Strikeforce heavyweight prospect, Daniel Cormier has been giving further food for thought on stepping up to face former EliteXC champion, Antonio “Big Foot” Silva in the semi-finals of the promotions heavyweight grand-prix, so much so that he’s begun hinting at what his game plan might be on the night.Speaking via MMAJunkie.com, Cormier said:
“[Silva] was going to take Overeem down. Honestly, I think he was going to beat Alistair, and I think he beats Alistair eight out of 10 times. But now, he’s got a different fight. I think he still tries to implement the same game plan. Antonio Silva is a good stand-up fighter. He’s a good ground fighter. He’s good everywhere. But it’s no secret he’s very difficult when he’s on top of you. If he gets on top of me, I could be in some serious trouble.”
“I start on my back a lot in training, and I’m comfortable, as is Cain. You saw when Brock (Lesnar) put Cain on his back. He didn’t panic. We just got up. I’m not just a wrestling guy. If I was, you wouldn’t see the improvements that I’ve made in the standup – and Cain’s standup, and Koscheck’s standup.”
“I’m going to give myself the best chance to win. Think about that for a minute. What’s my best chance to win a fight against anybody in the world? It’s not that hard to figure out. Will it be standing in front of a 290-pound man? Some. All fights start on their feet. But I’ve got to give myself the best chance to win this fight, and I know what that is.”
“A win over him would completely validate what I’m doing in mixed martial arts. A loss sends me back to the drawing board. My career will not end on Sept. 10 regardless of the outcome. (But) I have every intention of going into that fight to win.”
Cormier heads into this one fresh off an impressive unanimous decision win over Jeff Monson in June, marking himself out as one to watch in the heavyweight division. Will he be able to overcome the size and experience advantage “Big Foot” will carry with him into this one?
No comments:
Post a Comment