Chris Weidman seeks a repeat victory over legendary fighter Anderson Silva on the main event of UFC 168 scheduled at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, with the 29-year old middleweight champion looking to prove that his victory over Silva in UFC 162 held in July was no fluke.
After stunning the world and dethroning the longtime champion Silva during the second round of their UFC 162 title fight, Weidman is confident that he can score another victory over the Brazilian legend considered by many as the greatest champion in UFC history.
"I feel it's the same. It's just that there are fewer question marks now. I know what he feels like in there -- how fast he is, how strong he is. I've felt that already," Weidman told SI.com.
The American said he was a bit intimidated by Silva's reputation before their first showdown, but he admits he has a lot of confidence in himself especially after knocking out the Brazilian, the first in Silva's 16-year career.
"Now I don't have to deal with the mystique of Anderson Silva, constantly having to tell himself, 'He's just human.' I know he is. I know I can beat him," Weidman said.
Despite snapping the 16-fight winning streak of Silva, Weidman enters the match a slight underdog against the Brazilian who was lacking in motivation in UFC 162, according to his camp.
Silva's coach, Pedro Rizzo, said lack of motivation hurt his ward's performance in UFC 162 but vowed that the legendary fighter from Brazil is hungry again.
"Anderson changed himself," Rizzo told MMAFighting.com. "He's really motivated for this. He can take the good from losing, and it motivated him. He's ready to fight somebody who beat him, and I think it was good for him. I've never seen him in as great a shape as he is now."
Trying to make sense of Silva's knockout loss to Weidman, Rizzo said: "I don't think of it just for 16 fights, but for all of his career. Anderson is 38 years old, and sometimes you feel tired of training, feel tired of all the pressure on your back. You feel like every time you step in the ring you have to prove something, and to keep your belt. So it's a lot of pressure, and sometimes you get tired of that."
Also in the card are the women's bantamweight championship title between Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate; a heavyweight fight between Josh Barnett and Travis Browne, lightweight fight between Jim Miller and Fabricio Camoes and a battle of featherweights featuring Dustin Poirier and Diego Brandao.
The Middleweight title fight airs at 10 p.m. EST Saturday, December 28.
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