UFC 162: Chris Weidman KO’d the Greatest in Anderson Silva, Now Change Is a Comin’.

When the greatest fighter in the world falls, a lot can change. In the case of Chris Weidman catching Anderson Silva flush on the chin and ending an almost decade long run for the former champ who had become known as the GOAT (Greatest of All Time), super fight talks have died, fans are raging on all sides, and even Vitor Belfort is losing his mind at the moment. Out of all the craziness, is Daddy Dana freaking out about the way Silva went down?

“Yah no it’s not to me though,” said Dana to a reporter who seemed to feel the fight had went badly due to the way Silva danced around and got caught. “I mean he went out there and he fought the way that he fought. He did what he did. You know again I said if he’s doing all this stuff, and then ends up clipping him and knocking him out, you’re just like holy shit this guy’s a genius. He defended the ground, pulled Weidman out of his game, and ended up knocking Weidman out or whatever, it’s just that’s the way he chose to fight tonight.”

That one reporter wasn’t the first and definitely won’t be the last to criticize Silva’s latest performance. Fans have been blowing up twitter, raging to each other, and over all reacting in the same way someone would who can’t get a bad taste out of their mouth.

Of all the people to defend his strategy, Chris Weidman had something to say on the matter at the post fight press conference, late last night. “I don’t seem him as being cocky,” said Weidman. “I see him as trying to mentally defeat you in there, and that’s just part of the warfare. It’s like any other type of style, it works for him. I tried to not let it get in my head.”

“Anderson Silva’s won his fights, a lot of his fights, because of what he did, and what I caught him on. He’s not letting his defenses down, it looks like he is, but he know exactly what he’s doing. I capitalized on it and a lot of other guys couldn’t do that. And so I’m not trying to take that away from myself.”

Not all the professionals last night felt the same way though. Joe Rogan immediately started criticizing Silva’s performance. He kept making remarks about how dangerous it is to step in to the cage with professional fighters and act the way Silva does at times.

He’s right, Silva walks a thin line every time he employs his unique brand of fighting. But that’s why genius is such a thin line away from insanity.

If anything, it sets up a very intriguing dynamic for a potential rematch between the two. “Do I think he would do it again in the rematch?” said Dana White. “There’s no way in hell. I think you’re going to see a much more serious Anderson Silva. I think it’s going to be a completely different fight.

Of course Anderson Silva stated the same thing in every single post fight interview last night. He doesn’t want a rematch. “Let me tell you what,” said Dana. “Anderson Silva has lost fights on his record. Anderson Silva doesn’t know what it feels like to lose. It’s been a very long time since he’s lost. I’m sure that’s sinking in. You know he’s gotta deal with that for a few days. I guarantee you no matter what he says publically, we’ve had this conversation before, I guarantee there’s nothing he wants more than that rematch with Chris Weidman.”

So the rematch will probably happen, and it couldn’t be more fitting. If Chris Weidman wants to further his legacy, enrich his personal brand, and ultimately make the most money, giving Silva a rematch makes sense. Yet when the champ loses and is offered a rematch, other contenders in the division usually have something to say on the matter.

“Believe me Vitor, I must have 172 text messages from Vitor Belfort in my phone right now,” said Dana. “He’s a man of God but I’m pretty sure he was swearing at me in a few of them. I just kept texting him back, rematch.”

On a side note, Mark Munoz who beat up Tim Boetsch in a three round pound fest that same night wants his rematch against Chris Weidman. Regardless of what everyone wants, we will all have to wait and see what the Greatest Of All Time decides to do next.

“I always say that I do my best and tonight I felt like I did my best,” said Silva. “Tonight I tried to induce Chris in to playing my game and that didn’t work, he threw some shots that landed, and I got caught. So obviously my game plan didn’t work tonight and I can’t make any excuses, it is what happened, and I never would fight a fight to lose and I trained four months for this fight to win this fight and it is what happened. A fight’s a fight.”

“First of all we need to respect my opponent. Chris is now the champion, and he won the fight. But really right now I’m thinking about being home and taking some time off… There’s a lot of pressure in defending this title, and I think I need some time for myself.”