Silva: I took the title for granted…a little bit
Anderson Silva had held the UFC middleweight title for six and half years and defended it ten times before being…
Anderson Silva had held the UFC middleweight title for six and half years and defended it ten times before being defeated by Chris Weidman last year. He seemed almost unstoppable, so it is no surpise that maybe he did take his title a bit for granted:
While fans wondered aloud if Anderson Silva’s UFC 162 loss came simply because he didn’t take the fight seriously, the former champ has always called for his followers to respect the man who beat him, Chris Weidman. But with the rematch less than one week away, Silva now can admit he may have taken for granted his role as champion.
Maybe a little bit, Silva, in typical fashion, told MMAjunkie.
Silva supporters largely believed The Spider simply didn’t respect Weidman in their initial meeting, leading to a performance focused more on showmanship than successful striking. Weidman capitalized on Silva’s lack of defense by scoring a second-round knockout and becoming the first man to defeat the Brazilian striker in more than seven years.
Silva has openly admitted a footwork issue led to his demise and insists the faults have been addressed.
The last fight is in the past, Silva said. I’m really looking forward to this next fight, and everything is going to be different.
Obviously we made a few changes. When you see a mistake, you’ve got to get back and see what that mistake is and change a few things. But like I said, that’s in the past, and everything is going to be different from now on.
