Anderson Silva injured for Chris Weidman fight at UFC 162, fought 'All American' at just '85 percent'

You have to give former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Anderson Silva credit.

Not because he fought Chris Weidman with a rib injury at UFC 162 last July, but rather because he waited this long to start up with the excuses reasons for why he was knocked clean out inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I guess we should dab a little Wite-Out next to that asterisk for "Smoked for Clowning Around" and move it over to "Had a Boo-Boo." That's according to our fine friends over at MMA Fighting, who were on hand to get comments from "The Spider" regarding an initial report that he blew out his ribs earlier this year.

"It was good that you mentioned this because I was really hurt. Nobody mentioned this yet, but that's not an excuse for my performance. It was a below where I was injured for my first fight with Chael Sonnen. That's it. I was at 85 percent of my physical condition. I can't talk about this because anything I say can be used against me. It's in the past. I'm okay now."

He can't talk about it, which is why he was talking about it.

Not that it matters, as Silva will have a chance to prove that he is, in fact, the better man when he rematches Weidman at the upcoming UFC 168 pay-per-view (PPV) on Dec. 28, 2013 at the same location in "Sin City" where he was originally dethroned.

It should be noted that Silva's camp also blamed a rib injury for his shoddy performance against Chael Sonnen way back at UFC 117.

Even if Silva was competing at just "85 percent," he may not have been at much of a disadvantage against Weidman, who was coming off a one-year layoff, as well as major shoulder surgery. But was it just a "lucky punch," as Silva claimed last week on the UFC 168 media tour, or is the new champ here to stay?

We'll find out in less than three months.