It’s pretty clear his first loss in the UFC is getting to Anderson Silva.
Seconds after the greatest MMA fighter ever was knocked out cold by Long Island’s Chris Weidman at UFC 162 on July 6, Silva said he didn’t want a rematch and no longer wished to fight for the middleweight title he held for seven straight years. The Brazilian was “tired” and sick of the monotony of training.
Basically, Silva was shell shocked. Because less than a week later he was agreeing to a rematch with Weidman at UFC 168 on Dec. 28 back in Las Vegas. And this weekend, a video surfaced of Silva getting very emotional – crying even – when talking about his first legitimate loss since 2004.
The legitimacy of the knockout is actually what caused tears to stream down Silva’s face. The pound-for-pound king is known for his antics in the cage – from dropping his hands to challenging his opponent to punch him. He took things too far in the second round against Weidman and paid for it. But because of the clowning, some fans – and a SI.com roundtable discussion – thought the fight might have been fixed.
When asked about it on the Brazilian show “Legendarios,” Silva said he would never participate in a fight fix or throw a bout, because of how it would shame his native country of Brazil, according to Portuguese translations.
It’s hard to believe Silva, 38, isn’t being sincere. A video blog also showed him crying immediately after the fight when he addressed his team and trainers.
The general public has never seen a Silva like this. He has always been confident and cocky in front of cameras. Emotions have rarely come into play and Silva doesn’t usually allow people to get into his head, to know what he’s truly feeling.
What will this new Silva mean in the rematch? Well, it seems like he’s taking things very seriously. UFC president Dana White doesn’t expect to see any antics against Weidman in December and he sat down for lunch with Silva this week.
Maybe this is a humbled Silva. Maybe he has realized what that unprecedented seven-year reign atop the UFC’s middleweight division truly meant to him. It could be a different, more determined Silva than ever when he steps into the Octagon against Weidman again.