“I would never think about cheating, that’s just not who I am” - Chris Weidman addresses eye-pokes against Bruno Silva at UFC Atlantic City
Chris Weidman recently commented on the eye-pokes that took place during his bout against Bruno Silva at UFC Atlantic City.
The former middleweight champion returned to the win column after overcoming a severe leg injury suffered in April 2021 and secured a unanimous (technical) decision victory over Silva at the Fight Night event last weekend.
However, the fight had its fair share of controversy when it was initially announced as a TKO victory for 'The All-American', only to later be reversed to a technical decision.
This ruling was made despite a slow-motion replay clearly showing Weidman poking Silva in both eyes before initiating the sequence that ended the fight.
During his recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Weidman argued that the eye pokes were accidental, attributing them to his orthodox fighting style contrasting with his opponents' southpaw stance. The 39-year-old American emphasized that while keeping distance, his fingers inadvertently made contact with 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:
'Blindado' expressed apparent frustration with the outcome of the bout and vented his grievances against the fight officials in a recent Instagram post. Additionally, Silva insisted on a rematch with Weidman.
Check out Bruno Silva's post below:
Bruno Silva suffers temporary vision loss in one eye due to Chris Weidman's UFC Atlantic City infraction
After returning to Brazil, Bruno Silva consulted an ophthalmologist to evaluate the condition of his eyes following the eye-poking incident involving Chris Weidman at UFC Atlantic City.
During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, 'Blindado' stated that the doctor compared the test results to his previous eye exams and noted a significant decline in vision attributed to the eye pokes:
"Chris Weidman poked both my eyes, and 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."
Silva also stated that his team plans to appeal the decision to the New Jersey Athletic Control Board, the overseeing body of the event. He expressed his desire to have his loss reversed and declared a no-contest.