Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as UFC 234 went down inside Rod Laver Arena last Saturday night (Feb. 9, 2019) in Melbourne, Australia. Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Teruto Ishihara, who suffered his third straight loss and five of his last six after coming up short against Kyun Ho Kang. And Sam Alvey, who was beaten up and eventually finished by Jim Crute in the very first round (recap).
And of course, Anderson Silva, who failed to score consecutive wins for the first time in a long time after coming up short against Israel Adesanya in the headlining act. But, it was far from a disappointing defeat, as Silva put on a great show for the fans and hung tough against a man many expected to roll right over the 43-year-old legend (highlights).
Indeed, “The Spider” wasn’t afraid to bang it out with one of the premier strikers in the division, landing a few shots of his own while reaching into his old bag of tricks, leaning against the cage and prompting his foe to come in and exchange. In the end, while Silva was good — better than anyone could’ve imagined, actually — Adesanya was simply a bit better.
Despite the defeat, Silva can proudly hold his head up high knowing that he proved a lot of people wrong despite coming up short. Indeed, he still has something left in the tank at his advanced age. And while he likely won’t compete for another world title before he calls it a career, it’s safe to say the former Middleweight champion won’t be hanging up his gloves anytime soon.
“I’m very happy. It’s very difficult to fight in this sport in the same level when you don’t train hard. I train hard to continue the same level. And tonight I tried to do my best for all my fans and for myself because I love this sport,” Silva said after the fight. “Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I am very impressed because it’s two generations inside the cage and it was a great show for everyone.”
As for what’s next for Silva, that’s a bit unclear, as there are more than few options for the living legend. During the post-fight presser, Silva called for a rematch against Nick Diaz for UFC 237 on May 11, saying things were left unfinished after their original bout a few years ago was overturned to a “No-Contest.”
Former UFC “champ-champ” Conor McGregor also threw his name in the hat to be “Spider’s” next showdown, though UFC President Dana White once against put ice on that match up. Speaking of White, the brash head honcho did say he’d be open for a trilogy fight between Silva and Chris Weidman. “All American” is up 2-0 on Silva, knocking him out at UFC 162, then defeating him at UFC 168 after Silva suffered a nasty leg break in the middle of the fight.
For my money, I would prefer to see the Silva vs Weidman trilogy. Yes, Weidman knocked out Silva clean in their first fight, there is no disputing that, but the rematch left a lot of people unsatisfied with Silva’s leg snapping in half after one of the Brazilian’s kicks was checked by “All American.”
Both men have seen better days, as Weidman is 1-4 in his last five outings, getting knocked out in all four defeats. Silva, meanwhile, is 1-3-1 in his last five fights, which is a stark contrast from his dominant years as champion.
Neither man will be fighting for the title anytime soon, so why not put them in there one more time. Convincing Weidman to sign on the dotted line, though, will be a tough task.
For complete UFC 234 results and coverage click here.
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