Brad Tavares: 'I Want to Fight Wanderlei Silva'

The 25 year old middleweight prospect is 5-1 in the UFC , recently coming off a unanimous decision victory over Riki Fukuda on March 3 at UFC on Fuel TV 8 'Siva vs Stann' Tavares, trying to break into the top 10 and eyeing up 'The AxeMurderer'. Tavares told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview.

"I want to fight Wanderlei Silva,"
"I think the fight with Wanderlei makes a lot of sense and it would be awesome stylistically. I've been coming up the ranks and getting to fight someone I've looked up to for so long would be an awesome opportunity. It is the fight I really want and I hope I get my wish. It would be a dream come true to fight that guy.

"There is a lot that goes in to me wanting that fight. A lot people might not know this aside from my coaches and close friends, but Wanderlei has been my favorite fighter since I was a kid. There are a lot of fighters who have come along since I enjoy watching, but Wanderlei has always been my favorite. When I was growing up he was dominating over in Japan and I wanted to be just like him. I idolized the man. I wanted to fight viciously like him and the persona he carried blew me away back then."