Chris Weidman beat Anderson Silva, but he didn’t really beat him, according to Silva’s manager, Ed Soares.
Most of you are probably confused and scratching your heads right about now. Yes, Soares is referring to the same Weidman who defeated Silva twice in the same year for the UFC middleweight title.
According to Soares, Weidman should be respected for being the first man to win a fight against Silva in the UFC, but he wouldn’t go as far as saying Weidman actually beat Silva:
Regardless, he won the fight. I wouldn‘t say he beat him, but he won the fight, Soares told The Hollywood MMA Show. He won the competition and you have to congratulate him — what he’s done nobody’s ever been able to do, one of them is knock out Anderson Silva and the other thing is beat Anderson Silva twice. Nobody’s ever done that, so congratulations to him.
Respect isn’t easy to come by these days, especially if you’re Chris Weidman.
The standout All-American wrestler from Hofstra University has been battling skeptics ever since UFC 162, when Silva danced around like a ninth member of the Jabbawockeez before getting toe tagged by a left hook in the second round. Some watched the fight and truly began to appreciate Weidman’s world-class talent, while the vast majority seemed to hang the outcome more on Silva not taking the fight seriously.
As promised, Weidman offered Silva an immediate rematch in December to settle the score once and for all. But in the end, the only thing that got settled was the fact that Silva may never walk right for the rest of his life.
The number two proved to be unlucky for Silva once again after breaking both his tibia and fibula in the second round after having a leg kick checked by Weidman. It was the type of injury that gives grown men nightmares.
A win is a win for Weidman, but obviously, it wasn’t the way he envisioned the victory. Unfortunately, the same skeptics calling the first bout a fluke have shoved the rematch into the same category. How many times does Weidman have to beat Silva before he actually beats him?
Perhaps the third time will be the charm. During an appearance on Sherdog Radio Network’s Beatdown show, Soares claimed that Silva’s camp wasn’t ruling out the possibility of another immediate rematch with Weidman.
He expects Silva to make a full recovery and return to fighting at 100 percent possibly within the year.
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