News
27/02/09 - Wanderlei: The weight cut will be easy for me
Wanderlei Silva says getting Rich Franklin as his middleweight opponent is “incredible, because he is the last champion before Anderson. He is a great fighter, a complete fighter and it is a good first fight for me in this division.
The two are due to meet at UFC 99 later this year - possibly at a catch weight of 195lb - and both are coming off losses and need a win, which promises an explosive clash.
“I didn’t see this fight [with Henderson] but I have seen two or three of his fights,” Silva told Fighters Only this week.
“He is complete - good ground, good stand-up, good takedowns, and I think he is a very good fight for me. I am bringing in several sparring partners from Brazil that are also complete fighters, I will be ready for him.”
Silva has long competed around the 205lb weight category but revealed that he actually has to bulk up to make the division.
“I eat a lot to make 205, no?” he said. “It will not be difficult for me to drop weight. My normal [walk around] weight is about 205, and my opponents have around 240.
“So I am going to test now a drop to 185, but I hope to fight in both weight division. I am going to test before [making the drop] but I only need to lose 20lbs, it is not a lot of weight. I think I am going to feel very well.”
Silva is due to meet Franklin in the main event of UFC 99, which is scheduled - though not confirmed - for Germany in June this year.
John Joe O’Regan
John.fightersonly@gmail.com
The quotes above are taken from an in-depth interview with Wanderlei which will be on the Fighters Only site next week.
Attachments:
- There are no attachments for this article
