Anderson Silva vs Michael Bisping Fight Preview, News: Brazilian Great Returns After Year-Long Drug Suspension
The London fight scene will experience fireworks this coming weekend when UFC Fight Night 84 takes place at the famed O2 Arena, highlighted by the return of Brazilian mixed martial arts great Anderson Silva, who will be facing hometown fighter Michael Bisping. The fight will be for the middleweight championship.
The Feb. 27 event marks the return to the Octagon for one of the best fighters in the history of combat sports. After sitting out one year to serve his suspension after using PEDS, he now will try to regain lost glory against Bisping, and there's good reason to believe that this might be Anderson's only chance left to once again become middleweight king.
The 40-year-old was a force in the division that was incomparable and unmatched. He wreaked havoc for seven straight years without any single fighter threatening his reign. However, all the success came crashing down when he failed a drug test after his unanimous decision victory against Nick Diaz in UFC 183 in January 2015. It was later revealed that he tested positive for two anabolic steroids in pre-fight drug screening.
But this comeback fight is no easy task for him, especially with the fact that he's been out of competition for more than a year. Bisping is a hard-nosed British MMA fighter who hasn't lost a match when competing at home. He sure has all the motivation to beat one of the best fighters in history and the crowd is on his side on this one.
The fighters clearly don't like each other, as seen in the pre-fight buildup and interviews. The Brazilian Silva likes to talk trash, while Bisping does not really back down from any of those.
While Silva is already old for mixed martial arts standards, his skills are rare and phenomenal. His greatest advantages heading into this fight are his long reach and lethal strikes. Bisping, on the other hand, will look to put the fight on the ground to have the best chance of defeating Silva.