn't lose, because it was 100% my and my family's livelihood. There were times when I lost and had to live with that. Nowadays it's different, because I fight for love. Nowadays I no longer have that concern, but I have the responsibility to get there and do it well”, added the 39-year-old Brazilian.

the fight between Anderson Silva e Nick Diaz will headline UFC 183 at the MGM Grand Garden gym, the same venue where he suffered his two losses to Chris Weidman. The last victory of Anderson Silva in the Octagon was in October 2012, when he defeated Stephan bonnar in Rio de Janeiro.

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