Anderson Silva wins at UFC 208 for first victory since 2012
UFC legend Anderson Silva still believes he got robbed by the judges when he lost a fight against Michael Bisping in London last year.
He might have been the recipient of some karmic payback at UFC 208 on Saturday in Brooklyn, New York.
Silva recorded his first official victory since 2012 with a unanimous decision over middleweight Derek Brunson in a fight that lacked excitement but ended in controversy.
“I am so happy because I worked very hard for this fight,” Silva said through tears. “I wanted to give my best for my fans and for New York. I am sorry for being so emotional, but it is just because I am happy to be here. Next, I just want to go home and look at what will be the next challenge for me.”
Silva last won a fight when he knocked out Stephan Bonnar in 2012. He lost the belt to Chris Weidman in his next fight and missed a year after suffering a gruesome leg injury in the rematch.
Silva defeated Nick Diaz in 2015, but the result was overturned after a positive drug test. The former champion lost the close decision to Bisping in early 2016 and was dominated as a late-notice replacement against Daniel Cormier in July.
There was plenty of drama Saturday as the scorecards were read. According to FightMetric, Brunson outlanded Silva 20-8 in significant strikes in the first round and kept Silva on his back for the final 90 seconds of a third round in which the striking stats were even.
Silva landed 10 strikes to Brunson’s nine in the second round as both fighters were hesitant to engage. Brunson completed two of 10 takedown attempts.
“Everyone is telling me that I won,” Brunson said. “I feel terrible. It’s not Anderson’s fault or the UFC’s fault. I took this fight on short notice and, to have this happen, is just crazy to me. I take this seriously. This is my job. I put everything into this, and I got robbed. It sucks.”
The Review-Journal scored the fight 30-27 for Brunson.
Top contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza probably secured a middleweight title shot by making quick work of Tim Boetsch.
Souza, a former Strikeforce champion, is 7-1 since arriving in the UFC in 2013. One of the top grapplers in the sport, Souza mounted Boetsch quickly after taking him down midway through the first round and submitted him with a kimura at 3:41 of the round.
“My plan was to come out strong and finish him early,” Souza said. “I am the best in the world, and I wanted to make a statement. Of course, I am the most deserving of the title shot, in my opinion, but I will wait now.”
Bisping is expected to defend the title against Yoel Romero this year. Souza hopes his opportunity comes after that.
“I have nothing left to say about Romero or Bisping other than I will be waiting for the winner, and I will be champion,” Souza said.
Light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira grinded out all three rounds to win a unanimous decision over Jared Cannonier. Teixeira neutralized Cannonier by consistently taking him to the mat to stifle his offense.
Dustin Poirier won for the fifth time in six fights since returning to lightweight by taking a majority decision over Jim Miller in a slugfest.
All five fights on the preliminary card also went to the scorecards.
Featherweight Rick Glenn rallied late to win a split decision over Brooklyn native Phillipe Nover in the most competitive of the bouts.
Flyweight contender Wilson Reis won the first two rounds over Ulka Sasaki and held on to win a decision. Belal Muhammad took a unanimous decision over New Yorker Randy Brown in a welterweight bout.
Lightweight Islam Makhachev scored a dominant decision over Nik Lentz, and Ryan LaFlare cruised to a win over welterweight Roan Carneiro.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.
