It's not often you hear someone who weighs 270 pounds claiming to be "very light and fast."
Then again, it's not often you see an athlete like Antonio Silva, who has to cut weight to make the 265-pound cutoff when weighing in for a mixed martial arts (MMA) fight.
Such will be the case when "Bigfoot" tips the scale next week in "Sin City," as he prepares to take on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez at the UFC 146 pay-per-view (PPV) event on May 26, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Silva was upended by one of Velasquez's teammates, Daniel Cormier, last year in Strikeforce, after "DC" beat him to the punch using his speed and agility, something "Pezao" expects from his opponent next weekend in the co-main event of the "Dos Santos vs. Mir" fight card.
That's why, Silva explains to MMA Fighting, he's employed the services of fight nutritionist Mike Dolce:
"For first time I'm at 270 three weeks out of the fight. Things are going extremely well, I'm very light and fast. We're diametrically opposed. I have jiu-jitsu and he has wrestling. I see his speed and his lightness and I'm trying to counter it. I faced three great opponents in Strikeforce, [Fabricio] Werdum, Fedor, and Arlovski, now I get the chance to face guys like Velasquez. It's a great opportunity the UFC has given me."
Silva was riding the wave of momentum in last year's Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament after putting the screws to former PRIDE deity Fedor Emelianenko; however, that party was crashed by Cormier in the semifinals. All's well that ends well, from a career perspective, as Silva now gets the chance to reinvent himself inside the Octagon.
Against one of the very best heavyweights on the planet.
Who ya' got?
See more on their pending match-up right here.
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