Legendary former champion Anderson Silva made a (somewhat) triumphant return to the octagon against Derek Brunson in the co-main event of last night’s (February 11, 2017) UFC 208 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, although it wasn’t without a fair share of controversy.
‘The Spider’ was able to take home a unanimous decision on all three judges’ scorecards, including a highly questionable 30-27 sweep on one. Many fans and media members alike felt that Brunson was able to outwork Silva by landing crisp uppercuts in the clinch and scoring the only two takedowns of the bout despite missing on nine other attempts.
For his efforts, Silva was able to land some stinging counters of his own, and he had a few brief moments where his usual fun-loving self came out, but overall it seemed his output was again low and somewhat tentative for the once seemingly indestructible champion who knocked out each and every opponent he met. He did control the octagon (something that’s not supposed to count under the new scoring system) and easily defended most of Brunson’s takedowns, but the stats alone favored Brunson in every major category.
What was your view? Did Silva do enough to get the win last night?
