Leites ready to end Silva's streak

Thales Leites is ready to end Anderson Silva’s UFC dominance when the two meet at UFC 97 next month.

The 27-year-old is confident ahead of his fight on April 18, but few believes he has a chance to take Silva’s middleweight belt.

Leites said: “At the last WEC, I was there with my friend Jose Aldo, I was in his corner and I met (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva.

“He came up to me and said ‘congratulations for your title shot’ and that when I continued to fight on after taking an illegal knee from Marquardt, at that moment, he thought ‘this kid deserves a title shot’.

“It’s the biggest opportunity of my life. I know I am in the position now that everyone would like to be in.

“In my mind, I see a good fight. If I have to fight him in the stand-up then I will, and if he has to fight on the ground with me, I know he will fight me on the ground – that’s what makes it an interesting fight.

“He has a lot of skills, but he is not unbeatable – he is a man, like everyone else. I feel good. I don’t mind if people call me the underdog, if people don’t believe in me."

Speaking to Eurosport, Leites added: “The most important thing for me is that I believe in me, my family, my coach, my team.

“If they believe, I can do whatever I want. I have been training a long time for this. Something inside me tells me that I can do this.

“I will get out of that cage with the belt, no matter what happens. I can beat him, he can beat me – it will be a huge fight.

“But I believe I can get that belt.”

Tags: Anderson Silva, UFC, WEC