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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
An oddly bizarre pre-UFC 162 interview with Anderson Silva has put another light on what ultimately happened on Saturday night. Speaking with "Showdown" Joe Ferraro on Canada's Sportsnet prior to the event, Silva was asked what his perfect fight would be. He responded in what seemed like a tongue in cheek, semi-sarcastic manner, but this is how he responded:
"Chris Weidman 'Ahhhh, Chris Weidman is the best in the world! Chris Weidman is the new Champion of the UFC!' Yeah, yeah [that's my perfect fight]."
When asked if that was a perfect fight for him because it would breed a rematch, Silva responded with comments he would echo after getting knocked out by Weidman in the main event.
"No man [not because of a rematch]," Silva said. "I'm tired bro. No rematch. No rematch. I win, I win, go back for all the fights. Please."
Penick's Analysis: Silva's demeanor here and after the fight on Saturday were just odd, and unfortunately it's led to conspiracy theorists coming out of the woodwork. Yes, Silva kept his hands down and left himself open to that type of finish, but it's not as if that was something new. He's done that in fight after fight after fight, because it's never felled him before. He's never had to deal with getting hit right on the button in those situations, and he thought he would be able to take advantage of an over aggressive Weidman as he's done over and over before. There's clearly some part of him that seemed to be over being Champion, especially after the fight, but I refuse to believe he'd have gone in and intentionally lost any fight, and there's certainly no way he'd intentionally get himself knocked out. Weidman was simply able to take advantage of Silva's antics in a way no other fighter has been able to do, and ultimately I think there will be a rematch. Still, these comments from before the fight are just odd.
[Anderson Silva art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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