Pound-for-pound great Anderson Silva will be looking for his sixteenth straight UFC win this Saturday night at UFC 153 when he battles Stephan Bonnar but it will only be his third tilt in the Octagon as a light heavyweight. Still, Silva?s past success at 205 has shown he suffers little if any drop off in ability with another twenty pounds on his frame. In fact, according to the middleweight champion, he may even be a bit better.
?I believe I have more agility, more speed at this weight. I don’t know about the power but I do believe I am more agile,? said Silva in an interview with the UFC.
Silva Still Not Interested in Fight with Jon Jones
While Bonnar might be a massive underdog in the match-up, Silva doesn?t appear to be overlooking him just because he?s never been considered as an elite competitor or worn UFC gold. What he has done, however, is help build the foundation on which Silva stands, and for it ?The Spider? remains forever grateful.
?You have to respect Stephan Bonnar. He is the reason why MMA and the UFC are where they are today,? admitted the Brazilian, alluding to Bonnar?s history-making meeting with Forrest Griffin on the original Ultimate Fighter Finale. ?He has done a lot for the sport. He has to be respected and given a lot of credit.?
In addition to being an important part of the UFC, Bonnar is also a bit underrated with the momentum of three-fight winning streak behind him and past wins over Krzysztof Soszynski, Brian Ebersole, and Keith Jardine. He?s also never been finished by submission/TKO.
Check out the full interview with Silva below:
PHOTO CREDIT – UFC
TweetTony Fryklund Kazuyuki Fujita Masakatsu Funaki Zelg Benkei Galesic
