Thiago Silva believes Shogun will beat Rashad

Thiago Silva has backed his fellow Brazilian fighter to beat Rashad Evans when they meet in the UFC.

Rua is not expected to return to action until 2011 after injuring his knee during his title win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 113.

“Rashad has a good defensive game. He’s using it in every single fight he does… He did it with me, did it with Rampage and I don’t see him doing it differently against Shogun because Shogun is a great guy standing and on the ground too,” Silva told Tatame.

“I’ve trained with him and I believe Rashad doesn’t have the tools to beat him, unless he brings him to the ground and gets him stuck there, just like he did with me. If Shogun blocks his takedowns, he wins, for sure.”