Matt Serra Admits He Said ‘Good, F— Anderson Silva’ At UFC 168
Recently, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman’s corner underwent a significant amount of heat for an audio recording that seemed to have one of them say “Good, f— him” about former middleweight king Anderson Silva when ‘The Spider’s’ leg gruesomely snapped in two in the main event of UFC 168.
It was a move that was deemed classless by many, and while it was tough to decipher exactly who said it amidst all the commotion, it appears that the perpetrator has come forth and admitted what he did wrong.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on this week’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra fessed up as the culprit:
“I heard the thing. And then at first, I was like, ‘Oh, what did Longo say?’ Then I was like, ‘Oh man, f—-, that was me.’ …None of us saw what happened. We saw him just drop, and I didn’t see Chris throw strikes.”
“For two months, me and Longo are talking every night, ‘Alright listen man, he does this, he does these shenanigans. This is where he’s going to f— him. This is where the kid’s going to f—him. This is where Chris is going to get him. If he gets him here on the floor, I swear this is where he’s going to f— the guy.’ This is how we talk. I hate to say it, but I’m being honest with you. …As far as Chris, we even tell him the mentality and all the mystique of this guy, ‘No, f— him dude. He’s stepping into the cage with you.’”
“I didn’t see it until the next day on how that thing broke. We’re not heartless pricks, we’re not bad sportsmen. He’s got kids; he’s got people who love him. The first thing I did when I knew it was me is I got Ed Soares’ number, and I gave him a call. If I hurt anybody’s feelings, of course Anderson’s kids, his wife and everything, I do apologize. That definitely did not come out of a bad place or negative place.”
Serra sounds genuinely apologetic for his words at UFC 168. They obviously came out at a time when emotions were running ridiculously high. Serra showed a bit of class in apologizing to Ed Soares and Silva’s family. He obviously knows what he did wrong and feels bad about the whole situation.
But as the cornerman of a top-level professional fighter, you’d think a man as experienced as Serra would understand that his words would be recorded and caught on a microscope. The scene was amplified by Silva breaking his leg, the severity of which Serra did not know at the time he spoke.
He’s doing his best to remedy the situation but he may be viewed in a negative light for some time to come, especially by Silva’s fans.What are your feelings about Serra’s words at UFC 168? Did he have malicious intent, or did he simply take the passion from training one step too far?
