Silva vs. Weidman: Breaking Down a Potential Rematch, Anderson Silva seemed disinterested in a rematch following the moments after losing his UFC title to Chris Weidman at UFC 162, but it's hard to imagine "The Spider" doesn't want another shot.
Silva began with his usual antics against Weidman, but this time the taunting caught up to him. The Brazilian didn't seem to care he was in a MMA fight and paid dearly. Silva will get an immediate rematch if he so desires it, but would a rematch play out any differently?
I'm not so sure.
Anyone who's watched Like Water can see how much family matters to Silva. Moving his camp from Brazil to America obviously took its toll on Silva. Aside from missing his family, it seemed as though "The Spider" was completely burnt out on fighting.
The superfights and big paydays aren't on the radar right now so unless Silva wants to challenge for the UFC title, there aren't very many options for him going forward. If Silva didn't care for a fight with Weidman to begin with, why would he now?
If Silva comes into a fight motivated, we've seen how dangerous he can be. Fans need only look at his destruction of Chris Leben in his UFC debut or his Matrix-like performance against Forrest Grififn to see what Silva is capable of when he's on.
Of course there's the other Silva as well. The one that danced around for 25 minutes at UFC 112, the Silva that purposely placed himself against the cage and invited Stephan Bonnar to charge in, and the Silva who showed no respect for Weidman until after he had been knocked out.
A potential rematch hinges on two distinct factors.
The first is the aforementioned mental state of "The Spider." Perhaps Silva will find motivation after he moves on from the devastating loss and will come back reinvigorated. If that's the case, Weidman's title run could be short indeed.
The other major factor for a potential rematch is Weidman's mental preparation. It's an entirely different process of maintaining your place at the mountain top than fighting your way up there. Will the hype go to his head and cause him to be overconfident? Will the fact he's already beaten Silva cause him to come in overconfident?
If Weidman can maintain his current mental focus, there's obviously a reason for fans to back him in a potential rematch with Silva.
However, even though Weidman is the champion, he won't be dictating a potential rematch. It all comes down to Silva's willingness to fight a serious fight. If "The Spider" comes in focused, he's about as close to unbeatable as we've ever seen in MMA.
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