As expected, the fallout following Anderson Silva’s epic loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 continues, particularly in Brazil where Silva has achieved God-like status. The loss was embarrassing for Silva, particularly the manner in which he lost. The fact that many are even questioning whether he threw the fight makes matters even worse for Silva.

“Nobody likes to lose,” Silva told “Fantastico” from his academy in Los Angeles.”I trained four months to win, [and] I lost in the worst way. I have never lost by knockout, and of course it will be marked on my history. After everything passed, I felt that I needed to answer many questions to myself. I don’t want to take anything from Chris Weidman, but I lost to myself, and that’s the worst loss that can happen.”

Arrogance was always a part of his game, but he definitely paid the price of believing his own hype and fighting recklessly. It will be fascinating to see if he can come back focused the next time around. We’ve seen this pattern in many sports including boxing, and talent tends to bounce back when coupled with the motivation of a humiliating defeat. It’s hard to imagine Silva not using this as the springboard to even more impressive wins in the future. That’s what great champions do, and now he will be put to the test. Weidman will have his work cut out for him.

Of course this has shaken up the world of MMA betting. Controversial fights always helped boxing, and it will help the UFC as well as it just draws even more interest in big fights and MMA betting odds. With a rematch set, we can only imagine how much hype will be there for this next fight and how much action there will be in places like Las Vegas. Silva’s potential redemption will be the story of the year.