UFC 162’s main event has now been set as UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will defend his title against Chris Weidman in what should be a very interesting battle of styles. It was seven months ago that a bout between these two seemed unlik…
UFC 162’s main event has now been set as UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will defend his title against Chris Weidman in what should be a very interesting battle of styles.
It was seven months ago that a bout between these two seemed unlikely despite a relative lack of viable contenders in the division. Weidman was coming off of an unbelievable beatdown on fellow top contender Mark Munoz, but many fans simply didn’t know who he was. With only two wins over top-25 opponents, even Silva himself didn’t believe that Weidman was ready.
In fact, Silva went as far as to take a “superfight” in the light heavyweight division against Stephan Bonnar before he even considered fighting Weidman.
With that in mind and the Weidman fight already on the books, let’s take a look at four rumored opponents and where they stack up against the top fighter in the world.
Chris Weidman is undoubtedly the deserving top contender for Anderson Silva’s middleweight title. Has been since last July, actually, when he knocked out Mark Munoz and derailed the Filipino’s hopes to face Silva, a training partner and friend.The only…
Chris Weidman is undoubtedly the deserving top contender for Anderson Silva‘s middleweight title. Has been since last July, actually, when he knocked out Mark Munoz and derailed the Filipino’s hopes to face Silva, a training partner and friend.
The only problem? Silva didn’t want the fight. He didn’t believe Weidman had a big enough name, and after a UFC career filled with excellence, Silva seems more interested in pursuing the fights that will make him the most amount of money.
You can’t blame him, really. He’s not a young man any more, and he has a limited time remaining in which to capitalize on his standing as the greatest fighter of all time and make as much money as he possibly can.
And so Silva wanted to fight Georges St-Pierre. He even traveled to Montreal to watch St-Pierre face Carlos Condit last year, in the hopes of drumming up interest in a long-awaited superfight.
Only thing is, St-Pierre didn’t really want to fight Silva, or at least he didn’t want to move up to middleweight. He preferred to stay at welterweight and face new challengers, and so the dream of one superfight was all but dead.
And still, Silva didn’t want to face Weidman. He was more interested in Michael Bisping or Hector Lombard or Alan Belcher. But as fate would have it, all three of those fighters lost in their next bouts, leaving Weidman as the only man standing as a potential challenger for Silva.
Weidman had his own story wrinkled on the way to Silva. A shoulder injury forced him out of a planned December bout with Tim Boetsch, and then, Hurricane Sandy all but destroyed his home, leaving Weidman to pick up the pieces and rebuild.
That process is nearly finished, as Weidman told MMAFighting.com (per Mike Chiappetta) on Friday, and now comes the moment he says he’s been planning for since the moment he began training mixed martial arts: a championship fight with Silva.
The bout is set for July 6 at UFC 162. It takes place during the UFC’s 2013 version of “International Fight Week,” a weeklong celebration of all things UFC designed to bring tourists to Las Vegas. They’ll have a UFC Fan Expo, concerts and more. It’s the biggest event on the UFC’s yearly calendar, and Weidman will face Silva in the main event.
For all he went through to get here, Weidman now believes that he’s getting his opportunity at the perfect time:
Without a doubt, it feels like fate. When I got injured, I was down, but I did feel like something better was going to happen out of this. I thought I was going to get an even bigger fight than the Boetsch fight. I didn’t have my hopes up too much that it would be Anderson, but I knew there was a chance it could be. Everybody who could have had a shot lost. Things went my way. I’m grateful and humble for the opportunity.
The betting lines for Silva vs. Weidman were released on Friday, and they’re surprising. They’re also an indication of just much credit oddsmakers are giving Weidman. He opened up as a +165 underdog, with Silva occupying -215 on the other end. That number means that Weidman isn’t even a 2-to-1 underdog, a number that is unprecedented for a Silva opponent.
For an example of what I’m talking about, here are the opening lines for Silva’s last five title fights:
Silva (-235) vs. Sonnen (+175) Silva (-425) vs. Okami (+325) Silva (-325) vs. Belfort (+250) Silva (-450) vs. Sonnen (+300) Silva (-425) vs. Maia (+325)
As you can see, only Sonnen was given a halfway decent line against Silva, and that came on the heels of Sonnen utterly dominating Silva until being submitted with a triangle choke at the very end of their first fight.
And despite the fact that Sonnen had already displayed a measure of success against Silva, Weidman is still being given a better chance by oddsmakers to score the upset and defeat the pound-for-pound king.
For his part, Weidman isn’t looking to just go in the cage and have a good showing for himself; he’s looking for the finish.
I’m very motivated to make the most of this opportunity and not just be another title contender. Every other time I’ve had a full training camp, I’ve had a finish. And I plan on continuing that. I’m going against the greatest of all-time, but that’s not going to change my confidence of what I’m going to do in there. I’m very excited.
Weidman is 9-0 in his MMA career, with five of those wins coming in the UFC. But more importantly, he has the kind of wrestling-based offense that many say is the foundation of any blueprint to beating Silva. Sonnen showed it could be done in his first crack at Silva, and he would’ve scored a shocking win if not for a mental lapse at the end of the fight.
I don’t know if Weidman has better submission defense than Sonnen. I know he’s not as good in the wrestling department, but very few in mixed martial arts are as good at wrestling as Sonnen. But I do know that Weidman’s wrestling game is good enough to put the champion on his back, so long as he can first avoid being knocked out.
I understand that this isn’t the fight everyone wanted to see. We all wanted Silva vs. St-Pierre or Silva vs. Jon Jones, and some of us wanted Silva vs. Nick Diaz. But those fights aren’t happening any time soon, and that means that the title shot needs to go to the most deserving candidate.
Weidman won’t sell a tenth of the pay-per-views that Silva fights with St-Pierre or Jones would. This is a prizefighting business, with the ultimate goal being to make as much money as humanly possible with main events that intrigue casual fans enough that they’ll open their wallets and pay you for the right to see a fight.
But sometimes you have to reward athletic endeavors, too. And there’s no question that, based on what he’s done in his career thus far and on the standing of the rest of the middleweight division, Weidman is the most deserving contender.
(If 10 cc’s of Desflurane can’t keep this kid down, NOTHING CAN.)
I was there. I was there the last time Anderson Silva was listed asanythingless than a 3-to-1 favorite over his opponent. It was called 2011. Barack Obama was President, George W. Bush was in the White House, and Bill Clinton was running this country into the ground. The event was UFC 126, which was being held in a little hole in the wall town in what is now Nevada. Some fella by the name of Vitor shows up, starts picking off so-called “former middleweight champions.” Before we knew what hit us, he was trying to dethrone old Andy in our own backyard. So Vitor had to go.
Now this fella by the name of Weidman storms into town, flashing them dimes like a big shot and making noise, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s currently listed as one of the smallest underdogs(+165) Anderson has faced in his entire UFC career. It’s a load of claptrap if you ask me; this Weidman feller hasn’t fought in almost a year and is coming off shoulder surgery to boot. But if history is any indication, a moderately-favored Anderson Silva is the most dangerous Anderson Silva. Be careful what you wish for, Weidman. Be careful. What. You. Wish. For.
[UPDATED] – 4 p.m.
Well, that was a lot of buildup for nothing. In the hours since this was originally written, Anderson has already improved to just under a 3-to-1 favorite. Still, it seems that the bookies are giving Weidman’s grappling prowess a lot of respect all things considered.
(If 10 cc’s of Desflurane can’t keep this kid down, NOTHING CAN.)
I was there. I was there the last time Anderson Silva was listed asanythingless than a 3-to-1 favorite over his opponent. It was called 2011. Barack Obama was President, George W. Bush was in the White House, and Bill Clinton was running this country into the ground. The event was UFC 126, which was being held in a little hole in the wall town in what is now Nevada. Some fella by the name of Vitor shows up, starts picking off so-called “former middleweight champions.” Before we knew what hit us, he was trying to dethrone old Andy in our own backyard. So Vitor had to go.
Now this fella by the name of Weidman storms into town, flashing them dimes like a big shot and making noise, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s currently listed as one of the smallest underdogs(+165) Anderson has faced in his entire UFC career. It’s a load of claptrap if you ask me; this Weidman feller hasn’t fought in almost a year and is coming off shoulder surgery to boot. But if history is any indication, a moderately-favored Anderson Silva is the most dangerous Anderson Silva. Be careful what you wish for, Weidman. Be careful. What. You. Wish. For.
[UPDATED] – 4 p.m.
Well, that was a lot of buildup for nothing. In the hours since this was originally written, Anderson has already improved to just under a 3-to-1 favorite. Still, it seems that the bookies are giving Weidman’s grappling prowess a lot of respect all things considered.
Earlier this week, Chris Weidman finally received the call to face Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title in July—and it’s a fight that’s more than four years in the making. To explain that lengthy timeline, you have to go back to 2009 whe…
Earlier this week, Chris Weidman finally received the call to face Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title in July—and it’s a fight that’s more than four years in the making.
To explain that lengthy timeline, you have to go back to 2009 when Weidman first strapped on the gloves and stepped into a mixed martial arts ring, because even back then he knew one day he would be the man to eventually challenge Anderson Silva in the UFC.
Silva has been the king of the middleweights for longer than Weidman has even been fighting, but the New York native had a goal back then, and now he finally gets the chance to bring that dream to reality in July.
“It’s not a fight I’ve been waiting for, for a year, it’s a fight I’ve been waiting for since I started MMA,” Weidman explained when speaking to Bleacher Report. “He was the champion when I started MMA and I’ve been envisioning fighting him since day one. I believed I could beat him since day one because my goal is to be champion and I didn’t get into this sport for any other reason.”
When Weidman defeated Mark Munoz last year to move his MMA record to a perfect 9-0, he immediately entered the discussion as the No. 1 contender at 185 pounds. He began a series of interviews and social networking campaigns with one goal in mind—to land the fight with Anderson Silva.
It wasn’t easy, however, because for most of the last six months, Silva has downplayed fighting Weidman. It seemed for a while that the fight may not happen.
“I had no idea what was going on,” Weidman said. “Like Dana said, we’re going to make this fight happen, but at the same time, Anderson Silva is the greatest of all time, the negotiation process is probably a little different than anybody else. I wasn’t really getting my hopes up at all to be honest with you.”
Now that he’s landed the fight, part one of his mission is complete. But none of the hard work, sacrifice and dedication will matter if he doesn’t beat Anderson Silva.
Weidman knows deep down inside that it’s no different than an NFL team making it to the Super Bowl, then losing. He’s honored to fight Anderson Silva, but Weidman reaches immortality by finishing the champion and ending his unreal consecutive title defense streak, which currently stands at 10 victories.
“I’m not getting too excited to be honest with you until I get the victory because that’s what I’m here to do,” Weidman stated.
“That’s all that matters. I didn’t put myself in this position to get this fight just to lose, that’s for sure. I’d be sick with myself, and that would be an understatement, if I were to get this shot and lose the fight. I’m in here to win it, and I’m in here to go for the finish like every other fight I’ve had.
Finishing the fight is a key element for Weidman because he’s not a fan of decisions. The top middleweight contender has only gone to decision twice in his UFC career with both occasions being a result of taking a fight on short notice.
Whenever Weidman has had a full training camp the results have been much different. He’s finished all three of those fights inside of 10 minutes, winning two by submission and the third by knockout. He will happily add Anderson Silva’s name to that list come July.
“Any time I’ve ever had a full training camp, I’ve had a finish in either the first or second round, and I plan on keeping that going. I have a lot of respect for Anderson but that’s how I’m going to take the fight. I think that gives you the best chance of getting the ‘W’ is to be aggressive and have confidence in myself,” said Weidman.
“I definitely feel like I have a lot of strengths where he lacks a little bit. The guy is good everywhere, it’s not like he’s a bad wrestler or has bad jiu-jitsu or anything like that, but I do feel like I have an advantage in both those areas. I’m going to try my best to expose it.”
As the fight approaches, Weidman knows he’s going to be the underdog against Silva, and there’s going to be plenty of talk about the next fight for the champion once he finishes the 11th challenger to his title. People are already assuming Silva will win yet again and that could potentially set up a superfight with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones later this year.
Weidman invites the doubters to keep doubting because he will gladly spoil all of those plans by beating Anderson Silva and capturing the UFC middleweight crown.
“There’s going to be a lot of people that are thinking I’m going to get killed,” Weidman said. “That just fires me up because I can’t wait to prove those people wrong, too. It’s just a great opportunity to do that.”
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
Although UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman is less than 10 fights into his MMA career, oddsmakers are giving him a good shot against Anderson Silva.In fact, Weidman is opening with the best betting line against Silva in years.As relayed by betti…
Although UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman is less than 10 fights into his MMA career, oddsmakers are giving him a good shot against Anderson Silva.
In fact, Weidman is opening with the best betting line against Silva in years.
As relayed by betting aggregate website BestFightOdds, Silva has been pegged as a -215 favorite by 5Dimes, while Weidman is rated as a strong +165 underdog.
When you look at Silva’s history on the betting books, that’s actually kind of remarkable.
To break it down further, here’s the list of opening odds (via BestFightOdds) given to Silva’s opponents over the last seven years or so:
• UFC 162: Anderson Silva -215 / Chris Weidman +165 • UFC 153: Anderson Silva -1350 / Stephan Bonnar +850 • UFC 148: Anderson Silva -235 / Chael Sonnen +175 • UFC 134: Anderson Silva -425 / Yushin Okami +325 • UFC 126: Anderson Silva -325 / Vitor Belfort +250 • UFC 117: Anderson Silva -450 / Chael Sonnen +300 • UFC 112: Anderson Silva -425 / Demian Maia +325 • UFC 101: Anderson Silva -240 / Forrest Griffin +190 • UFC 97: Anderson Silva -275 / Thales Leites +215 • UFC 90: Anderson Silva -370 / Patrick Cote +300 • UFC Fight Night 14: Anderson Silva -600 / James Irvin +400 • UFC 82: Anderson Silva -140 / Dan Henderson +100 • UFC 77: Anderson Silva -300 / Rich Franklin +220 • UFC 73: Anderson Silva -190 / Nate Marquardt +155
[Note: BestFightOdds does not have fighter data or odds for UFC 67, UFC 64 or UFC Fight Night 5.]
Historically, this means that Weidman has opened with the best odds against Silva since the champion’s UFC & Pride FC middleweight title unification bout against former Pride champion, Dan Henderson.
Incidentally, Weidman’s +165 underdog status gives him better odds against Silva than even welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
Naturally, the betting line will shift in the lead up to the fight, especially in the last couple of weeks.
Although Silva is widely recognized as the No. 1 pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the sport, his major weakness is known to be strong wrestling, a trait exploited by takedown specialists like Henderson and Chael Sonnen.
Weidman’s strong odds likely come from both his undefeated 9-0 career fighting record, in addition to his credentials as a multi-time NCAA All-American wrestler.
Not only did Weidman earn two All-American honors in junior college, but he also repeated the feat in Hofstra University at the NCAA Division 1 level.
Additionally, the relatively close opening odds could also be a matter of a strong young talent against an aging champion—Weidman is in his athletic prime at 28 years old, while Silva will turn 38 on April 14 this year.
But the talented Silva has proven capable of dealing with all kinds of fighting styles, including elite wrestling, which has led to his current 16-0 record in the UFC and 10 consecutive title defenses. To put it mildly, Weidman has a tough task ahead of him, even if the early odds aren’t against him yet.
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and tech writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld, PC World, 1UP, NVision, The Los Angeles Times, FightFans Radio, MMA Mania and Bleacher Report. Talk with him on Twitter.
Chris Weidman is undoubtedly the deserving top contender for 
