Chris Weidman claims Dana White pressured him into trash talking Anderson Silva before UFC 162
Chris Weidman has claimed that UFC president Dana White put pressure on him to increase the level of trash talk ahead of his UFC 162 showdown against Anderson Silva.
The bout, which took place back in July 2013, was for the UFC Middleweight Championship. Heading into the bout it was clear to see that many pundits and fans alike felt like Weidman had a legitimate shot at ending the run of Silva as the king of the middleweights.
Alas, while diehard fans of the sport were clearly intrigued by the match-up, it doesn’t appear as if White felt like that was translating into great — or even good — pay-per-view numbers.
During a recent appearance on Grange TV with Robert Whittaker, Weidman had the following to say on the matter.
“[Dana said] ‘You’re not promoting the f*cking fight. Ticket sales aren’t looking good, pay-per-view numbers aren’t looking good already.’ … So I hear this and I was in my house and I was like a ghost,” Weidman said in a recent appearance on Grange TV with Robert Whittaker (transcript via The Body Lock).
“I felt super white and anxious because I’m about to be someone I’m not used to being at all. I have to talk trash now. I’m like f*ck. I hated this feeling. ‘Why can’t I go out there and fight and win. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to beat this guy. Isn’t that enough?’ It wasn’t.
“I came up with a tweet,” Weidman concluded. “I don’t remember exactly what it was. Basically, a little bit of talking shit, how I’m going to beat Anderson Silva. I copy and paste it, I text Dana. I’m like ‘hey, just so you know, I put this out. Hopefully, that makes you happy. There’s more to come.’”
Chris Weidman wound up winning the fight in front of 12,964 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with the reported buy-rate lingering around 550,000.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/19/2019.
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
Topics:
Anderson Silva Chris Weidman Dana White UFC
