Victim of a controversial defeat at UFC Atlantic City, held last Saturday (30), Bruno Blindado did not hide his frustration at the anticlimactic outcome in the fight against Chris Weidman. Finger in the eye target that determined the end of the confrontation in the last round, the Brazilian opened up about the episode in an exclusive interview with SUPER FIGHTS. The middleweight (up to 83,9kg) pointed out his version of the episode, criticized his rival's stance and suggested an alternative for Ultimate.
In the decisive clash between the Brazilian and the former title holder, Blindado was the victim of three situations in which the North American broke the rules by illegally touching the Paraíba native's eye. The third and most shocking act culminated in the setback.
Initially, the victory by technical knockout in the third round was announced by Bruce Buffer on the microphone. After analyzing the images, the outcome was changed, confirming Weidman's triumph with the judges' unanimous decision.
Blindado's outburst
Moments after the fight, Blindado was still outraged by the controversial episode. The Brazilian, who received support from part of the MMA community, gave his version of what happened.
“I rewatched the fight several times. I was uncomfortable the entire time. Since he's taller than me, I needed to go after him. When he was going up, he had his fingers stretched towards my face. The rule says that you have to have your hand closed, or your fingers closed upwards. It's MMA rules. (…) At the time, I saw no evil. The fight was going the way we wanted. I believe it was 1-1 (in the round count). In the third round, I was in one piece. He had already stuck his finger in my eye once, and I had already complained. He had the second one and, in the third one, in the video, you see half of his finger tearing my eye. We don't train this in the gym. (…) Your eye is sensitive. The first thing I did was fall with my hand over my eye. When I fall, I fall forward. When I saw him come up, I turned my back. Just when I thought the referee (Gary Copeland) was going to take a point away, the referee stopped the fight. (…) I raised a lot of shit. I couldn't believe what was happening. (…) It was totally out of the norm. There were several fingers in the eye. It's the rule. Two infractions is a warning and three is disqualification”, stated Bruno.
UFC positioning
Although it did not release an official statement, the UFC took a stance on the situation involving Blindado and the former middleweight champion. According to the Brazilian himself, members of the board suggested that the local Athletic Commission be contacted to evaluate a reversal.
“The UFC kind of took a stand. They understood our case and asked us to contact the Athletic Commission, to see if we can change the result,” he said.
Chris Weidman's stance
Victorious in the fight, Weidman came to support Blindado at the moment of the Paraíba native's fury in the octagon. Subsequently, however, the North American questioned Bruno's stance to go to the ground after the infraction. Upon learning of his rival's statements, the Brazilian criticized the new attack on his opponent.
“I saw him in the locker room after the fight. Until then, I wasn't mad at him. (…) When I arrived at the hotel and went to look at the interviews, he just took his body away. I went to see the fight and it was totally malicious. I thought he had a lot of bad faith,” he said.
Solution for UFC
Upset by the situation, Blindado proposed a solution to the UFC. The athlete suggested that a rematch be scheduled so that both can resolve the issues left at UFC Atlantic City.
“We have two options. Or make a rematch for June or July, or change the result to 'no contest'. I've already harmed myself. It's a defeat on my resume. A defeat that was not a defeat”, he concluded.
