Commission denies Bruno Silva's appeal to overturn Chris Weidman loss despite glaring eye pokes
The commission refused Bruno Silva's request to reverse his loss to Chris Weidman, despite obvious eye pokes. The commission informed Silva's manager, Bernardo Serale, of the verdict on Sunday. He then spoke with Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting about the outcome of the appeal.
For context, Weidman squared off against Silva in a middleweight showdown at UFC Atlantic City which was held on March 30 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. However, the fight ended in controversy.
In the third round, Weidman halted his Brazilian opponent with blows after initially poking his eyes. Finally, the bout was ruled a third-round TKO victory for 'The All-American'.
Replays, however, appeared to indicate that the veteran American mixed martial arts fighter poked 'Blindado' several times, which probably helped lead to the TKO victory. The decision was later reversed, giving Weidman a technical decision (unanimous) victory.
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Silva then appeared on the Trocacao Franca podcast by MMA Fighting, where he claimed that Weidman had poked both of his eyes and made reference to the evidence seen in the replays.
''The exam showed I lost 30 percent of my vision in one of the eyes ... But the doctor doesn't think it's permanent, he thinks it will come back fast. I'll have to go back there next week for another test." [H/t: MMA Fighting]
The Brazilian also stated that he intends to file an appeal against Weidman's technical decision win. He will file a complaint with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, which was in charge of the Atlantic City tournament.
Even though Silva wasn't happy with the outcome, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board finally agreed with the decision made that evening in Atlantic City, meaning Silva's record still shows the loss.
Chris Weidman claims the eye-pokes against Bruno Silva were ''unintentional''
Chris Weidman secured a technical (unanimous) decision victory over Bruno Silva at UFC Atlantic City which ended in controversy.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Weidman explained that the eye pokes were unintentional due to his orthodox fighting technique, which contrasted with his opponents' southpaw stance. The 39-year-old admitted that while maintaining distance, his fingers accidentally touched Silva's eyes.
"People think that I intentionally poked him in the eye. I just want you to know that if I had the dexterity, I would take my one finger and find his eyeball and poke it. Why wouldn't I just knock him out anytime I wanted? It's obviously completely unintentional, and I would never think about cheating. That's just not who I am."
Check out Chris Weidman's comments below: