If there’s one thing Brazilian MMA fans are known for it’s for their partisanship passion whenever a Brazilian fighter is competing. An argument can be made that no name in MMA is as revered in Brazil as the great Anderson Silva. And when Silva competes at UFC 237 on Saturday May 11 from the Rio Olympic Arena in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, his opponent, Jared Cannonier is fully prepared to for any possible crowed reaction, including be on the wrong ,side of that Brazilian MMA zeal…and he’s excited about it:
“I’m actually excited to be doing this, going into enemy territory, in a place that’s infamous for their undying support for their heroes,” Cannonier told MMA Junkie. “But that’s fine. I’m interested to see how they receive me, to be honest. Are they going to be like, ‘Anderson’s going to kick your ass,’ are they going to be like ‘We hate you, get the hell out of Brazil, we want to see you get your ass kicked.’
“Are they going to be like, ‘We respect you, we’re fans of you, we love how you carry yourself, but Anderson’s going to win?’ Are they’re just going to want to see a really good fight?”
One audience scenario that Jared Cannonier is particularly confident about, though, is the end result of applause for both the Brazilian crowd’s hero Anderson Silva as well as himself after the show he expects to be put on in event’s co-main event:
“Either way, they’re going to see a good fight. Whether they love me, whether they hate or whether they’re neutral, it’s going to be a really good fight. After the fact, they’re going to cheer for both of us.”
In Jared Cannonier’s last contest, he made his middleweight debut against David Branch, in a fight where Cannonier earned the second-round KO in a short-notice fight. Anderson Silva last competed at UFC 234 against current interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
How do you expect the Brazilian audience to react towards Jared Cannonier? And do you believe it will play a role in his fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 237?
