• UFC 146

Velasquez: You don't make your debut against me

ESPN staff
May 24, 2012
Cain Velasquez warns Antonio Silva

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez cuts the figure of an angry man ahead of UFC 146, and Antonio Silva may just suffer from being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Velasquez had never tasted defeat until he met Junior Dos Santos for the first defence of his UFC title. That changed in 64 seconds, when he was knocked out in simple fashion in a defeat that was totally out of character with the rest of his stubborn, impressive career.

A lengthy recovery period from injury has since kept Velasquez away from the Octagon until now, when he starts on the road back to the title. His first rival is Silva, making his UFC debut not long after dishing out a beating to Fedor Emelianenko.

"If you want to work your way up the ladder, you don't fight me," Velasquez warned. "I'm just the wrong guy to fight against, one punch could end it all.

"My fighting style speaks for itself. I put on exciting fights.

"To get the belt back is what I want and Silva is the guy I've got to go through. I'm willing to do whatever it takes."

Silva, who is 6ft 4 and weighs 265lbs, lost to Daniel Cormier in his most recent outing, and Velasquez insists tactics are everything against the big Brazilian.

"To go in and get into that brawling mode, which is what he does, that's not what we want to do," Velasquez said. "For a big guy he moves good. It's definitely a dangerous fight for me."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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