As a longtime fan of Anderson Silva, it was hard watching the legend get so brutally knocked out by Chris Weidman at UFC 162.
While the tired adage that “anything can happen in MMA” couldn’t have rang any truer than on Saturday night, one day later it’s still difficult to believe that somebody actually dethroned The Spider.
But after rewatching the fight several times, I have to say that Silva had it coming to him.
The only thing harder than watching Silva get KO’d was seeing him mock Weidman in such a cocky fashion.
It’s one thing to try and clown an opponent who has little to no striking prowess, but against a young gun with such heavy hands as Weidman, that strategy just isn’t going to fly.
Silva underestimated the 29-year-old, thinking that Weidman was like all the other high level wrestlers that he’s faced in the past.
What he didn’t consider was Weidman‘s focus and refusal to play into The Spider’s web of taunts.
One can easily say that Silva’s hubris cost him this fight, which is extremely evident. However, you have to give Weidman credit for capitalizing on the situation.
It was actually a technically brilliant KO by the challenger, who followed up with great punching combinations that finally caught Silva as he was moving back.
While I certainly respect Weidman‘s skills and give him all the props in the world for finishing Silva last night, an amped up Spider looking for revenge may be too much for the young champ.
Silva just didn’t look like he came to fight on Saturday and paid for it. I doubt that he wants to leave the taste of that kind of a cocky loss in his mouth.
There’s no question that The Spider has the ability to reclaim his belt, but I’m not sure if he wants to.
Silva seemed disinterested in a rematch following last night’s results and his heart just didn’t seem in it.
With all the talks about a possible boxing match with Roy Jones Jr. and Silva’s other career ventures, he may just let Weidman take on another challenger.
I hope that Silva has more fire than he showed last night, but if he doesn’t want a rematch, then the passing of the torch may be already over.
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