Former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva is awaiting a new opponent for UFC 212 after Kelvin Gastelum was pulled from the encounter.
Silva also has a history with former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman, as Weidman defeated Silva to become the UFC Middleweight Champion.
Weidman has been involved in some controversy lately involving the ending of his UFC 210 fight against Gegard Mousasi.
For those who didn’t see the fight for themselves, the fight ended when Mousasi nailed Weidman with a pair of knee strikes to the head that were originally deemed illegal by referee Dan Miragliotta. Moments after Weidman was being checked by doctors for the illegal knee strikes, instant replay showed that the strikes were not illegal, which was relayed to Miragliotta. Miragliotta then went to the doctors and Weidman to tell them that the fight must continue, but the doctors deemed Weidman unable to continue and that prompted the referee to award the fight to Mousasi via second round TKO.
The Brazilian MMA legend is under the impression that Weidman’s luck simply ran out on him.
“I quickly saw a clip the guys showed me on their phones,” Silva said to MMA Junkie. “The rule is very clear: He didn’t have his hand on the ground. So, he was kneed and the knee was legal. The rule is clear. If he has his hands on the ground, four points of contact, you can’t hit him. Mousasi lifted him off the ground when he was hitting. It was the ref’s mistake, obviously, and when he put his hands back there, he was defenseless. But these are things that happen. Weidman is a very lucky guy, and this time he wasn’t lucky. He’s very lucky, but his luck ran out. He had some luck for a while, and now it’s over.”
UFC 208 was the event that saw Silva get his first win in many years, as he defeated Derek Brunson via decision.
For the former middleweight champion, being back in the win column was just a normal thing.
“It was normal,” Silva said. “It’s about training, a lot of training, and going in there happy. With a good head. There are variables, a fight is a fight, but I went in there to be happy. I’ve been through every stage of this sport, good and bad, so nothing else will make me go, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this happened.'”
UFC 212 takes place on Saturday, June 3 from the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil with Jose Aldo and Max Holloway headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event.
