Former long-time UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva attributes his shocking knockout loss to current titleholder Chris Weidman at UFC 162 this past July to “basic mistakes.”

Silva said as much in an interview with SporTV (translation via MMA Fighting):

“My mistakes in that fight, and that’s the first time I’m saying this, were basic mistakes," Silva said.

"I did everything I had to do except hit him. I didn’t counterattack. When I stopped with my feet parallel, I should have hit him and walked one step behind. I didn’t do that. I saw my mistakes and I’m working on that to train for this next fight."

Silva is widely considered the best pound-for-pound competitor in mixed martial arts history, boasting a 17-fight win streak (including 15 finishes) between April 2006 and October 2012.

Weidman became just the fifth fighter to beat “The Spider” in 38 professional contests and the first to ever stop the legendary Brazilian with strikes.

“The All-American,” a decorated wrestler at Hofstra University, is 10-0 inside the cage, including seven stoppage victories.

"I wish I could sit back and relax and I feel like I’ve accomplished my goal, but I gotta win this next fight bad,” he told SporTV.

The long-awaited rematch takes place at UFC 168 on December 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Will Weidman prove that Silva has met his match or will Anderson make it look like their first middleweight title bout was a fluke?