Pimblett scored his first Cage Warriors win on the same night that Silva put his middleweight title on the line against Weidman at UFC 162 in July 2013. Meanwhile, McGregor was coming off his UFC debut victory and cornering teammate Philip Mulpeter on the same CW card. Pimblett, McGregor and Mulpeter watched together as Weidman scored a second round upset TKO win over “The Spider,” ending the longest title reign in UFC history — a run that spanned 2,457 days which included 10 defenses.
As a fan of Silva, McGregor was visibly devastated and went on to kick the wall, which had Pimblett tickled.
“When I had my first Cage Warriors fight, he’d just been signed by the UFC. I was 19, I had just won my first Cage Warriors fight and he was there,” Pimblett said on the “Still Talking” show. “We were watching Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman that night… I’ll never forget. I fell asleep on a couch with me head on Philip Mulpeter’s shoulder. I woke up and ended up watching the fight. There was only a few of us left. He was there with John Kavanagh, McGregor. When Anderson lost, he was gutted, because he’s an Anderson fan. And I’ll never forget him kicking the wall in this hotel [reception]. It was f—-ing hilarious.”
⚡️ Paddy Pimblett shares a story about watching Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman 1 with Conor McGregor back in 2013:
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) November 25, 2024
“When Anderson lost, he [Conor McGregor] was gutted. He was kicking the wall in the hotel reception. It was hilarious.”😅
🎥 @st1llryan ▫️ pic.twitter.com/k2rJxoU6Lp
Silva’s career went on a downward spiral following his loss against Weidman. The former middleweight champ broke his leg in a freak injury in their immediate rematch at UFC 168 later that year. While Silva returned after two years, the Brazilian only managed to pick up a win over Derek Brunson in seven outings before hanging up his gloves for good.
Meanwhile, McGregor went on to create his own legacy in the UFC as arguably the greatest star of the sport. However, the Irishman has dropped three of his last four, and hasn’t fought since 2021. He was also recently found liable of sexual misconduct against a women named Nikita Hand in an incident dating back to December 2018.