Chris Weidman successfully defended his UFC middleweight title on December 28; defeating the man he took the title from earlier in the year, Anderson Silva. The end came at the 1:16 mark of Round 2 when Weidman checked an attempted kick from Silva, snapping Silva’s leg.
The image of Silva’s left leg basically folding around Weidman’s left leg is one that will stay with those that saw the injury, whether live or via replay, for a long time. It was one of the most horrific injuries to ever take place inside the Octagon.
When the break occurred, Silva dropped to the mat in agony, holding his damaged limb as referee Herb Dean rushed in to stop the fight and prevent Weidman from doing any further damage. Seconds later, as Weidman ran around the Octagon with his arms raised in triumph, someone in Weidman’s corner was caught on the red corner audio feed uttering the unfortunate sounding phrase, “Good, f—- him. Good.”
On Monday, the mystery man came forward and explained himself.
That man was none other than former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra. Serra was in Weidman’s corner at the MGM Grand along with Ray Longo and Chris Weidman’s father when Weidman successfully defended his title.
Serra appeared on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour and explained to Ariel Helwani exactly what transpired, and the reason he uttered those words as Silva writhed in pain, “I heard the thing, and then at first, I was like, ‘Oh, what did [Ray] Longo say?’ Then I was like, ‘Oh man, f—, that was me.’ It was me! I said it,” It’s not good. It’s not good at all.”
Serra said that at first he didn’t recall the incident, “I totally forgot that I even said that. The thing is this, when you’re in the corner, none of us saw what happened. We saw him just drop. I didn’t see Chris throw a strike.”
Serra then tried to put the incident in perspective, saying that it was said in the heat of the moment, or as he told Helwani, said while “in battle mode.”
Serra went on to say, “For two months, me and Longo are talking every night, ‘Alright listen man, he (Silva) does this, he does these shenanigans. This is where he’s going to f— him. This is where the kid’s going to f— him. This is where Chris is going to get him. If he gets him here on the floor, I swear this is where he’s going to f— the guy.’ This is how we talk. I hate to say it, but I’m being honest with you, this is how we talk when we’re getting ready for a fight.”
For those that are of the opinion that it was poor sportsmanship or in bad taste, Serra stressed that he didn’t see what happened to Silva until the next day and stressed, “We’re not heartless pricks. We’re not bad sportsmen.”
As evidence of that fact, Serra said that he did get in contact with Silva’s manager Ed Soares and explained things to him. Serra also apologized on Monday, “If I hurt anybody’s feelings that are close to Anderson like his kids or his wife, I do apologize.”
Silva had surgery immediately following the fight to stabilize his broken leg.
About the author
