There were many contenders for Fighter of the Year for 2013, but ESPN had no doubts when it gave its honors recently.
To quote the Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com, “ESPN Fighter of the Year is not a close race in 2013. It’s Chris Weidman by a landslide.”
Of course there were other contenders. Cain Velasquez cemented his legacy as the unassailable champion in the heavyweight division, as Ronda Rousey did in the women’s bantamweight division. Vitor Belfort also stormed to number one contender status at the age of 36, and now awaits Weidman.
But among all these people, Weidman’s accomplishments are greater.
In 2013, he knocked out the man many consider the greatest fighter of all time, Anderson Silva. In doing so, he not only won the UFC middleweight title, but he also ended several of UFC’s most significant records held by the Brazilian, such as most consecutive wins, most title matches won and longest title reign.
And then he did it again six months later.
The second victory was even sweeter than the first. In the first match, Silva’s antics made Weidman look a fool, but in the second, even before the gruesome leg-break which ended the fight, the Long Island native almost finished the fight in Round 1.
Weidman beating Silva the first time shocked the MMA world. The rematch became the biggest fight in UFC history.
Unlike many of Silva’s opponents, who seemed like they were beaten before the fight even started, Weidman showed a level of confidence before the first fight that none of Silva’s opponents in years could muster. He also carried with him an almost unassailable run, becoming a champion in just 10 fights.
On paper, Weidman’s strengths—strong wrestling, strong top control, great submission awareness and conditioning—added up to a recipe perfect for beating Silva. But this wasn’t the Brazilian’s first opponent with skills on paper to beat him.
However, Dan Henderson didn’t have the conditioning and was spent after the first round, as was Travis Lutter. Chael Sonnen didn’t have the submission awareness, nor did Nate Marquardt. Demian Maia and Thales Leites—excellent submission artists—couldn’t get him to the ground. Vitor Belfort looked beaten before he was front kicked into the next country in the first significant move of the fight.
Weidman deserves Fighter of the Year because he achieved something that no other fighter has been able to do in seven years, and then did it again.
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