http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Silva- ... Bout-21716Thiago Silva doesn’t want his emotions to get the better of him anymore.
The 27-year-old Brazilian striker will be put to task at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas when he faces former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans in the event’s headlining bout.
“One of my (New Year’s) resolutions is to be (as) less emotional as I can be,” said Silva through his translator during a Tuesday teleconference call. “I go there to perform a job and be the best and get a win and put myself on a track to be a champion. A win against Rashad will put me on the track to (champion) Lyoto (Machida).”
Both Silva and Evans were brutally knocked out by Machida in their only career defeats. Silva, however, has had the benefit of already fighting again, as he blasted through Evans’ training partner Keith Jardine in 95 seconds at UFC 102 last August.
“It really boasted my confidence after my loss to Lyoto,” said Silva of the victory. “Lyoto came to make a standard and be the champ.”
Silva noted that the loss to the future 205-pound kingpin especially affected him because Machida wasn’t training with a top team or with recognized trainers at the time.
Evans said he’s already noticed a more mature Silva in his win over Greg Jackson teammate Jardine.
“He became a little more patient and let the fight come to him instead of rushing into it,” said Evans. “That’s something he was doing in his earlier fights when he got caught early.”
Silva, a product of American Top Team, is known for his emotionally charged sendoffs to defeated opponents as much as his trigger-happy hands. In August, Silva hovered over Jardine’s body and pointed to him just seconds after he’d rendered the fighter unresponsive. Silva insisted there were no personal feelings for Jardine attached to the display.
“This wasn’t related directly to Jardine,” he said. “I’d just come back from a big loss and it just was my standup point to say, ‘I’m back.’”
