Bruno Silva Admits He Wanted To 'Beat Up' Referee After Missed Eye Pokes Led To Defeat At UFC Fight Night Atlantic City

Middleweight Bruno Silva was left far from pleased at the conclusion of his showdown with former champion Chris Weidman at this past weekend's UFC Fight Night.

On March 30, the promotion returned to Atlantic City for the first time in five years. While the card provided plenty of finishes, it also wasn't short on controversy courtesy of some fouls.

That was most evident in Silva and Weidman's battle, which became embroiled in debate when a rare double eye poke from the latter resulted in an initial TKO victory.

After two previous pokes to the Brazilian, Silva collapsed in pain, clutching his face. Referee Gary Copeland, however, missed the fouls and proceeded to wave the fight off after Weidman jumped on his hurt opponent with ground-and-pound. 

While many subsequently expected a no contest to be the verdict upon review, the fight was originally announced as a TKO win for Weidman before being rectified to a technical decision in favor of the American.

Suffice to say, the ordeal left Silva infuriated...

Silva Reveals Extent Of Anger After Referee's TKO Stoppage

During a post-fight interview with MMA Fighting, Silva reflected on the incident and recalled his anger at the referee's decision to call the fight as a TKO victory for Weidman.

"Blindado" admitted that he even had violent thoughts when it came to the veteran official, but knew such actions would have ruined his career in mixed martial arts.

"The referee was bizarre," Silva said. "He f***** up, and then f***** up on top of that. The least they could do is a no contest. No way. He put his finger inside my eye.

"I thought the referee was stopping it because of my eye, but then I saw [Weidman] celebrating," Silva continued. "I was like, ‘No f****** way this m*********** knocked me out. I was never knocked out in my career. I went back up so angry, telling the referee to look at the big screen. I wanted to beat him up, but I knew that would f*** my career. I had to control myself there."

Silva also had a bone to pick with Weidman, whom he accused of acting in "bad faith." The former champion put the blame on "Blindado" post-fight, insisting he can't simply drop to the floor after a poke and expect the referee to call a timeout.

The Brazilian now plans to appeal the defeat.