Mike Winklejohn: Anderson Silva Would Win a 'War' in Chris Weidman Rematch

Famed striking coach Mike Winklejohn recently sat down with Bloody Elbow to discuss how he believes a rematch between new champion Chris Weidman and former long-reigning 185-pound kingpin Anderson Silva would go down. 

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"I think Chris will come with a similar gameplan and Anderson not goofing off as much, I think it will be a war. If Anderson is back in his old form, I think Anderson can beat Chris this time. But, now that he's been hit, some of his confidence might be down a little bit. It's a game of inches with these little gloves. Chris now has Anderson worrying about his hands. He was able to take Anderson down. He saw Anderson's defense on the ground so now he's going to know how to mitigate that defense and get his offense going on the ground." 

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Some fans believe The All-American proved the hype is real when he knocked Silva out cold in the second round of their UFC 162 encounter on Saturday. 

However, others think the Brazilian pound-for-pound great would defeat Weidman handily in a rematch if he could leave the showboating antics behind this time. 

Winklejohn, who trains UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, seems to fall somewhere in between those two schools of thought.

Despite Silva initially saying he wasn't interested in facing Weidman again (via MMA Junkie), various media outlets reported this week that The Spider has had a chance of heart and now would like a second showdown with his American adversary before the year's end (via MMA Fighting). 

Winklejohn also notes that he hasn't spoken to Jones since Silva's loss, but acknowledges Jackson's MMA lost a "big, big payday" now that Silva vs. Jones is no longer an option. 

Jones, who now is on top of the UFC's official top 10 pound-for-pound list, has a chance to win 10 in a row and break the UFC light heavyweight record of five consecutive title defenses when he squares off with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 in September. 

Did Winklejohn hit the nail on the head for Weidman vs. Silva II, or is his analysis completely off base?

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.