Bisping wants the knockout. Photo: Josh Hedges
Wanderlei Silva and Michael Bisping took part in a heated press conference in Australia (watch it here), where UFC 110 is set to take place on Saturday. Despite all Wand’s intimidation tactics, the English fighter remains confident and, with a sharp tongue of his own, says he is aiming to win by no less than a knockout.
“I want to start knocking opponents out in 2010. Wins by intervention and TKO are good, but I want to start collecting knockouts ,” he is quoted as saying on the UFC website.
“You have to go into a fight with someone like Wanderlei with confidence. You can’t do anything halfway with him. You either go out there and believe in yourself, or you’ll be knocked out quickly. He’ll hunt you at the slightest sign of weakness or nervousness. He’s been in this sport for a long time and knows what to look for. He can beat guys before the opening bell rings,” said the fighter, emphasizing the importance of psychology for this bout.
Moreover, it looks like Bisping has done his homework in this respect. The Englishman is very confident and says he knows what to do to beat “The Axe Murderer”.
“I think it’s a fight with a lot of possibilities for winning for me. I know Wanderlei’s a legend, but I really believe that styles make fights and I have the perfect style to beat him. I am very confident of beating Wanderlei. He is experienced and has heavy hands, but I feel I’m much better than him. I know I have the ability to beat him, now I just need to carry out my plan,” he says.
“Despite his reputation as a legend, I will not be crushed in this fight. I will not be reluctant or fear Wanderlei. Yes, he is a big name in MMA and is one of the most recognized in the sport. Yes, he also has enormous power in his fists. However, the way to win is to go out there and not respect him. Rampage did just that and he blew away Wanderlei in the first round,” he added.
There was a last-minute change to the card for UFC 110: Mirko Cro Cop will now have Anthony Perosh ahead of him, as Ben Rothwell was injured.
Checkout the card:
UFC 110
Sydney, Australia
February 20, 2010
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Cain Velasquez
Michael Bisping vs Wanderlei Silva
George Sotiropoulos vs Joe Stevenson
Ryan Bader vs Keith Jardine
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs Anthony Perosh
Preliminary Fights
Chris Haseman vs Elvis Sinosic
Stephan Bonnar vs Krzysztof Soszynski
Brian Foster vs Chris Lytle
CB Dollaway vs Goran Reljic
James Te Huna vs Igor Pokrajac