If one were looking for new UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman to make inflammatory remarks about his UFC 162 opponent Anderson Silva, he should not have bothered attending the post-fight press conference.
There–and in an interview that immediately preceded it on Fuel TV–Weidman was largely gracious towards his opponent, showing little sign that he held Silva’s in-ring taunting and mockery in contempt. Sure, Silva’s open encouragement for a striking battle might have altered Weidman’s gameplan, but it did not necessarily change the new champion’s favorable opinion of the consensus greatest fighter of all-time.
Oh, and it also gave Weidman an opening to score a knockout win and earn the Middleweight Championship.
“You have a certain respect for a guy after the fight. I love the guy. I feel for him, but I’m happy where I’m at,” noted Weidman in the Fuel interview.
But raw emotion is not the easiest entity to control, and though Weidman remained calm, upbeat and respectful in his post-fight interviews, a video clip from immediately after his shocking knockout victory confirms he was not entirely accepting of Silva’s in-ring antics.
Shared by Luca Fury, a Vine video from cageside reveals Weidman mouthing “that disrespectful piece of shit,” in reference to Silva, as he circled the cage in celebration of his knockout win.
Weidman would later identify Silva’s in-ring antics, which included dropping his hands, encouraging Weidman to take a free shot and even feigning impact from punches, as an effort to control the mental aspect of the fight, it was clear that in the heat of the moment, Weidman saw the behavior in a more negative light.
