Anderson Silva Doesn’t Think Chris Weidman Won At UFC 168
The aftermath of Anderson Silva’s UFC 168 loss was filled with questions about Silva’s health, possible retirement and the manner in which he lost. There were those that felt he was defeated convincingly, but also some fans that feel the fight could have gone Silva’s way.
Middleweight champion Chris Weidman spoke about his extensive focus on leg kicks during training; claiming to have worked hard on checking Silva’s infamous kicks. Silva remained humble in defeat, but has spoken out today to reveal a very different opinion about his loss at 168:
“I believe that, if you pay attention to these technical details, you will see that (checking the kick) was instinct, not something that he trained to do,” Silva said during an interview to Globo. “No, I don’t think (Weidman should consider it a win). It was an accident. And I’m pretty sure I would have won the fight.”
It comes as a surprise to hear Silva say that he feels Weidman got lucky, but you had to expect some sort of comeback from Silva. Weidman, although respectful, seemed a little over zealous in his post fight celebration. Although this could well be attributed to the fact that he feels he trained the technique that won him the fight.
“I can see some technical mistakes I did in the fight,” he said. “To land the perfect kick, I needed to distract him by punching him in the face so he wouldn’t pay attention to the kick. He was protecting the upper part of his body, and the raised leg instinctively. The kick was so strong he lost balance.”
“I saw my mistake, and now I’m only worried about my comeback,” he said. “If the UFC thinks I deserve another opportunity (against Weidman) or if I need to earn it. I just want to do what I do, it doesn’t matter if it’s for the title or not. I want to do what I do well.”
Silva’s illustrious MMA career is filled with incredible knockouts and edge of the seat thrillers, but he should call it quits if he is past his prime. We see too many fighters battling on longer than they should, and I hope that Silva’s comments about Weidman aren’t a sign of his pride taking over.
“(You should stop fighting) when you feel you need to stop, when your body and head says that. I think I still have a lot of things to do. I don’t plan to stop now. I’m getting stronger every day, and I will be back soon.”
Just returning to MMA after such a terrible injury will be a huge achievement for ‘The Spider’; the real question is will it be too late for him to make another title run?
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea for USA TODAY Sports
