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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
At the UFC 162 post-fight press conference, Chris Weidman was very measured in his responses towards Anderson Silva and his clowning around during the fight. He said Silva's antics were all a part of his game, and that he wasn't bothered by what Silva was doing in the fight.
"I don't feel disrespected," Weidman said after the event. We went in there and we fought... We expected him to do that… I don't see him as being cocky. I see him as trying to mentally defeat you out there. That's just part of the warfare, it's like any other style, it works of him. I tried not to let him get into my head. I just kept walking forward, throwing my punches... and it got to the point where I said, screw this, I'm hitting him."
However, that measured response came after a little reflection. It certainly wasn't how he reacted after he knocked Silva out.
In the heat of the moment and out of the frustration presented by Silva's clowning around and goading him to engage, Weidman had some anger to let out. When he scored the KO and was initially walking around the cage in celebration, he was caught on camera calling Silva a "disrespectful piece of s***."
Check out this Vine clip posted by Luca Fury on Twitter:
Video of Chris Weidman calling Anderson Silva "that disrespectful piece of shit" in the cage after the figh... https://t.co/3nDQqwFMr3
So he may have changed that tune after Silva's comments post-fight and after calming down a bit, but he certainly felt disrespected during the fight, and took that out on Silva when he landed that left hook.
Penick's Analysis: To be clear, this post isn't meant to disparage Weidman or his reaction; indeed, this in-cage reaction is more than reasonable. Silva was clowning him and didn't respect his striking power, so he felt he could do what he's done to so many fighters before Weidman and get away with it. That didn't happen, and Weidman knocked him out. He had every right to feel Silva was being a "disrespectful piece of s***" in the moment, and he expressed as much. He softened up considerably as the night wore on, but this was his raw, first reaction to the finish.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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