Adrian Mattheis, Alex Silva Ready To Settle Score In Highly Anticipated Rematch At ONE 158
It’s normal for a fight to end with conflicting emotions, and that was certainly the case when an elated Adrian Mattheis finished Alex Silva with a flurry of punches at ONE: LIGHTS OUT in March.
Silva did not agree when the referee waved off the contest five seconds into round two, but he’ll get his chance for redemption in an immediate rematch with “Papua Badboy” at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen this Friday, 3 June.
Above all, the former ONE Strawweight World Champion is looking forward to settling the score with his new rival – especially after he almost submitted Mattheis in the first round.
“Little Rock” said:
“[I felt okay about ] that performance, but about the result, the circumstance of the fight, I’m very disappointed and very sad.
“It’s always going to be an opinion on what happened if [the referee] did not stop it. [Mattheis] could have finished me. I could have finished him. Nobody knows what was supposed to happen on that night. We’re going to know what will happen next Friday.”
The Brazilian star respects the skills that “Papua Badboy” brings to the Circle, and that’s why he wanted to run it back right away.
However, he’s also confident that he’ll level their series by using his vaunted ground game to secure a victory, though he won’t call his shot specifically.
Silva said:
“It’s mixed martial arts but we all know that my strength is my grappling. For me the weakness of my opponents – Adrian or other guys – is their grappling because I believe I’m better.
“It depends where the fight drives me. I can’t say what am I going to do. Sometimes it’s not what you want, but what is the best way to take a submission. Like, you chase for one thing but you’re going to end up with another thing. So whatever he offers to me by mistake, I’ll take it.”
Adrian Mattheis Wants To Erase Any Doubt In Alex Silva Rematch
Adrian Mattheis was thrilled when he scored a TKO victory over a man he describes as one of his mixed martial arts idols, but he can understand Alex Silva’s disappointment
Still, while “Papua Badboy” can see it from his rival’s perspective, he feels certain that the stoppage was justified and that he earned a rightful victory over the strawweight icon.
He told ONE Championship:
“For me personally, I would of course protest it if I were in his position. He thought that he was not out, so why was the match stopped? But the referee saw it my way.
“Silva was already out. I knocked him out with the first blow, and I gave him more hammerfists on the ground. When I hit him, I saw the whites of his eyes, and I went to capitalize on that. I got him with two hammerfists on the ground. When I went in for the third, the ref pulled me off when Silva went for my leg.”
With so much respect for “Little Rock,” Mattheis did not hesitate to oblige when the second encounter was put on the table.
He did not see the challenge as disrespect. Instead, the Indonesian is excited for the chance to remove any doubts about his first victory.
Moreover, Silva is still a major force at strawweight, and “Papua Badboy” knows that back-to-back wins over the division’s former king would propel his own career to a new level.
Mattheis added:
“I know that a lot of people want to see if I am the real deal. I want to prove that I’m that good and put to rest the arguments. So I’ll go and do my best. The rest is up to God.
“I’m fighting my idol once again. I can’t say which way the fight is going to be finished, but I want to prove I can beat him. I want to say, because he didn’t accept his loss, then I’ll prove myself with this one, so the world can see.”
