Det var först tänkt att Erick Silva (17-5-0-1) skulle möta Ben Saunders (18-6-2-0), men Saunders var tvungen att dra sig ur matchen på grund av en skada. Josh Koscheck (17-9) hoppade in som ersättare mot Silva nu i helgen, men bytet av motståndare oroar inte Silva.
Silva menar att han fick göra några ändringar inför matchen mot Koscheck, men att han har mött fighters som honom förut.
”My first opponent (Saunders) is 6’3″, a southpaw and mainly a kickboxer. Koscheck, however, is shorter than me, orthodox and a wrestler.” sa Silva. ”That’s a huge difference when it comes to practice. Strategically, we had to make some changes, but it won’t be a major problem, because I’ve fought guys like him before. I train everything, so I’m always prepared for surprises”.
Silva har sagt att han har jobbat på att stoppa nedtagningar och att han planerar att hålla matchen stående.
”He’ll try to win using his biggest weapon, his wrestling, but he won’t grind me down. I’ve trained for that and it won’t work. My team and I have come up with a strategy to nullify his takedowns and it will prevail. It’s going to be hard punches, knees and kicks for him, all the time. I will beat whoever is in front of me. I want to defeat Koscheck the same way I wanted to defeat Saunders”.
