Anderson Silva deserved win over Michael Bisping, says UFC boss

MANILA, Philippines – Although Michael Bisping was the winner on the judges’ scorecards, UFC president Dana White saw it the other way around as he believes Anderson Silva did enough to pick up the victory.

Bisping was able to take home a unanimous decision win against the former middleweight titleholder in the main event of UFC Fight Night 84 on Sunday, February 28 after all 3 cageside officials scored 48-47 in favor of the 37-year-old Englishman.

Here are the scorecards of the Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping bout. @RapplerSports #UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/tY80VYBrxD

— NISSI ICASIANO (@Nissi_Icasiano) February 28, 2016

“The Count” garnered an early lead in the 5-round middleweight contest as he relied on volume punching and consistent movement to dictate the pace in the first two rounds.

Bisping also rocked Silva with a counter left hook to the chin before eventually dropping his opponent to the mat with another left hook in the second stanza.

Despite being down two rounds on the score-sheets, Silva turned the tide in the third frame, where he played it straight and inflicted a bloody cut around Bisping’s left eye.

There was also a memorable moment at the end of the third round when Silva scored a knockdown with a flying knee after Bisping dropped his mouth guard.

Silva thought that he had the knockout win before realizing that he had to come down from the top of the cage to start round 4.

Bisping rallied back in the fourth period and sustained his pace by launching more combinations, but Silva shifted the momentum back on his side in the fifth round by delivering a brutal push kick that put his British foe on wobbly legs.

However, Silva opted not to punctuate the last round with a strong finish as he was satisfied throwing jabs until the final bell.

UFC’s head honcho is fully convinced that Silva was the more deserving fighter to walk away with his hand raised in triumph, asserting that the 40-year-old Brazilian clearly took the fifth round to break the tie going into the final canto.

“I have to watch it again there was so much craziness going on after the flying knee, but I believe that I had it even going into the fifth round and whoever wins the fifth round won the fight,” White said in his post-event interview on UFC Fight Pass. “And I thought that Anderson Silva won.”

White was pleased with how Silva performed after being involved in a performance-enhancing drugs controversy last year that overturned his lopsided decision win over Nick Diaz in January 2015 into no contest.

“He brings it every single time. Anderson Silva, he’s fought once in the last two years. He looked very rusty in the first two rounds then as the fight went on longer he looked sharper, he looked better. Anderson actually looked really good tonight in a 5-round fight for a 40-year-old guy who has fought once in two years,” he stated.

Silva remains winless since October 2012 when he thumped Stephan Bonnar via first-round stoppage.

On the other hand, Bisping improves to a 28-7 record and is now riding high on a 3-fight winning streak. – Rappler.com