“We have different styles, but I’m confident that I’ll shut him down.”
With Meerschaert’s grappling-heavy style and Silva’s desire to earn his fourth UFC knockout, things will definitely be interesting when the two are finally locked in the Octagon on Saturday. In theory, Silva expects Meerschaert to try to grab a hold of him, and that’s when he will thwart takedown attempts and find success in the standup game.
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“I think this is a fight where he will want to grab me and I will want to beat him up on the feet,” Silva laughed. “I can’t see a different fight. He’s going to want to put me down and I’m going to want to beat him up.”
If all goes according to plan for Silva, he will leave San Diego 4-1 in the UFC with four knockout wins. That would set him up perfectly for a big fight to end 2022. And while Silva hopes to secure fights against opponents in the Top 15, he isn’t concerned with what’s next.
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He knows he’s going to reach the top, no matter what.
“A river is made by many water paths and the destination is always the same,” Silva said. “One day or another I will reach the belt. It may be next year, ten or thirty years from now. I will get there, and the title will go to my small town.”