Silva's hand out was insulting
The Anderson Silva 'TKO' over Patrick Cote at UFC 90 is more than a week old and it's still a point of discussion. Some think Silva disrespected fight fans and the UFC with his antics. Others think that Silva simply had a bad night.
One interesting moment during the fight came when Silva had Cote down on the mat, rose to his feet, put his hands at his side and then reached out one hand to help the Canadian off the mat. Cote refused the help and some thought that Silva (pictured just before extending the offer) was mocking Cote. UFC middleweight contender Michael Bisping says it was strange and disingenuious:
"Anderson Silva is a very respectful fighter in and out of the cage (but) I'm not so sure I would've taken that too kindly. If I'm taken down or knocked down and then somebody gives me the hand, I wouldn't have taken kindly to that. Definitely not. I would have taken it as a bit of an insult. It's kind of insulting I'd say."
Click below to listen to Bisping on Setanta Sports' Ultimate Talk:
Bisping also thought the fight was a mismatch that Silva could've ended at any moment:
"It was strange tactics from Anderson Silva. He looked very sharp when he did attack. I frankly got the impression he could've ended the fight anytime he wanted. For one reason or the other he was holding back. I do feel if wanted to end it, he could've ended it."
Bisping stated he wants a title shot against Silva but he wants a little more time and some more quality wins. He doesn't want it to appear that he's getting a shot because he's the elite star from the U.K. On a side note, it looks like the British media snipes at each other just like their U.S. cohorts. The Sun ran with Bisping's statement as some sort of exclusive when the truth was that Bisping criticized Silva first on Setanta and The Sun simply re-printed the quotes. The Telegraph's Gareth Davies calls out The Sun for fibbing. Sounds like an ESPN v. FOX tiff.
Photo via MMAWeekly.com
