Anderson Silva, the greatest fighter in MMA history, has been reduced to an “easy payday” for Chris Weidman, with all due respect, of course.
The skepticism has apparently worn thin on the reigning UFC middleweight champ, who soundly defeated Silva in back-to-back bouts in 2013. In most cases, an undefeated record, two wins over Silva and a successful title defense against Lyoto Machida would have been more than enough to convince the masses.
But for Weidman, the road as champion has been a broken one of trilogy talk and “lucky” victories. In an interview with Fox Sports, Weidman spoke with supreme confidence in light of all the skeptics waiting for him to fall off the top:
With all due respect to the division, no one is beating me at 185. Sorry. I think everybody is talented. I think everyone has a threat, but none of them are beating me. … Anderson Silva a third time? If that’s what people want to see then it will happen. Easy payday? Yeah pretty much. With all due respect.
Weidman shocked the world last July by knocking out Silva and winning the UFC title. He then went on to defeat the MMA legend a few months later in an immediate rematch.
However, it wasn’t a knockout that led to Silva’s undoing the second time out.
The former UFC champ broke his tibia and fibula after having a leg kick checked on Weidman’s knee. It was a horrifying injury that by all accounts appeared to be career-ending. But a champion’s mentality and months of intense rehabilitation helped Silva overcome one of the most gruesome injuries ever witnessed in the UFC.
Initially, Silva didn’t seem overly interested in pursuing the UFC title or a rematch with Weidman, but during an appearance on Brazilian show Passando a Guarda, per MMAFighting’s Guilherme Cruz, the former champ expressed a desire to finish out the remaining fights on his contract and possibly even compete once again for a world title.
The speculation is sure to hit a climax when Silva makes his Octagon return on January 31 against Nick Diaz. Meanwhile, Weidman is slated to defend the middleweight title against Vitor Belfort on February 28.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
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