Atlantic City, NJ — Chris Weidman wound up coming away with a technical decision win at UFC Atlantic City, following a chaotic scene in his fight with Bruno Silva that initially had the outcome announced as a TKO finish.
Replays showed that Silva had been poked not once, but twice ahead of the finishing sequence on the ground; those pokes were actually what caused the Brazilian to drop to his knees. The fouls, which went uncalled, were not the first in the bout, which saw both men poke each other in the eye earlier on.
“I’ll never question a guy if he says he’s getting poked in the eye, but you can’t just drop every time you feel like something’s touching your eyeball,” Weidman (16-7) said following the bout, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “He poked me in the eye bad one time, and I stood there, took it. Unless the ref’s going to say something, I don’t drop.”
Weidman, a former middleweight champ and future Hall of Famer, appeared to poke Silva twice earlier in the bout, while Silva caught “The All-American” at least once. None of the fouls were intentional, and no points were deducted from either fighter. But Silva in particular seemed to be looking to the in-cage official for a solution.
“I come from a wrestling background, it’s a similar thing. You can’t look to the ref for things, they’re not going to help you. Sometimes they’re going to go against you. You’ve got to be always ready, ready to defend yourself at all times. And he dropped again. I don’t know, was he looking for a way out? I don’t know,” questioned Weidman. “But you can’t just turn your back and fall to the ground every time your eyeball feels poked.”
Bruno Silva appeared distraught following the bout, while Chris Weidman celebrated what he thought was a TKO win, as announced by Bruce Buffer. Yet moments after that announcement, the UFC Atlantic City broadcast clarified that the New Jersey commission had opted to go to the scorecards instead, deeming the final fouls to be serious enough upon review. The outcome was still a win for Weidman, but via technical decision, not TKO.
“Obviously I’d rather a TKO, but I get it, I won all three rounds,” said Weidman, who was awarded triplicate 30-27 scores. “So I’ll take it.”
Asked about the potential of retiring had things not gone his way, the 39-year old ex-champ, who has dealt with severe knee and leg injuries in recent years, said it had indeed crossed his mind.
“I considered it plenty of times. I think if I would have lost tonight, if I would have just not got my hand raised, it could have been the last time. I had that in my mind. If I was in there, and I was like ‘ehh I don’t have it anymore,’ I may have put the gloves down. But it didn’t happen. I got the win, so here I am.”
Watch the full UFC Atlantic City post-fight press conference with Chris Weidman above.
