Teammates Anderson Silva and Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza gave an open workout to the media in Rio de Janeiro ahead of their scheduled bouts at UFC 208.
Silva, the UFC’s former long-time middleweight champion, will take on the No. 8 ranked Derek Brunson in the co-main event. ‘The Spider’ hasn’t legitimately won a fight since he lost the title Chris Weidman in 2013, although he did earn a unanimous decision over Nick Diaz at UFC 183. However, the win was overturned to a No Contest when it was confirmed that Silva used performance-enhancing drugs.
Silva, who turns 42 in April, returned to the Octagon against current champ Michael Bisping after serving his one-year suspension. The Brazilian lost in a controversial split decision and then lost to light heavyweight kingpin Daniel Cormier in a short notice bout at UFC 200.
Silva, who was once considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, will look to bounce back against the highly dangerous Brunson on Feb. 11.
Souza, who is currently ranked as the No. 3 middleweight in the world, has his sights firmly set on champion Bisping. Jacare’s lone loss in the UFC came to the No. 2 ranked Yoel Romero, who he dropped a split decision to at UFC 194.
The Brazilian has beat the likes of Gegard Mousasi, Robbie Lawler, Tim Kennedy, and Vitor Belfort and is considered one of the most dangerous grapplers in the world. A multiple-time BJJ world champion, Jacare has won most of his bouts via submission and will look to add another stoppage to his resume against ‘The Barbarian’ at UFC 208.
The pay-per-view, which features a headlining women’s featherweight title bout between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie, takes place on February 11 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
About the author
