“Three times he stuck finger in my eye” – Bruno Silva breaks silence after controversial loss against Chris Weidman at UFC Atlantic City

Middleweight star Bruno Silva has broken his silence following his controversial defeat. Chris Weidman landed two eye-pokes in the fight-ending sequence. The Brazilian fighter took to social media to air his grievances over the outcome. He obviously deemed the result “very unfair and frustrating.”

Silva’s statement expressed frustration at what he perceived as repeated eye-pokes by Weidman throughout their bout. Silva claimed he was in pain the whole time. The pain resulted in the Brazilian fighter falling to the ground. He also revealed what should have become the ideal result of the bout.

The entire fight, [Weidman] had his fingers in my eye. Three times he stuck his finger in my eye and in the last one I fell in pain. The finger didn't just scrape, the video makes that very clear. The fight was even, in my opinion, it was a draw.

Bruno Silva via Instagram

Silva noted that referees consistently emphasize closing hands or pointing fingers upwards during pre-fight instructions. However, he felt the American wrestler’s open-handed tactics violated those rules. In certain situations, the referees would take away a point from the offender or award a DQ win to the victim. Neither happened here and Silva expressed his frustration.

The UFC has yet to officially respond to Silva’s claims. Overturning fight outcomes is rare. Only a handful of MMA fights have found a favorable outcome upon contesting the fight result. Broader conversations have reignited around enforcing foul rules and potential disciplinary measures with this incident.

Bruno Silva set to contest his loss to Chris Weidman

The controversy surrounding Bruno Silva’s loss to Chris Weidman at UFC Atlantic City is far from over. Silva recently announced plans to appeal the result with New Jersey’s athletic commission. The bout was initially ruled a third-round TKO win for Weidman. However, the bout’s ending was clouded by apparent eye-pokes. Upon further review, the decision was revised to a unanimous 30-27 technical decision favoring Weidman.

Silva felt that the outcome remained unacceptable, given the circumstances. He blamed the referee for not noticing and letting Weidman get away with this. Weidman’s extended fingers throughout the fight remain at the crux of Silva’s complaint. One could see Weidman extending fingers to assess range throughout the fight. The referee’s failure to enforce the rules became the core of Silva’s problems.

Silva cited Weidman’s post-fight celebration as inappropriate and in bad sportsmanship, given the circumstances. The Brazilian fighter hoped appealing to the New Jersey Commission would prompt further review. Silva remained undeterred in his pursuit of the result being amended. Only time will tell if the commission in New Jersey would accept Silva’s motion to overturn his loss.

In case you missed it:

• Joe Rogan stunned by Andrew Tate’s early days of money-making with models
• Beneil Dariush reveals he was ‘genuinely considering’ Benoit Saint-Denis firework matchup before Dustin Poirier

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW