Chris Weidman reacts to coach’s remarks about a potential Bruno Silva rematch after UFC Atlantic City

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman has responded to coach Ray Longo’s recent remarks about a potential run-back with Bruno Silva.

Weidman originally defeated Silva by TKO at UFC Atlantic City last Saturday. But, upon replay review, the New Jersey State Athletic Commission overturned it to a technical decision win after Weidman appeared to poke Silva’s eye in the finishing sequence.

Silva is furious with the fight result and plans to appeal it with the athletic commission. As of this writing, it’s uncertain if Silva’s appeal efforts were successful.

Just hours after the fight, Longo explained in a recent podcast appearance that a rematch with Silva would be welcomed after their controversial bout. After earning a long-awaited UFC victory, Weidman seems on board with that possibility.

Chris Weidman is on board with running it back with Bruno Silva

In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Weidman answered whether or not he’d entertain an immediate rematch with Silva.

“If the UFC wants a rematch of this fight, then sure,” Weidman said. “I’d happily move on, too. I’m not scared of him or anything like that. I’m open to it, and my heart goes out to [Bruno Silva], I know that he’s very frustrated. It sucks, but he fought me for 13 minutes and he was losing the fight.”

Weidman’s win came after a unanimous decision loss to Brad Tavares last August. Before that, he was sidelined for almost three years, after suffering a horrific leg injury at UFC 261 against Uriah Hall.

Silva’s controversial loss was his third consecutive defeat, after back-to-back losses to Brendan Allen and Sharabutdin Magomedov. He was losing the fight on the judges’ scorecards, which led to the technical decision result.

A Weidman vs. Silva rematch could potentially take place, although as of this writing, the UFC hasn’t addressed it as a possibility. For now, Weidman will look ahead to new challenges after finally getting back in the win column.