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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre was among those confident that Chris Weidman would upset Anderson Silva to capture the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 162. However, even he was shocked at the way in which it happened.
St-Pierre spoke about the fight in an interview with PokerListings.com while in Las Vegas this week for the World Series of Poker, and like many, he didn't feel the loss detracted from Silva's established legacy.
"I predicted Chris Weidman would win but I didn't think he'd win the way he did," St-Pierre said. "I thought he would win with ground and pound or some kind of submission but he won with a beautiful knockout standing up."
"But I think Silva just got caught. I still think he's the best in the world."
St-Pierre's also not convinced that Silva had a bad strategy. He agrees that the now-former Champ has done that same thing time and again, only to come out the victor, and he again reiterated that he felt Silva was the best in the world.
"Silva's very good at getting into his opponent's head so I don't think it's a lack of respect. It's more that he plays mind-games with his opponents,” said St-Pierre. “It almost worked this time but he got caught. It doesn't mean that it was a bad strategy for him.”
“You always recognize a great champion by how they come back from a loss and I know Silva came back from a loss and adversity before. He's the greatest of all time for sure.”
Still, St-Pierre remains confident in his friend and now-fellow-Champ Weidman, and said he thinks the 29-year-old can get it done against Silva a second time.
"I'm really happy for Chris Weidman because his house just got flooded and he's got a family and kid, and it couldn't have happened to a better guy,” said St-Pierre.
“Depending on whether they get a rematch I think Weidman can win again."
Penick's Analysis: I have a feeling the eventual rematch will play out quite differently, as I can't imagine Silva making the same mistakes a second time. That said, it's interesting to see St-Pierre say the same things many others have felt about Silva's performance. It's not entirely surprising, because it's an observation many had out of the event, and many expect Silva to fight a very different fight the next time he steps into the cage. On another note, Saturday's result does take a weight of St-Pierre's shoulders as well, because he's long been targeted for a super fight with Silva he simply wasn't interested in; now it's not a fight he has to worry about.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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