Anderson Silva is the most perplexing athlete in mixed martial arts. On Saturday night in London, Michael Bisping defeated Silva via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in an odd, controversial and entertaining bout. The UFC congratulated both men after the fight:
Seriously. Round of applause for both of them. Wow. Wow. Wow. #UFCLondon @SpiderAnderson @bisping ???????????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/4dSkzTGTLf
— #UFCLondon (@ufc) February 27, 2016
There seems to be a disconnect in Silva's mind when it comes to determining what wins a fight in the UFC these days. His post-fight comments, per Fox Sports' Ariel Helwani, supported that notion:
Silva speaking in Portuguese. He seems emotional as well. He says he thought he won. "I thought the mission was completed."
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 27, 2016
Silva is seemingly more interested in posing and making cinematic movements with his hands than landing strikes.
Through the first two rounds, Bisping was busier, and he even dropped Silva in the second round. There wasn't a ton of action—aside from Silva's posturing—but Bisping had clearly won both frames.
In the third, Silva came alive. He got more serious and took control of the center of the Octagon. Controversy struck at the close of the round.
Bisping lost his mouthpiece about 15 seconds before the end of the frame. He pointed to it, but referee Herb Dean didn't stop the action.
Just before the horn, Silva landed a flying knee that dropped Bisping. Dean waved off the round, but he should've called it a knockout. Silva thought he'd won the fight.
He went into full celebration mode. It took at least three minutes for someone in his corner to convey to him that the fight wasn't over.
Instead of coming out hard in the fourth round, Silva was tentative, and he gave away another round. To make things worse, he didn't capitalize after he hurt Bisping with a front kick. Zombie Prophet shared a replay:
Front Kick Face pic.twitter.com/lveFDWmtvR
— ZombieProphet (@ZProphet_MMA) February 27, 2016
Bisping stumbled back, but instead of pouncing on his injured opponent, Silva just looked at him.
Silva won the round, but he didn't understand where he was in the fight. As the decision was read, he looked shocked that he didn't win.
During the post-fight interview, Bisping had nothing but respect for Silva, per Helwani and the UFC:
Bisping: things were said between me and Anderson. This guy is the greatest of all time. This has been a life long journey. Anderson, thanku
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 27, 2016
"I worship this guy. He's the greatest Mixed-Martial Artist of all-time. You've inspired me." @Bisping on his respect for @SpiderAnderson
— #UFCLondon (@ufc) February 27, 2016
Bisping deserved to win, but he wasn't the better fighter. Silva gave him the fight, and Dean made a key error. Where does Silva go from here? At 40 years old, the chances that he changes his style seem slim.
However, he probably has no chance to beat the best in the world with his style-over-substance approach. Bisping is a worker who will give most fighters a tough night, but he has also proved time and again that he's not an elite 185-pounder.
This one left a weird taste in your mouth after it ended, but it was fun to watch.
Mousasi Dominates Leites
The co-main event was a one-sided beatdown. Thales Leites had no answer for Gegard Mousasi's kickboxing. Mousasi dominated Leites in every round. Leites, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, attempted to take Mousasi down on several occasions. Every attempt was stuffed.
Leites lost his confidence and had no choice but to take the beating. In the final round, he did land a hard shot, but it didn't put Mousasi in any danger.
The fight should have been a shutout on all three cards. Somehow, one judge found a round to give to Leites. Zombie Prophet shared an image of a beaten and battered Leites:
— ZombieProphet (@ZProphet_MMA) February 27, 2016
Mousasi might have had some room to push the action against Leites, but he was content to pick the Brazilian apart from a distance. Referencing his technical-knockout loss to Uriah Hall in September, Mousasi explained his approach Saturday night:
Mousasi: I played it smart. Last fight, I took chances and I paid for it.
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) February 27, 2016
A win is better than a thrilling defeat. Here's a look at all of the results:
Main Card Results
- Michael Bisping def. Anderson Silva via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47).
- Gegard Mousasi def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
- Tom Breese def. Keita Nakamura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
- Brad Pickett def. Francisco Rivera via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
Undercard Results
- Makwan Amirkhani def. Mike Wilkinson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
- Davey Grant def. Marlon Vera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26).
- Scott Askham def. Chris Dempsey via knockout (head kick) at 4:45 of Round 1.
- Arnold Allen def. Yaotzin Meza via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
- Krzysztof Jotko def. Brad Scott via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
- Rustam Khabilov def. Norman Parke via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
- Daniel Omielanczuk def. Jarjis Danho via technical decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-29).
- Teemu Packalen def. Thibault Gouti via submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:24 of Round 1.
- David Teymur def. Martin Svensson via technical knockout (punches) at 1:26 of Round 2.
The Finishes
Teymur Takes Down Svensson
The uppercut was the punch of the day in the early bouts. David Teymur used the punch to put Martin Svensson in peril in the second round.
After a high-octane first round, Svensson looked to be gassed coming into the second. The nasty uppercut caught Svensson coming in and put him down. Teymur wasted no time pounding his opponent out to get the stoppage.
The UFC shared the finish:
It was the UFC debut for both men and Teymur's fourth consecutive win.
Packalen Chokes Out Gouti
An uppercut was the shot that led to Teemu Packalen's victory over Thibault Gouti. Early in the first round, Packalen dropped Gouti in a brief exchange and almost immediately took his opponent's back to lock in the rear-naked choke.
It took just 24 seconds, and the bout was over. Here's the finish:
It was Gouti's UFC debut, and he was previously undefeated. Packalen shook off a loss in his UFC debut to score the impressive victory.
Ashkam Depletes Dempsey with Head Kick
The American Chris Dempsey was performing well early in the first round, but Scott Ashkam turned the tables in a major way. A straight left hand started the issues for Dempsey, and a follow-up head kick turned out the lights.
Referee Yves Lavigne didn't waste time stopping the bout. The UFC's official Twitter account applauded the Brit's brutal finish:
Now THAT'S a walk-off KO if we've ever seen one! Huge win for @ScottAskham1!! #UFCLondon https://t.co/xoJynL9hHz
— #UFCLondon (@ufc) February 27, 2016
We should've predicted a win for Ashkam; it fit his pattern. He has alternated wins and losses in his four UFC bouts. Krzysztof Jotko defeated him via split decision in his last fight.
This was Dempsey's second straight loss. Both have come by technical knockout.
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