Anderson (right) was defeated by Bisping (left) in London. Photo: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/UFC
Once again, the provocations and jokes Anderson Silva were main characters in a Spider fight. Returning to the octagon after more than a year away, Anderson returned to performing in the way he became famous, but he exaggerated his provocations and ended up defeated by Michael Bisping in a unanimous decision by the judges, in the main fight of the UFC London, this Saturday (27), in the English capital.
Videographer: Watch the best moments from the fight between Anderson x Bisping
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Irritated by the result, Anderson complained a lot about the decision and cited recent cases of corruption in Brazilian politics to criticize Bisping's victory. “Brazil, the stop is next. There's no way to win one way, they try to take the other away. There's nothing to say, I fought for you. Mission Accomplished. But every now and then, like in Brazil, total corruption!”, said Spider.
Despite all the confusion in the weeks leading up to the duel, Anderson paid respect to Bisping and knelt before his rival, and then thanked the audience present. “I need to say thank you very much to everything, to everyone who came here to watch this fight. So, I'm very happy, because I'm back in London after a long time and I can see my friends again. Thank you very much for helping me,” he said.
Bisping, on the other hand, returned the kindness and said he was inspired by the Brazilian and made a dream come true by facing him in the Octagon. "I don't know. All I know is that I've wanted this fight my whole life, because of you. You gave me the power. I'm just a guy from humble beginnings, thanks a lot to my parents. I don't even know, but I'm crying. I respect this guy (Anderson), he's the greatest MMA fighter and that's why I'm thrilled. I know I said some things, but you inspired me, Anderson. Ever since I started fighting, I wanted to be like you. Well, now I need to stop, open a beer. But I thought my face would be better at the end of the fight. I know I always say this, but when I arrived in Manchester I had a goal and it was achieved”, he concluded.
Now Anderson Silva has a professional record of 33 wins, seven losses and one fight without result. Spider hasn't won since 2012, when he knocked out Chael Sonnen in the rematch between them and defended the middleweight belt for the tenth and last time and, months later, beat Stephan bonnar in Rio de Janeiro.
The fight
In the first round, Anderson tried to measure the distance and map the Englishman's game. The Brazilian's only good moments in the round were two kicks to his rival's waistline. At the end of the round, in a moment of frank exchanges, Bisping managed to shake the Brazilian with a counter blow.
In the second round, a Anderson Silva who recalled the “joker” from other times, introduced himself. With his guard down and a lot of provocation, Anderson was ineffective and had a disadvantage. At the end of the partial, Bisping still managed a knockdown and went after the Brazilian in the ground and pound.
In the third round, after little action, Bisping threw a high kick and went to the fence. Delighted, the Brit signaled that he had lost his mouthguard, but the fight was not stopped by referee Herb Dean. Taking advantage of his opponent's mistake, Anderrson landed a clean flying knee to Bisping's face, who went to the canvas, but ended up being saved by the bell. Confused, Spider thought the fight was over and went to celebrate, being later informed of the fight's sequence and repositioned in his corner.
In the fourth round, the Brazilian still seemed inattentive due to the confusion at the end of the previous round and did little at the beginning. Instead of attacking a very injured Bisping, Anderson called the Brit up and remained on the cage for most of the time. Only at the end of the partial, Silva went up and shook the Englishman with a straight shot and, later, with a superman punch.
In the fifth and final round, Anderson came a little more aggressive and connected with two powerful high kicks, which further increased the cut on the Englishman, who needed to be attended to by a doctor. On the way back, Anderson still landed two front kicks on his rival, but he slowed down and, instead of moving forward and looking for the knockout, he preferred to wait for the judges' decision.
Check out the UFC London results
MAIN CARD
Michael Bisping won Anderson Silva in a unanimous decision by the judges (48×47, 48×47 and 48×47)
Gegard Mousasi won Thales leites in a unanimous decision by the judges (30×27, 30×27 and 30×27)
Tom Breese beat Keita Nakamura in a unanimous decision by the judges (30×27, 30×27 and 29×28)
Brad pickett beat Francisco Rivera in a split decision by the judges (29×28, 28×29 and 29×28)
PRELIMINARY CARD
mawan amirkhani beat Mike Wilkinson in a unanimous decision by the judges (29×28, 30×27 and 29×28)
davey grant won Marlon Vera in a unanimous decision by the judges (30×26, 30×26 and 30×26)
Scott Askham beat Chris Dempsey by knockout (high kick) at 4:45 of R1
arnold allen beat Yaotzin Meza in a unanimous decision by the judges (30×27, 30×27 and 30×27)
Krzysztof Jotko beat Brad Scott in a unanimous decision by the judges (29×28, 30×27 and 29×28)
Rustam Khabilov beat Norman Parke in unanimous decision (29×28, 29×28 and 29×28)
Daniel Omielanczuk beat Jarjis Danho in a technical decision by the judges (29×29, 29×28 and 29×28)
Teemu Packalen defeated Thibault Gouti by submission (rear naked choke) at 24s of R1;
David Teymur defeated Martin Svensson by technical knockout (punches) at 1m26s of R2.
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