While fans wondered aloud if Anderson Silva’s UFC 162 loss came simply because he didn’t take the fight seriously, the former champ has always called for his followers to respect the man who beat him, Chris Weidman. But with the rematch less than one week away, Silva now can admit he may have taken for granted his role as champion.

“Maybe a little bit,” Silva, in typical fashion, told MMAjunkie.

Silva supporters largely believed “The Spider” simply didn’t respect Weidman in their initial meeting, leading to a performance focused more on showmanship than successful striking. Weidman capitalized on Silva’s lack of defense by scoring a second-round knockout and becoming the first man to defeat the Brazilian striker in more than seven years.

Silva has openly admitted a footwork issue led to his demise and insists the faults have been addressed.

“The last fight is in the past,” Silva said. “I’m really looking forward to this next fight, and everything is going to be different.

“Obviously we made a few changes. When you see a mistake, you’ve got to get back and see what that mistake is and change a few things. But like I said, that’s in the past, and everything is going to be different from now on.”

Silva (33-5 MMA, 16-1 UFC) and Weidman (10-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) meet again on Saturday in the main event of UFC 168, which takes place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and MMAjunkie.

If Silva is to be believed, one thing that won’t change is his approach to the fight the second time around.

“There’s nothing that can be changed,” Silva said. “Everything was going well.”

With the event coinciding with this week’s holidays, fight week will be shorter than normal. Thursday’s pre-UFC 168 press conference will be the first chance the national media gets to see Silva in person, the first opportunity to see whether or not he’s handling himself any differently than the first time around and whether or not he’s truly, to us his own claim, “back.”

But Silva insists even after perhaps playing a significant role in the end of his own title reign, there is no regret. There is no pressure. There is no added emotion ahead of his chance at redemption.

For Silva, a man who prides himself in being a true martial artist and not simply a cagefighter, there is only the joy that has guided him throughout his 16-year career. And that joy won’t just come when he hears the roar of the crowd.

“I’m motivated by the will and the desire to do what I love, which is to train and to fight,” Silva said. “There’s no reason to wait for fight night. I feel very happy right now. I’m in a great mood, and I’m training harder than ever. There’s no reason for anything to go wrong, and I’m 100 percent sure I’m going to win.

“There’s not much left to be said. I just thank my fans. On the 28th, everyone make sure to tune in.”

For more on UFC 168, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.