ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Bruno Silva still vividly remembers the night Chris Weidman scored the biggest upset in UFC history.
Nearly 11 years after Weidman ended the longest winning streak in Octagon history with a second-round knockout of Anderson Silva at UFC 162 in July 2013, Bruno Silva (23-10 MMA, 4-4 UFC) ) will face Weidman (15-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) in Saturday's ESPN 54 UFC Featured Fight at Boardwalk Hall (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+).
This matchup is a dream come true, as Weidman is a fighter who once felt far away in terms of career accomplishments.
“In July 2013 — the first time Weidman fought Anderson — when he KO'd him, I was still living in northern Brazil,” Silva said of mixed martial arts through an interpreter at Wednesday's media day. told Junkie. “I was working as a security guard. That night I fought Grand Prix in a tournament. I had two fights that night and I knocked them both out. Then I rushed him and fought Anderson Silva. Went to the fight and we all saw what happened. 11 years later I'm now fighting that guy in a big arena in the US, in his area. It gives you an idea .
“This is the biggest fight of my career. I'm fighting a former champion, a legend. It's an honor. I'm truly blessed. I'm truly honored.”
Silva has been watching Weidman since the night he won his first gold medal. It's been a roller coaster, with Weidman losing his belt, suffering some rough losses, and suffering one of the worst broken bones in MMA history in April 2021.
The UFC on ESPN 54 will be Weidman's second fight since returning from a tragic foot fracture. He dropped a unanimous decision to Brad Tavares at UFC 292 in August, after which UFC CEO Dana White begged him to retire.
But the 39-year-old Weidman rejected the request and will return this weekend for a do-or-die showdown with 34-year-old Silva. It's difficult to gauge the former champion's true standing, but Silva takes him seriously.
“MMA is a sport where everyone goes through ups and downs,” Silva said. “There are very few players who don't go through that. I'm more cautious with an experienced player than a rookie and I'm sure he has all his weapons and stuff. But I think Chris Weidman I’m going to go in there to fight him and knock him out.”
It looks like there's a lot of pressure on Weidman, but it's also an important moment for Silva. “Brindad” enters the tournament having lost two matches, and has one win and four losses in the past five matches since March 2022.
“I'm not looking at this fight with any sense of urgency, like my contract is on the line or I'm on the chopping block for this fight,” Silva said. “But I think a knockout against Chris Weidman says more than a knockout against anyone else. So that's what I'm looking at right now. I've always wanted to fight, no matter the competition. That's the way I look at it. This is the fight I want and I want to win by knockout.”
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