Strange things happen in the sports world all the time, but Anderson Silva actually welcoming his own demise at UFC 162 is as bizarre as it gets.During an interview with SPORTSNETCANADA, Silva was asked to describe how he wanted his UFC middleweight ti…
Strange things happen in the sports world all the time, but Anderson Silva actually welcoming his own demise at UFC 162 is as bizarre as it gets.
During an interview with SPORTSNETCANADA, Silva was asked to describe how he wanted his UFC middleweight title bout with Chris Weidman to end. His response was chilling to say the least:
“Chris Weidman—Chris Weidman is the best in the world. Chris Weidman, yes, the new champion in the UFC.”
Silva definitely got his wish.
At UFC 162, the pound-for-pound king was finally ousted after a near seven-year reign. Weidman shocked the world by delivering a second-round knockout to win the middleweight title.
Unfortunately, Weidman‘s hard-fought win has been marred by Silva’s befuddling antics. Silva, who is known for toying with his opponents, took the awkward behavior up a notch after losing the first round. This portion of the bout was oddly reminiscent of Silva’s fight with Demian Maia over three years ago at UFC 112, which was so bad that UFC President Dana White threatened to fire him.
Despite all of his bizarre behavior, Silva always came out on top in the end, until he met Weidman.
With only nine professional bouts under his belt, Weidman kept his emotions in check and refrained from becoming overzealous in response to Silva’s taunts. He eventually caught Silva mid-taunt with a left hook followed by a right hand to redirect the course of history. At the end of the fight Weidman was at the top of the middleweight division.
How long will it last?
Weidman is talented enough to stick around for a while and, outside of rumors, Silva hasn’t officially come forward and accepted an immediate rematch. After the fight, the former champ told UFC commentator Joe Rogan he wasn’t interested in the middleweight title or a rematch with Weidman, which is exactly what he told SPORTSNETCANADA a few days prior to the event:
“No man I’m tired bro. No rematch, no rematch. I win and win, go back for all the fights, please.”
It’s no secret White wants a rematch, perhaps even more than Silva. There is something to be said about Siva’s overall disinterest and detachment. Maybe he is tired.
If this is the case, do we really want to see a tired Anderson Silva in a rematch with Chris Weidman?
JordyMcElroy is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon MMA.
Anderson Silva insisted immediately after his knockout loss to Chris Weidman last Saturday at UFC 162 that he didn’t want a rematch. Then again, the guy just had his brain scrambled up real good and probably shouldn’t be held accountable for anything he said in the post-fight interview. A recent tweet from Brazilian journalist Guilherme Cruz who himself cites Lauro Jardim of Veja (I know, we’re stretching it here, but we want to believe) says that “sources close to Anderson Silva revealed he wants a rematch with Weidman on Feb. 2014.”
That would probably be the UFC’s big Super Bowl weekend event, if true. Sounds reasonable, right nation?
Silva is currently serving a forty-five day injury suspension and will need more time than that to even begin to recover from his knockout, at least to the extent that one’s brain can ever recover from being knocked out. Silva ate some thudding shots to the dome in the first round while on his back from Weidman before ever getting knocked out and eating more shots on the ground in the second.
Add a couple decades of damage from sparring and training for the 38-year-old and you’ve got an ex-champ who needs a breather. But, an early February bout would at least give “The Spider” a few months off for nothing but rest before he’d have to get back into a training camp. If he’s going to continue to fight and fight in the middleweight division, that’s about as reasonable a schedule as he’ll likely be offered.
(The courtship continues.)
Anderson Silva insisted immediately after his knockout loss to Chris Weidman last Saturday at UFC 162 that he didn’t want a rematch. Then again, the guy just had his brain scrambled up real good and probably shouldn’t be held accountable for anything he said in the post-fight interview. A recent tweet from Brazilian journalist Guilherme Cruz who himself cites Lauro Jardim of Veja (I know, we’re stretching it here, but we want to believe) says that “sources close to Anderson Silva revealed he wants a rematch with Weidman on Feb. 2014.”
That would probably be the UFC’s big Super Bowl weekend event, if true. Sounds reasonable, right nation?
Silva is currently serving a forty-five day injury suspension and will need more time than that to even begin to recover from his knockout, at least to the extent that one’s brain can ever recover from being knocked out. Silva ate some thudding shots to the dome in the first round while on his back from Weidman before ever getting knocked out and eating more shots on the ground in the second.
Add a couple decades of damage from sparring and training for the 38-year-old and you’ve got an ex-champ who needs a breather. But, an early February bout would at least give “The Spider” a few months off for nothing but rest before he’d have to get back into a training camp. If he’s going to continue to fight and fight in the middleweight division, that’s about as reasonable a schedule as he’ll likely be offered.
Looking towards the possibility of a rematch between Silva and Weidman, betting lines have already been released, and they’ve opened with Anderson as only slightly less of a favorite than he was going into their first bout. According to MMA Fighting, “Sportsbook.com made Silva a -175 favorite (he’s already been bet up to -185), while 5Dimes.eu listed the Brazilian at -140. Weidman is a +155 and +100 underdog on the sites, respectively.”
Looks like the American still has to make believers out of a few more degenerate gamblers. Perhaps after the initial shock of him beating Silva wears off, money will start to come in on Weidman.
Do you want to see the immediate rematch, ‘taters? And, if so, who would you put your money on and why?
Last week, I had you play a word association game regarding a few UFC’s champions. For Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones, I suggested the first word to pop into your head was “boring” and “spurious” respectively. However, when Anderson Silva‘s name came up, I said the word that would first break into your consciousness was “greatness.” Now that I think about it a little more, “hubris” may have taken its place, especially after Silva’s impetuous performance against Chris Weidman during UFC 162‘s main event. You hear the word hubris and almost immediately conjure the scene of Silva clowning Weidman and subsequently getting throttled for it. A ballet of mockery gone awry.
That sequence of events will forever be etched in the memory of MMA fans around the world and, for fans of Greek Mythology, it calls to mind the story of Icarus. As legend has it, Icarus’ father, Daedalus, constructed wings out of feathers and wax for the two of them in hopes of making a jailbreak. The woefully ignorant Icarus, full of hubris, instantly fell in love with flying (something only the gods were able to do), ignored his father’s warning about getting too close to the sun or flying near the sea, and soared as high as his makeshift wings would take him. Tragically, they would take him close enough to the sun that the wax melted, leaving our youthful protagonist flapping his arms in vain. Next thing you know, the falling Athenian crashes into the sea and drowns.
*****
Here we are a few days removed and no one is really sure what to make of the events that transpired at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. To accurately figure out what happened in Vegas over the holiday weekend we should, perhaps, start by identifying what didn’t.
Last week, I had you play a word association game regarding a few UFC’s champions. For Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones, I suggested the first word to pop into your head was “boring” and “spurious” respectively. However, when Anderson Silva‘s name came up, I said the word that would first break into your consciousness was “greatness.” Now that I think about it a little more, “hubris” may have taken its place, especially after Silva’s impetuous performance against Chris Weidman during UFC 162‘s main event. You hear the word hubris and almost immediately conjure the scene of Silva clowning Weidman and subsequently getting throttled for it. A ballet of mockery gone awry.
That sequence of events will forever be etched in the memory of MMA fans around the world and, for fans of Greek Mythology, it calls to mind the story of Icarus. As legend has it, Icarus’ father, Daedalus, constructed wings out of feathers and wax for the two of them in hopes of making a jailbreak. The woefully ignorant Icarus, full of hubris, instantly fell in love with flying (something only the gods were able to do), ignored his father’s warning about getting too close to the sun or flying near the sea, and soared as high as his makeshift wings would take him. Tragically, they would take him close enough to the sun that the wax melted, leaving our youthful protagonist flapping his arms in vain. Next thing you know, the falling Athenian crashes into the sea and drowns.
*****
Here we are a few days removed and no one is really sure what to make of the events that transpired at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. To accurately figure out what happened in Vegas over the holiday weekend we should, perhaps, start by identifying what didn’t.
Late Saturday night, the world picked its collective jaw up from off the floor and tried to process what had just transpired in the Octagon. Could they have really seen what they thought they saw? Moments later, Bruce Buffer confirmed that we had, as only he can — “Aaaaannnd new…!!!” The consensus pound-for-pound greatest of all time, Anderson Silva, had been knocked off the middleweight throne in spectacularly brutal fashion.
Before Joe Rogan removed his headset to make his way into the Octagon for his usual post-fight interview, conspiracy theorists took to social media to call into question the official narrative of the mainstream media. A quick glance at Twitter immediately after the main event revealed that sports fans (myself included) are often prisoners of the moment, blind with emotion, or drunk at 12:30 AM.
If you’ve been on the internet at all in the days since, you’ve heard that Silva threw the fight to set up a lucrative rematch later on down the road, possibly during Super Bowl weekend 2014. You’ve also heard that after 16 years of earning a living cracking skulls in front of thousands of bloodthirsty fans he wanted to retire, and the easiest way he knew how was to put Chris Weidman over and pass the torch. Ideally, this would prevent UFC President Dana White from antagonizing him in the media in an attempt to capitalize on his mystique and drawing power. Let me reassure you…that didn’t happen. Silva didn’t lay down for anyone.
Had the fix been in, as was also suspected in more than a few fights over the years, it would have been more convenient and less humiliating for Silva to have tapped once Weidman applied the leg lock. If a retirement was at the forefront of his mind (Hint: It wasn’t — he still plans on fulfilling his 10-fight contract) simply doing what we all know he is capable of, getting one final ‘W’, and walking off into the sunset the undisputed G.O.A.T. is obviously preferable to potentially besmirching his legacy.
Yet another popular theory surrounding “The Spider’s” charades is that of boredom. Yes, it is believed by some that, out of boredom with fighting (or perceived lack of challenge in his opponent), the UFC middleweight champion needed to up the ante just to keep himself motivated to step into the cage again. By continually dropping his defenses, the runway was lit and waiting for all incoming fists. That in and of itself would’ve been enough of an obstacle for a guy squaring off against such a heavy hitter — but not Silva. He needed to stack the deck against himself even further by showboating around the Octagon.
When you fight like that against Stephan Bonnar, fans get it — you’re not concerned with his ability to shake your hand too hard, let alone erase your consciousness. Do it against an undefeated, two time Division I All-American wrestler with the power to make your eyes roll in the back of your head with the swing of a fist, and expect people to question your game plan. But this wasn’t the first time we’ve seen this out of Silva. Remember UFC 90, 97, 112, or 153? Each of these events are chapters in Silva’s book, The Art of War Clowning, and even more reason not to be surprised at his in-cage antics. Another myth busted. None of the conspiracy theories hold any water if you take more than three minutes to think before you reach your conclusion.
*****
So, what exactly did happen that night? If the champion didn’t throw the fight and he didn’t act any more absurd than in the past, how could this have happened?
Have you considered giving Chris Weidman any credit at all for doing what no one else before him could? Admittedly, I hadn’t until sometime Monday afternoon. At one point I used the words “gift wrapped” when discussing the title changing hands as a result of Silva’s performance against such a dangerous fighter. Like many other MMA pundits, I too was a prisoner of the moment. Now that the dust has settled, it’s painfully clear that the New York native is deserving of more credit for a victory that was far more calculated than it was fortuitous. Either that or Silva was caught flying too close to the sun.
It was bad enough when conspiracies theories begin to pop up about Chris Weidman’s triumph over Anderson Silva this past weekend at UFC 162. Somehow, some people can’t seem to comprehend that Silva isn’t the reincarnation of some Byzantine deity of violence and as such is susceptible to being knocked out, and they’ll engage in whatever mental gymnastics it takes to absolve their hero of the errors that led to his demise. Still, this is the Internet — a place which was the inspiration for Godwin’s law, which holds that “as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches.” Point being, stupidity is an unfortunate but invariable norm of the Internet.
It’s pointless to bother debunking these conspiracy theories. Sane, rational people will be able to conclude that fighters who throw fights don’t allow themselves to be fully knocked unconscious, that fighters who do stoop to such are desperate for cash as a result of not making an exorbitant amount of money quantified by their own name, and that if Silva did intend to throw the fight, he would have just been submitted by the kneebar/heel-hook attempt Weidman attempted in the first round. If that train of thought doesn’t make sense to you, nothing will.
But surprisingly, none of the participants in this discussion for SI felt the need to bring up any of these points. Contestant number one, senior writer Chris Mannix, defended the allegations by asserting that he’s heard rumors of fight-fixing happening in boxing, but “maybe not at the highest level” though. It’s probably worthwhile to point out that it does not appear Mannix has watched the fight in question, or for that matter is familiar with the UFC or MMA in general. Much like a high school student who is asked to offer an analysis of a book he was supposed to read but clearly hasn’t, Mannix grasped for whatever tangential information he can muster in an effort to sound informed and insightful.
He wasn’t successful. His counter-argument to his own non-existent argument was “why would the UFC want Anderson Silva to lose when the potential for a superfight is right around the corner?” That would be solid logic if he’s referring to a fight with Jon Jones or even Georges St. Pierre, but Mannix was actually referring to a bout with Roy Jones Jr. That bout – despite Dana White’s pre-fight bluster – was unlikely to happen in the first place, would not have happened before a real superfight, and probably would not have drawn as much as a real superfight between UFC champions. To his credit, he seems to conclude Silva did not throw the fight. To his lack of credit, he doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about.
(SI debuts its new show, “Internet Commenters: Live!”)
It was bad enough when conspiracies theories begin to pop up about Chris Weidman’s triumph over Anderson Silva this past weekend at UFC 162. Somehow, some people can’t seem to comprehend that Silva isn’t the reincarnation of some Byzantine deity of violence and as such is susceptible to being knocked out, and they’ll engage in whatever mental gymnastics it takes to absolve their hero of the errors that led to his demise. Still, this is the Internet — a place which was the inspiration for Godwin’s law, which holds that “as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches.” Point being, stupidity is an unfortunate but invariable norm of the Internet.
It’s pointless to bother debunking these conspiracy theories. Sane, rational people will be able to conclude that fighters who throw fights don’t allow themselves to be fully knocked unconscious, that fighters who do stoop to such are desperate for cash as a result of not making an exorbitant amount of money quantified by their own name, and that if Silva did intend to throw the fight, he would have just been submitted by the kneebar/heel-hook attempt Weidman attempted in the first round. If that train of thought doesn’t make sense to you, nothing will.
But surprisingly, none of the participants in this discussion for SI felt the need to bring up any of these points. Contestant number one, senior writer Chris Mannix, defended the allegations by asserting that he’s heard rumors of fight-fixing happening in boxing, but “maybe not at the highest level” though. It’s probably worthwhile to point out that it does not appear Mannix has watched the fight in question, or for that matter is familiar with the UFC or MMA in general. Much like a high school student who is asked to offer an analysis of a book he was supposed to read but clearly hasn’t, Mannix grasped for whatever tangential information he can muster in an effort to sound informed and insightful.
He wasn’t successful. His counter-argument to his own non-existent argument was “why would the UFC want Anderson Silva to lose when the potential for a superfight is right around the corner?” That would be solid logic if he’s referring to a fight with Jon Jones or even Georges St. Pierre, but Mannix was actually referring to a bout with Roy Jones Jr. That bout – despite Dana White’s pre-fight bluster – was unlikely to happen in the first place, would not have happened before a real superfight, and probably would not have drawn as much as a real superfight between UFC champions. To his credit, he seems to conclude Silva did not throw the fight. To his lack of credit, he doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about.
Contestant number two didn’t fare much better. Number two – presumably producer Ted Keith – responded that “when [he] read the results on Sunday morning,” he suspected the fix was in. Again, he didn’t watch the fight. He was just surprised by the result, and came to the conclusion that it was most likely fixed, before thinking that if it was fixed, Silva would have won. He went on to say that because the UFC is more loosely regulated than boxing – which is not true, if only because boxing is poorly regulated as well – it was entirely plausible for fights to be thrown as a means to build its brand.
Fortunately, contestant number three – presumably senior producer Andrew Perloff – astutely notes that if the UFC desired to build its brand, why would it jeopardize its momentum by fixing fights? The risk-reward ratio is far too imbalanced for a company still on the rise; any benefit from having the “right” guy win would be vastly overshadowed by the potential pitfalls if the entire legitimacy of the organization came into question. See, this is why Perloff is the senior producer – he actually has some semblance of a brain.
All in all, this is an extraordinarily disappointing segment from Sports Illustrated. For one of the major sports news organizations to lend credence to baseless conspiracy theories that do damage the brand of the UFC and the legitimacy of the sport of MMA is bad enough. But to debate these issues with a panel that hasn’t even watched the event in question and is barely familiar with the sport is not only insulting but poor journalism. As SI continues to cover the UFC going forward, hopefully it will do so with people who actually know what they’re talking about.
Well, this is interesting. The Nevada State Athletic Commission didn’t grant any new therapeutic use exemptions (TUE’s) to fighters for last Saturday’s UFC 162 event but they did grant the first ever TUE for prescription opioid Suboxone to Chris Leben.
The middleweight lost a split decision to Andrew Craig at UFC 162. He has been winning an even more important battle for sobriety, however.
MMA Junkie has been following the story. “The veteran fighter’s exemption offers proof of his efforts to get clean following a well-documented struggle with drugs. In November 2011, he tested positive for oxycodone and oxymorphone following a loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 138 and was suspended by the UFC for one year. It was the second time the promotion benched him following a positive test for the synthetic anabolic stanozolol in October 2008,” they wrote.
Leben has been to rehab and says he’s been sober for fifteen months. Addiction to pain killers is one of the least-talked about pandemics in MMA so Leben deserves credit for making his struggle public.
The NSAC also deserves credit for recognizing when certain controlled substances should be allowed for use by athletes. Better that Leben take a strong opiod under a doctor’s care while during the training and fighting that causes his body pain, than he self-medicate unbeknownst to anyone.
As for his active MMA career, Leben has now lost three fights in a row, and four out of his last five. He is only thirty two years old but has been fighting professionally for eleven years and that takes a toll on the body and mind.
For his part, Dana White told reporters after UFC 162 that he is concerned for Leben, unsure if the TUF 1 veteran will be kept on in the UFC as a fighter but also seem to express a desire to help Leben stay productive and make a living. “Chris Leben has the type of personality that can go off the deep very easily in a lot of negative ways. I really care about the kid,” White said.
“I like him a lot. I love him. So I’ve got to figure this thing out.”
Well, this is interesting. The Nevada State Athletic Commission didn’t grant any new therapeutic use exemptions (TUE’s) to fighters for last Saturday’s UFC 162 event but they did grant the first ever TUE for prescription opioid Suboxone to Chris Leben.
The middleweight lost a split decision to Andrew Craig at UFC 162. He has been winning an even more important battle for sobriety, however.
MMA Junkie has been following the story. “The veteran fighter’s exemption offers proof of his efforts to get clean following a well-documented struggle with drugs. In November 2011, he tested positive for oxycodone and oxymorphone following a loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 138 and was suspended by the UFC for one year. It was the second time the promotion benched him following a positive test for the synthetic anabolic stanozolol in October 2008,” they wrote.
Leben has been to rehab and says he’s been sober for fifteen months. Addiction to pain killers is one of the least-talked about pandemics in MMA so Leben deserves credit for making his struggle public.
The NSAC also deserves credit for recognizing when certain controlled substances should be allowed for use by athletes. Better that Leben take a strong opiod under a doctor’s care while during the training and fighting that causes his body pain, than he self-medicate unbeknownst to anyone.
As for his active MMA career, Leben has now lost three fights in a row, and four out of his last five. He is only thirty two years old but has been fighting professionally for eleven years and that takes a toll on the body and mind.
For his part, Dana White told reporters after UFC 162 that he is concerned for Leben, unsure if the TUF 1 veteran will be kept on in the UFC as a fighter but also seem to express a desire to help Leben stay productive and make a living. ”Chris Leben has the type of personality that can go off the deep very easily in a lot of negative ways. I really care about the kid,” White said.
“I like him a lot. I love him. So I’ve got to figure this thing out.”
UFC middleweight contender Vitor Belfort was anxiously awaiting the result of UFC 162, calling for the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman long before the fight went down. “The Phenom” undoubtedly had to be elated to see Weidman pull off th…
UFC middleweight contender VitorBelfort was anxiously awaiting the result of UFC 162, calling for the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman long before the fight went down.
“The Phenom” undoubtedly had to be elated to see Weidman pull off the upset, being that Silva already convincingly beat Belfort at UFC 126 in February 2011.
As a matter of fact, UFC President Dana White said Belforttexted him 172 times following Weidman‘s knockout insisting that he should be the next in line for a crack at the middleweight strap.
Belfort continued to plead his case for a title shot in an appearance on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.
I guess sometimes you have to ask. So I’m asking. I did everything and now I’m asking. I’m asking for what I deserve. It’s not what I want, it’s what I deserve. And I deserve that. Everybody knows my history in the sport. I’m the T-Rex in this jungle, and I’m so mature; I’m so strong mentally, physically, spiritually, and also my skills, I’ve developed so much. I know that goal is about to be accomplished.
Should Silva stick to his word and decide not to square off with Weidman a second time, it is hard to argue that Belfort is the most credible challenger for “The All-American.”
Since his loss to Silva, the hard-hitting Brazilian has went 4-0 at 185-pounds, including back-to-back headkick knockouts over Michael Bisping and former Strikeforce champ Luke Rockhold.
Belfort also mentioned that he has always been a company man for the UFC, citing his short notice fight with light heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones at UFC 152 in September as the latest example.
As expected, Belfort is no Silva fan and slammed the former middleweight kingpin for the arrogance he displayed in his fight with Weidman.
The first thing you learn (in martial arts) is respect. Your opponent across the other side of the mat, the Octagon, he is the most important person in that moment for you, because that’s the person who makes you compete, who gives you the pleasure to entertain people. But I see martial arts not just from an entertainment side. I see it as a sport. And as a sport, like in NBA, NFL, we have a code of conduct. And that’s something that the UFC, we need to start having that. I think [Silva] really didn’t have any conduct on this fight. He acted inappropriately and it wasn’t the first time, so I hope this will be the last time that he does.
Belfort, who currently trains with the Blackzilians camp in Florida, made a bold claim that if he fought Weidman it would be “more sellable” than Weidman vs. Silva II.
Furthermore, the nearly 17-year fight veteran argues that waiting for Silva to decide if he wants redemption against his Long Island counterpart will take months.
Conversely, Belfort says he is ready to sign the contract for a title fight with Weidman as early as next week.
Does Belfort bring up several legitimate points here or are all his arguments moot anyway, based on the fact that Weidman-Silva II is inevitable?
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
