Your Disrespect Will Be Rewarded With Unconsciousness, Anderson Silva

Forgive my 40 hour topicality delay from Saturday's amazing fight, but I'm in Los Cabos and the server in my hotel is powered by an aggrieved, agave-soaked burro named Culito. For a suggestion of bandwidth, I have to whip Culito to turn the waterwheel. Failing that, I further entice him with German horse pornography. Dees ees Secretariat, Culito! You liiiike?

Anyway, I wanted to share what is perhaps the most satisfying comeuppance I've ever observed live in any sport. Made doubly sweet by the fact that I was watching it at a sports bar where I was the only person pulling for Chris Weidman WHO WAS BEING OPENLY LAUGHED AT RIGHT BEFORE HE KNOCKED HOMEBOY UNCONSCIOUS.

Chris Weidman was - quite reasonably - a heavy underdog (he only had 9 UFC fights; the 38 year old Silva had won 17 in a row and is widely considered the Greatest Pound For Pound in the MMA game) and Silva began his characteristic clowning and taunting in the middle of the 1st round - dropping his hands, pretending to be hurt by glancing blows, offering up his jaw with a "do your worst" gesture, and generally seeking to frustrate the former collegiate wrestling champion, who entered the arena draped in the American flag, and who looked lost at sea in the standup game against one of the UFC's greatest strikers. I'm no Silva hater - the guy is magnificent, but the taunting and disrespect grew simply insufferable.

And Chris Weidman had other ideas. Namely, getting his timing and not fearing Silva's devastating counter-striking ability - a fear which has allowed so many other fighters to be intimidated and psyched out by Silva, terrified of committing to punishing Silva for his unorthodox baiting because they're worried it just looks too easy. He wants me to do this. So they throw out a hesitant combination, retreating from commitment, refusing to sit down on their punches. They confuse bait with real opportunity.

But Silva got too cute. And Weidman committed. Violently reminding the Brazilian why you never underestimate an opponent and disrespect your craft.

Maybe it was the context, maybe it was the sheer thrill of the surprise, but this was probably the most satisfying thing I've seen in a live combat event in...well, forever.

Fuckin' A.

Please tell me you saw it.