On December 28, Middleweight champion Chris Weidman capped off 2013 for the UFC with his second consecutive victory over the division’s former top dog Anderson Silva. Early in the second round of their UFC 168 headlining fight, Weidman responded to a Silva low kick with a check that caused Anderson’s leg to snap in half.
The injury has brought forth a lot of questions regarding whether or not Silva will ever again fight in the Octagon. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Weidman gave his perspective on Anderson’s potential return. He also gave his response to those trying to take away from his wins:
“I do want to see him come back, but it would be a very hard transition,” Weidman said. “Physically it’s going to be tough, but it might be more a mental thing that will be a bigger struggle for him. If you put yourself in his shoes, he was known as the greatest of all time, I still think he should be known as the greatest of all-time. … He got knocked out the first fight by me, he never got knocked out before. Then the second fight, gets dropped in the first round, then he breaks leg on me when he’s known as a as kicker. It’s going to be tough for him, I wish him the best, I want him to come back and do great things.”
That said, by defeating Silva a second time after knocking him out in July, Weidman feels he no longer has to answer to people who called his win a fluke.
“I’m never going to win over the respect of certain people and I can tell you one thing,” Weidman said. “After the first fight I felt like needed to prove even to myself that I’m better than him. He started showboating, even though he had done that before, when I knocked him out I surprised myself. But after both fights now, being in the past I can for sure tell you for sure I’m the better fighter. I’m completely comfortable knowing I won both fights.”
After putting Silva behind him with two second round finishes, “The All American” is expected to fight Vitor Belfort later this year on either the Memorial Day or Fourth of July show. In the full interview you can check out Weidman’s thoughts on Belfort’s TRT use and what he thinks about his next challenger.
About the author
