There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White was "embarrassed" by his middleweight champion. In fact, Anderson Silva is responsible for White's "lowest point" as a mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter.
Because "The Spider" fought like a "jackass."
That's a conversation that went down in the wake of UFC 112 from Abu Dhabi in early 2010 (see it here), where Silva acted like a mental patient for the better part of five rounds and left many fight fans scratching their heads. That includes Renzo Gracie, who fought earlier that night against Matt Hughes and was a firsthand witness to his fellow Brazilian's tomfoolery.
Gracie tells The Fight Network (video here) it's because Silva does not respect his opponents.
"Anderson is a guy that rubs many people the wrong way. He's not a humble guy. Even though he may speak humbly when he talks, when he's in the ring he doesn't act humble. He puts down his opponents. He acts in a way that again, we always know what is right and wrong, and by looking at that, we know it's wrong. It's like you can beat your opponent, but do it with respect."
Those memories were quickly erased by Silva's come-from-behind win against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117.
In fact, Silva hasn't been to the judges' scorecards since that bizarre night overseas, when he outpointed Demian Maia to retain his 185-pound title, before moving on to finish his next five opponents. But can he do likewise next month in "Sin City?"
"The Spider" will try to bite Chris Weidman in the UFC 162 pay-per-view (PPV) main event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 6, 2013. Weidman trains under Matt Serra, a longtime student of Renzo's in New York.
And Gracie isn't the only Brazilian to have unkind words for the champ.
If it's true that Silva does not respect his opponents, then the "All American" says he would be a "fool." Will the Brazilian take Renzo's advice and do the right thing on fight night?
We'll find out in just over a week.