Anderson Silva praises his next rival: 'It's going to test everything I've ever trained'

Anderson (photo) returns at UFC 208 Photo: Brandon Magnus/UFC

The former champion Anderson Silva will return to the octagon on February 11th, to face Derek Brunson, at UFC 208. And Spider was complimentary when commenting on the North American's main qualities, remembering Brunson's origins in wrestling and the fact that he is eight years younger. The Brazilian said that the focus of training will be on the ground game, although he is prepared to develop his strong point, fighting on the feet.

See too

Brunson sends a message to Anderson Silva and says: “All I need is a blow”

Belfort's rival sings Safadão's song and invites him to fight

Shogun criticizes 'manners' and promises victory 'any way' at UFC Fortaleza

“He is very young and that helps a lot. But we don't usually see our opponents' strengths, but rather their weaknesses. Now, he is an athlete that we have to be very careful about because he has a lot of variables. He is very eclectic, with very good wrestling. So, we are training a lot on the ground and working on what I have to offer. Walk, move, take experience, patience, time and focus on our specialty, which is stand-up fighting. This will help you find a space so you can print our game. It's a very interesting fight to test everything we've trained and done all these years. He is an eclectic athlete and doesn’t stop all the time”, commented Anderson to the SporTV channel.

With little time to train before the fight, which was signed just over a month before UFC 208, he revealed that he will prepare in Brazil. Unlike his last fights, when he trained almost exclusively at his gym in the United States, Muay Thai College.

“There wouldn't be much time for me to go back home and start training there (in Los Angeles). I was in Curitiba, after Christmas and New Year I came here, seeing my friends, suddenly this fight happened (…) I talked to all my coaches and we decided to do all the preparation here”, he revealed.

Anderson Silva hasn't fought since July last year, when he faced Daniel Cormier at UFC 200. The Brazilian replaced Jon Jones, caught doping, just two days before the event. Despite being defeated by unanimous decision, he was praised by fans, the press and his opponent himself for his courage in taking action with practically no time to train. Brunson is also coming off a defeat, to Robert whittaker, but was previously on a five-game winning streak.