3 Reasons Anderson Silva Deserves an Immediate Rematch with Chris Weidman

Anderson Silva didn't need to beg UFC president Dana White for a second go with new middleweight linchpin Chris Weidman following UFC 162.

Truth be told, White knew the rematch made sense for everyone—with the exception of Vitor Belfort, of course.

Silva didn't avoid implementing his typical razzle-dazzle game on Weidman at UFC 162."The Spider," however, couldn't mentally break Weidman, and he paid dearly for it, getting KO'd in the second round and surrendering the belt that he held for nearly seven years.

But akin to B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar, who were the last two UFC fighters granted rematches immediately after losses in title fights, Silva deserves a chance at redemption.

Here are three reasons a rematch with Weidman is merited for The Spider.

The Big Payday

The opinions of the fans certainly hold weight, but every fight, particularly every main-event bout, must fiscally make sense in order to get made.

Thus, if White and the UFC's brass believed that a bout with Belfort would potentially rake in more money than a match with Silva, then "The Phenom" may have leapfrogged The Spider as the division's top contender.

But White obviously assumes that a Silva-Weidman rematch will attract more fans than a Belfort-Weidman fight. Otherwise, he wouldn't have set the fight up on such a momentous card like UFC 163, which features Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate in the night's co-main event for the women's bantamweight belt.

Earlier this month, White told ESPN the rematch between Silva and Weidman is essentially a no-brainer.

"Ever since the fight got over, I don't know if there's ever been any more hype, ever, in UFC history after a fight. Everybody has been wondering if there will be a rematch."

Both Weidman and White Promised a Rematch Before UFC 162

Although it's the fight business, and they're indeed two men with plenty of clout, White and Weidman evidently make good on their promises.

Both White and Weidman declared before UFC 162  that Silva would deserve a rematch if he happened to lose. 

In an interview with MMAJunkie.com just prior to UFC 162, White named Silva as the only logical immediate challenger to Weidman if he happened to lose.

“[Silva] hasn’t lost in the UFC ever, has beat everybody. He loses that fight, he’s the guy for a rematch if he wants it.”

Weidman went even further, and during an interview with Bleacher Report's Damon Martin before UFC 162, he claimed he'd fight The Spider as many times as White wants him to.

"

There's a lot of people that would love to fight Anderson Silva, and I got this opportunity and I would love to fight him twice. I'll fight him as many times as they want.  No matter what, in this fight people are going to think of him as a god-like figure, and I just want that challenge. I have a lot of respect for him.  As many times as the fans and the UFC want, I'm 100 percent down.

"

Silva Genuinely Has a Reason to Get Motivated

The Spider attempted to generate some bona fide motivation before UFC 162. But aside from Weidman's over-confident nature, Silva had little to draw inspiration from heading into his 11th attempt at defending the middleweight strap.

Silva had done virtually everything and had dispatched of a prolific list of 185-pounders in the UFC prior to his shocking loss to the 29-year-old New Yorker. So leading up the bout, The Spider had little to prove and hardly any pressure to deal with.

This time around, conversely, Silva will have naysayers galore to answer to, especially considering the notion that Weidman bested him at his own game. He'll also have to address questions regarding showboating, an effective part of Silva's game that the seemingly unflappable Weidman shrugged off.

After UFC 162, and while talking to Bleacher Report's Damon Martin, White summed up Silva's situation perfectly by saying: 

"Nobody wants to lose. He doesn't know how to lose, he doesn't remember how to lose, it's been too long since he lost. This one's going to sink in a couple days after."