The fight happened three nights ago now and I still can’t figure out what actually happened.
Wait, that’s a lie. We all know what ACTUALLY happened: Anderson Silva got knocked out by Chris Weidman to end his undefeated run, break his title defence streak and lose the UFC middleweight championship that he has held for seven years.
But what really happened? There are a ton of conspiracy theorists and Silva fanboys out there that will claim that The Spider threw the fight. That’s a nice idea, but here’s the easy counter: Why would someone willingly let another person knock them out? There were opportunities in the first round where Silva could have let his ground defence slip and then tap out to whatever hold Weidman applied. Would that not have been preferable?
Another thing that people are quick to point out is that Silva has done that arrogant little dance in several fights now. He drops his hands, dares his opponent to come at him and swiftly dodges the strikes. It’s a circus act.
Well, this time Silva was caught by a backhand followed by a good left. Good night. I would say that that will teach him to quit acting a fool out there, but does the greatest MMA fighter of all time, at the age of 38 really have to learn anything?
Another thing about this fight was Silva’s comments to the press in the lead up. He talked about how his legacy is cemented and that he had nothing left to prove. He didn’t seem to be taking Weidman seriously at all. He was more concerned about booking a superfight, something that the UFC hasn’t seen that could put him over the top on the legends scale for all time.
Well, his lack of caring about his fight with Weidman really showed and this time his abilities weren’t there to bail him out.
But, speaking of superfights, are they still a possibility? I certainly think so, but only if Georges St. Pierre mans up. It doesn’t matter if Silva is the middleweight champ or not; he’s still the greatest fighter the sport has ever seen. Any fight between Silva and another champ is going to a superfight – the term can’t strictly apply to champ vs. champ fights.
Of course, there’s still the possibility of a rematch with Weidman. But, of course, Silva said after the fight on Saturday night that he didn’t want it and didn’t want to carry the belt any longer. That should be taken as it is: The words of a man that was just knocked silly and not thinking straight.
Dana White said Tuesday that the rematch could happen at the end of the year event, but also pitched it for the event the night before the Super Bowl. White, ever the salesman, said it could be the biggest fight in UFC history – something I very much doubt, but could argue that it is up there.
And for anyone that thinks that Silva is ready to ride off into the sunset, think again. He just signed a 10-fight deal with UFC and that hasn’t even kicked in yet.
What do I think will happen? Silva will definitely fight Weidman again – and it should happen at UFC 16? In December. After that, win or lose, it’s superfight time. It would preferably be against GSP, but more likely against Jon Jones, if Bones hasn’t already started looking at the heavyweight division.
But one thing is for certain, we haven’t seen the last of the great Anderson Silva. He’s not ready to fade away, he’s too smart to even think about that.
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