Erick Silva admits he threw ‘unethical’ punch at UFC 196

Nordine Taleb had strong words for Erick Silva after UFC 196.

Taleb came out victorious via second-round knockout last Saturday in Las Vegas, improving to 4-1 under the UFC banner, but a left hand he ate in the opening round bothered him. Silva reached out to touch gloves, and connected a punch as soon as Taleb complied.

Taleb called Silva "dirty" for his actions, and the Brazilian issued a statement on his social media apologizing for his controversial punch.

People know nothing about me, but still judge me.

Anyone makes mistakes, me, you, him or them, we all make mistakes and should recognize the mistakes rationally and don’t make it again.

I admit that in the heat of the fight, I let my emotions act and ended up doing something not worthy of the martial arts. I confess I didn’t notice at the time, but watching the tape I wouldn’t say I was disloyal or a cheater, because there’s nothing in the rules that says I can’t do that. But, as a martial artist, I was unethical.

I won’t say the loss was karma or deserved because of that, but for my opponents merits of connecting a perfect punch, and he trained to catch me that way.

On the other side, I’m happy. I’m happy that I did a good camp, was physically well prepared and happy with my changes these past months. I didn’t go out with the result I wanted, but I have my conscience clear that I’ve done everything the right way in my training. I would like to thank everyone who cheered for me regardless of the outcome, and even those who don’t cheer from their hearts.

I would also like to thank my coaches Rafael Cordeiro, Jacob Harman, Daniel Mendes, Art of Jiu-Jitsu, and Gabriel Silva for their patience.

I won’t stop being who I am and always were because some people judge me today. Who really know me knows my values, and those are the most important to me. Now it’s time to raise my head and continue working to come back stronger, and don’t make the same mistakes.