Anderson Silva pretty much threw away the UFC middleweight belt he has held since 2006 in Saturday’s match in Las Vegas against Chris Weidman — and both fans and commentators are outraged that Silva has only his own showboating to blame for the knockout punch he received in the second round.
The cocky, disrespectful, and perhaps even distracted Anderson Silva didn’t touch gloves with Chris Weidman at the beginning of the UFC 162 fight . Silva taunted Weidman yet didn’t really seem to be all that engaged, causing him to lose the round 10-9 Weidman.
The taunts started again in round 2. The Los Angeles Times described the results this way:
“Silva was bobbing his head around dodging Weidman’s punches but then got hit with a hook he didn’t see and that was it. Just a moment before Silva was knocked out he was wobbling his knees pretending to be hurt to mock Weidman.”
Chris Weidman was exuberant about the win, telling Fox Sports:
“We expected him to do things like that. He’s done it plenty of times in a lot of fights. I don’t see him as being cocky. He’s trying to mentally defeat you in there. It got to the point when he was doing it, ‘You know what? Screw this. I’m hitting him.’”
Weidman has now improved to 10-0 and remains undefeated as he claimed the belt to end Anderson Silva’s lengthy reign at the top. But Silva fans are furious that the showboating caused the loss.
In this Bruce Blitzed commentary, you can hear an f-bombing dropping Not Safe For Work rant about how Anderson Silva threw away his title:
Twitter was outraged about Anderson Silva’s stupid showboating loss as well:
I’m disappointment in Anderson Silva. Not because he lost but because of the way he lost.
— Lon (@Keleen_C) July 7, 2013
Delighted for Chris Weidman after Anderson Silva’s taunting, be careful what you wish for Anderson #ufc162
— Leon Taylor (@theLeonTaylor) July 7, 2013
Every Sport needs a showman @SpiderAnderson but ultimately your arrogance and lack of respect was your downfall #ufc162 #SilvavsWeidman
— Thomas Bennett (@tommyben81) July 7, 2013
Did I just read that Anderson Silva lost his first ever fight by KO while he was taunting with his hands down?
— B.ray.B Holy Grail (@RobBob17) July 7, 2013
At the time of writing, the actual knockout punch by Chris Weidman delivered to Anderson Silva was under embargo by Pay Per View. However, an instagram photo by Saiful Merican tells the tale:
