Under pressure, Anderson tries to come back. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Widely considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, Anderson Silva will try to turn things around and chase away old ghosts on his return to the UFC, this Saturday (27), in the main fight of the event in London, England.
REAL TIME: Follow UFC London and the return of Anderson Silva LIVE
After all, the duel against Michael Bisping It will be the Brazilian's first since he went through one of the most difficult moments of his career, when he failed a series of anti-doping tests in January last year. Since then, the “Spider”, middleweight champion between 2006 and 2013, was forced to spend an entire year away while serving a suspension.
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At 40 years old, Anderson's obstacle is not only the inevitable approach to retirement, but also the possible damage to his legacy. The Brazilian's reputation was seriously tarnished after being caught using anabolic substances in the fight against Nick Diaz, which further increases the pressure on their shoulders in combat in the “Land of the Queen”.
The former champion's negative spiral, however, has been going on for a long time. Before falling into doping, Anderson went through a long recovery phase from the traumatic leg fracture suffered in December 2013, when he was trying to regain the title against Chris Weidman. So, once again Anderson arrives at a fight with the need to turn things around and take the pressure off.
To get an idea, Anderson Silva hasn’t won a fight in the UFC since October 2012. “Spider”, on that occasion, dispatched the light heavyweight Stephan bonnar, who was actually retired from fighting before being called up for the duel against the Brazilian in Rio de Janeiro. Anderson's last high-profile triumph was in July 2012, when he beat Chael Sonnen in defense of the belt.
Since then, the Brazilian lost the title to Chris Weidman, being harshly criticized for his provocative stance during the fight. In the rematch, he suffered a serious leg injury. After that, he came back against Diaz and won, but had the victory revoked due to a positive anti-doping test.
Therefore, Anderson knows well that his back is against the wall in UFC London, as a new setback could put a damper on his now distant dream of regaining the category title.
Can the rival complicate matters?
Veteran Bisping has wanted to face Anderson for a long time. Photo: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Zuffa LLC
In the duel, Anderson Silva will see another veteran on the opposite side of the Octagon. Ultimate athlete since 2006, Michael Bisping He is one of the most successful athletes in UFC history who never got a chance to fight for the belt.
The Englishman also has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. In addition to fighting at home, in front of his compatriots, the “Conde” wants to shake off the stigma of always being defeated when facing high caliber fighters inside the cage.
It was like this against Rashad evans, Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen e Luke Rockhold. The Englishman himself recognized that a victory over Anderson Silva it would be enough to “validate” your career and dispel any negative labels.
At the height of “Spider”, hardly anyone would be crazy to bet on anything other than a quiet victory for the Brazilian. But Anderson's downtime (he's only had one fight since 2014), plus his older age (40 to 36) even favors Bisping's side of the scale.
It's no secret that Bisping will bet on his striking with incessant rhythm to nullify the Brazilian. The Englishman has good movement, varies his blows well and hardly gets tired. Will it be enough to overcome? The answer only inside the Octagon.
Video: check out five interesting facts about Anderson Silva x Michael Bisping:
Check out the UFC Fight Night 84 technical sheet below:
DATE AND TIME: 27/02/2016, from 14:45 pm (Brasília time)
PLACE: The O2 Arena, London, England
STREAMING: Combat Channel
MAIN CARD
Average weight (up to 84 kg): Michael Bisping (84,3 kg) x Anderson Silva (84,3 kg)
Average weight (up to 84 kg): Gegard Mousasi (83,9 kg) x Thales leites (84,3 kg)
Welterweight (up to 77 kg): Tom Breese (77,5 kg) x Keita Nakamura (77,1 kg)
Bantam weight (up to 61 kg): Brad pickett (61,7 kg) x Francisco Rivera (61,7 kg)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Featherweight (up to 66 kg): Mike Wilkinson (65,9 kg) x mawan amirkhani (65,9 kg)
Bantam weight (up to 61 kg): davey grant (61,7 kg) x Marlon Vera (61,2 kg)
Average weight (up to 84 kg): Scott Askham (83,9 kg) x Chris Dempsey (83,9 kg)
Featherweight (up to 66 kg): arnold allen (65,9 kg) x Yaotzin Meza (65,3 kg)
Average weight (up to 84 kg): Brad Scott (84,3 kg) x Krzysztof Jotko (83,6 kg)
Light weight (up to 70 kg): Norman Parke (70,3 kg) x Rustam Khabilov (70,3 kg)
Heavy weight (up to 120 kg): Daniel Omielanczuk (115,2 kg) x Jarjis Danho (118,4 kg)
Light weight (up to 70 kg): Teemu Packalen (70,7 kg) x Thibault Gouti (70,3 kg)
Light weight (up to 70 kg): David Teymur (70,3 kg) x Martin Svensson (69,4 kg)
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