Weidman knocks out Silva at UFC 162, wins middleweight title
Anderson Silva has toyed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division for seven years.
All of that playing finally caught up with him in the main event of UFC 162 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night.
Silva dropped his hands, danced, laughed and taunted Chris Weidman for the last two minutes of the first round, then started the second in similar clownish fashion.
Moments after Silva again feigned dizziness after a Weidman punch, Silva was rocked by a left hook square on the chin that knocked him out, ending the longest winning streak and title reign in UFC history.
Weidman followed with shots on the ground, but the damage had been done. The belt was his.
“We prepared for all that stuff. We had guys doing all kinds of things in the gym,” Weidman said. “I was ready for it. It pisses me off when someone tries to do that to me.
“I felt I was destined for this, but it still feels kind of farfetched. It’s surreal.”
Weidman won the first round after an early takedown that enabled him to control position for nearly three minutes. Once Silva got back to his feet, the hijinks began.
Silva alternated between putting his hands on his hips and straight down at his sides. The Brazilian carried on a conversation with Weidman, laughed after Weidman landed a punch, and drew chuckles from the crowd more than once.
Weidman got the last laugh, taking the belt Silva had won from Rich Franklin on Oct. 14, 2006, just down the street at Mandalay Bay.
Before Saturday, Silva had won all 16 of his UFC fights and successfully defended the belt 10 times.
Silva took a far different tone after the fight than he had displayed inside the cage.
“He has my respect because Chris is the best now. He’s the champion,” Silva said. “You need to respect him. He’s the best.”
Silva said he has no interest in a rematch, but UFC officials are likely to have a different opinion.
Also on the card, former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar halted a three-fight losing streak with a thrilling unanimous decision victory over Charles Oliveira in a featherweight bout.
“It’s nice to talk to you when I’ve got a smile on my face,” Edgar told color commentator Joe Rogan, who does the UFC post-fight interviews inside the cage.
Edgar had lost his lightweight belt to Benson Henderson, then dropped the rematch. He then dropped to 145 pounds and lost to champion Jose Aldo in his debut in the class. All three losses came by decision.
While Oliveira did his share of damage throughout Saturday’s bout, Edgar shook it off and inflicted even more to leave little doubt for the judges. He won all three rounds on two cards, and lost only the first round on the third card.
Middleweight Mark Munoz rebounded from a crushing defeat and a bout with depression that led to his gaining more than 70 pounds with an impressive performance in a unanimous decision victory over Tim Boetsch.
Munoz, who fought for the first time since being knocked out by Weidman nearly a year ago, started slow in the first but took down Boetsch several times in each of the final two rounds and pummeled his body with hard punches throughout the final 10 minutes.
“I’m feeling so happy. I’m home back in the octagon, and I knew if I just kept working and kept pushing, I’d get the win,” Munoz said. “I was hitting him with everything I had, so I really appreciate just pushing through and getting the win.”
Cub Swanson kicked off the main card by rallying after a tough first round to knock out Dennis Siver with a spectacular combination of strikes midway through the third.
Swanson spent most of the first round on his back, but started to find his range in the second. He was landing at will early in the third when he dropped Siver. Swanson followed with a series of right hands, pausing on two occasions to alert referee Herb Dean that he felt Siver had enough. Soon enough, Dean agreed.
It was the fifth victory in a row for Swanson since losing his UFC debut. The victory puts him squarely in the middle of the logjam of title contenders in the crowded featherweight division.
“I’m the No. 1 contender in the division,” Swanson said. “When I get that call for my next fight, I will be ready to go for the belt.”
Also on the main card, Tim Kennedy grinded out a largely uneventful decision over Roger Gracie in the UFC debut of both former Strikeforce fighters.
Longtime UFC middleweight Chris Leben dropped his third straight fight in a lackluster split decision to Andrew Craig, and heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga knocked out Dave Herman in just 17 seconds to highlight the undercard.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
