Bruno Silva is unhappy with the outcome of his UFC Atlantic City fight against Chris Weidman, alleging that multiple eye pokes were ignored by the referee, leading to his loss, and plans to file an appeal with the commission.
Bruno Silva’s not too thrilled about how things went down at UFC Atlantic City. He’s got a bone to pick with Chris Weidman and referee Gary Copeland.
Silva suffered a third-round TKO loss to Weidman. The fight was marred by multiple eye pokes, including two right before Copeland called it off. Silva didn’t take it lying down. He protested right away, and the replay showed he had a point. He’d been poked in the eye during Weidman’s final assault.
Silva didn’t mince his words when talking to MMA Fighting on Sunday. “The ref was bizarre,” he said. “He messed up, then messed up again. They should’ve called it a no-contest. He stuck his finger in my eye.”
But no-contest it was not. The commission ruled it a technical decision in Weidman’s favor. All three judges gave the ex-champ a win in both rounds, plus a 10-9 for the final 2:18. Silva thinks the New Jersey commission was biased towards Weidman, a New York native. He’s planning to appeal.
Silva’s not expecting Weidman to agree to a rematch. But he thinks a no-contest would be fair. “Let’s see what the UFC does,” he said. “I just want things done right. I fought fair and square.”
Silva was shocked when the fight was stopped. “I thought the ref was stopping it because of my eye, but then I saw [Weidman] celebrating,” he said. “No way he knocked me out. I was so angry, I wanted to beat him up. But I knew that would ruin my career. I had to keep my cool.”
Backstage, Silva’s cornerman gave him some news. “They changed the result, and I felt relieved,” he said. “I thought they were going to call it a no-contest, but it was a unanimous win. He poked me in the eye twice, and he still wins?”
Silva wasn’t mad at Weidman at first. But after re-watching the fight, he changed his mind. “Chris Weidman acted in bad faith,” he said. “He spent the whole fight with his fingers in my face, then celebrated like he’d knocked me out.”
Weidman defended himself in the post-fight interview. “You can’t drop to the ground like that if your eye gets poked,” he said. “You’ve got to stand. You can’t just drop. He did that three times, and it caught up to him.”
Silva’s response? “What did he want me to do, smile at him? He put his finger in my eye. It was my eye, not his. Being lectured by the guy in the wrong is unbelievable, right?”
Silva had been respectful towards Weidman before the fight. But if there’s a rematch, he won’t be so nice. “I never liked Chris Weidman,” he said. “But I tried to be professional. Now, after seeing the fight, he was very disloyal. He knows what he did. But admitting he’s wrong? He won’t do that. Only men with character would. If we fight again, it’s going to be different. There will be no loyalty anymore.”