The Chris Weidman vs. Bruno Silva middleweight bout ended controversially. Weidman stopped his Brazilian opponent with strikes in round three, preceded by eye pokes. The matchup, which transpired at the UFC Atlantic City event in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA, on March 30, 2024, was declared a third-round TKO win for ‘The All-American.’
Nevertheless, replays suggested that the American MMA stalwart landed multiple eye pokes on ‘Blindado’ that likely contributed to the eventual TKO finish. The verdict was subsequently overturned to a technical decision (unanimous) victory for Weidman.
For his part, Bruno Silva, who’s now back in Curitiba, Brazil, has opened up about the match and how the eye pokes have affected his health.
In a recent edition of the Trocacao Franca podcast by MMA Fighting, Silva alluded to the evidence in the replays and asserted that Weidman poked both his eyes. The 34-year-old indicated he visited an opthalmologist in his native Brazil and underwent an eye exam.
He claimed that as per the exam’s result, he’s temporarily lost 30 percent of vision in one eye.
The veteran fighter clarified, however, that the doctor believes that the damage can be reversed and ‘Blindado’ could regain the vision he possessed before the Chris Weidman eye pokes.
The BJJ black belt stated [*Quotes courtesy: MMA Fighting]:
“The exam showed I lost 30 percent of my vision in one of the eyes … But the doctor doesn’t think it’s permanent, he thinks it will come back fast. I’ll have to go back there next week for another test.”
Furthermore, Bruno Silva pointed out that he aims to appeal the technical decision defeat against Chris Weidman. He’ll seek redressal from the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that oversaw the event in Atlantic City.