by King Hazard
When Chris Weidman (10–0) defeated former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva (33–5) at UFC 162 in July, it was arguably the biggest upset in the history of combat sport. It wasn’t just because Silva was dethroned for the first time in the UFC, but mainly because of the way he lost the fight that pissed off most MMA fans, including myself.
You can argue that Silva wasn’t fighting at 100%, he went a little overboard taunting Weidman in the second round at UFC 162. But you can’t argue that he made the biggest mistake in his career, otherwise there would’t be an immediate rematch with Weidman six months later. Even the former champion now admits he made “basic mistakes” in that fight, and is working them out at his Brazilian training camp for UFC 168.
Silva said:
My mistakes in that fight, and that’s the first time I’m saying this, were basic mistakes, I did everything I had to do except hit him. I didn’t counterattack. When I stopped with my feet parallel, I should have hit him and walked one step behind. I didn’t do that. I saw my mistakes and I’m working on that to train for this next fight.
The pound-for-pound king in MMA also said that his rematch with Weidman is “going to be a tough fight, and it won’t last too long if it stays standing,” which rings true considering Silva is known for the most finishes in the UFC. In his middleweight reign before UFC 162, Silva held 16 consecutive wins and finished 14 of them by either knockout or submission.
UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva 2 will be held on December 28, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The co-main event also features a rematch and title defense between UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate.
Stay tuned to Yell! Magazine for more updates on UFC 168.
UFC 168 Fight Card
Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva [MW title]
Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate [Women’s BW title]
Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne
Michael Johnson vs. Gleison Tibau
Uriah Hall vs. Chris Leben
Diego Brandao vs. Dustin Poirier
Manny Gamburyan vs. Dennis Siver
Fabricio Camoes vs. Jim Miller
William Macario vs. Bobby Voelker
Siyar Bahadurzada vs. John Howard
Estevan Payan vs. Robbie Peralta
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