Thousands of Brazilian fans - including retired soccer star Ronaldo - chanted, sang and waved flags for Silva and several Brazilian undercard fighters, creating a semblance of the huge home-cage advantage enjoyed by their fighters back home. Silva's injury in the rematch conceivably could end the 38-year-old Brazilian's MMA career. Weidman, the former Hofstra wrestler, has firmly ended the reign of Silva, who engaged in none of the preening and posturing that might have contributed to his first loss. Silva's nearly seven-year reign atop the middleweight division ended nearly six months ago when Weidman stopped the champion with a left hook at UFC 162. Weidman paid tribute to the injured ex-champion, calling him the greatest fighter in the sport's history. Silva left the octagon with a brace on his leg. Although the injury happened too quickly to be seen by most naked eyes in Las Vegas, thousands of fans cringed audibly when the replay was shown once on the arena's big screens. Silva's injury cast a pall over arguably the UFC's biggest fight card of the year, reminding every fan of the rapidly growing sport of the brutality frequently at its core. Rousey then walked away from her bitter rival's offer of a post-fight handshake, earning ferocious boos from the MGM Grand Garden crowd. Ronda Rousey retained her bantamweight title in the UFC's year-end event, submitting Miesha Tate with a third-round arm bar. "I figured if I (caught) him on my knee, it could really hurt him. "I did work on checking kicks," Weidman said. Weidman, who earned his belt with an upset victory over the long-reigning champion in July, also dominated the first round of the rematch. Weidman (11-0) quietly celebrated his victory while medical personnel tended to Silva (33-6), whose left shin bent grotesquely while landing a kick on Weidman's left leg 1:16 into the round. Chris Weidman defended his UFC middleweight title when Anderson Silva broke his left leg on a kick in the second round, ending UFC 168 with a horrific injury Saturday night.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |