Tag: UFC 162

Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman Results: Live Blog For UFC 162’s Main Event

UFC 162 goes live this evening on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET, and we’ve got you covered with the live blog of the main event.The card is headlined by a middleweight title match between champion Anderson Silva and top contender Chris Weidman. Silva, the…

UFC 162 goes live this evening on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET, and we’ve got you covered with the live blog of the main event.

The card is headlined by a middleweight title match between champion Anderson Silva and top contender Chris Weidman. Silva, the favorite, looks to continue his unbeaten streak in the UFC, while Weidman looks to keep his undefeated professional record intact as well. 

Join us throughout the evening for live updates from the Las Vegas event.

And, as always, enjoy the fights. 

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UFC 162 Final Main Card Predictions

Zero hour is upon us, my friends. Not far away from now, UFC 162 will be gracing television screens all over the world and entertain fans with some of the best mixed martial artists in the world.Between Anderson Silva, Frankie Edgar and the other numer…

Zero hour is upon us, my friends. Not far away from now, UFC 162 will be gracing television screens all over the world and entertain fans with some of the best mixed martial artists in the world.

Between Anderson Silva, Frankie Edgar and the other numerous fighters on the card, this is must-see TV due to the talent and potential for great fights. Former, current and future champions are littered all over the card in an attempt to bring the highest of quality to viewers.

With that, we give you the final main card predictions for UFC 162 just mere hours away from start time.

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Is Anderson Silva the Only Fighter Who Can Beat Anderson Silva?

Since joining the UFC, Anderson Silva has gone through the company unblemished. Seriously, the guy has never taken a loss with the company.That is very impressive, considering most of Silva’s fights have been title bouts. With the exception of his debu…

Since joining the UFC, Anderson Silva has gone through the company unblemished. Seriously, the guy has never taken a loss with the company.

That is very impressive, considering most of Silva’s fights have been title bouts. With the exception of his debut against Chris Leben and “superfights” with Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, Silva’s other fights have been him going for or defending his golden strap.

With an impressive resume like that and a legendary skill set, will there ever be anybody that can beat Silva with a straight mindset? 

Some people will point to Chris Weidman as the guy who has the exact toolbox to beat Silva. I myself have Weidman beating Silva at UFC 162, but is that more of a product of Weidman being a prodigy, or Silva going through the motions?

It is true what they say that anybody is beatable. That is why Silva is not undefeated at this stage in his career. In fact, his losses have come to guys who shouldn’t have even been in the ring with him (for example, Ryo Chonan and Daiju Takase).

However, those losses were early in Silva’s career and can be chalked to mere flukes. Silva was winning those fights and was caught in hail mary type finishes.

Weidman, and most of the other men Silva has faced in his career, are obviously superior to Chonan and Takase. However, Silva has beaten them, most of the time with ease.

There have been times that Silva should have dominated and destroyed opposition just based on different skill levels. For example, Thales Leites and Demain Maia couldn’t hold Silva’s jock strap, yet, Silva looked lackluster and disinterested in fighting those two.

So, is the only guy who can beat Anderson Silva, Anderson Silva?

Based on evidence already stated, one would have to assert with a definitive no. Sure, Silva can be his own worst enemy by going through the motions and not having his heart completely in a fight, but as stated, anyone can be beat on any night.

Depending on which phenomenon of skill and determination we see in Silva, we could see a variety of results. However, everyone has good and bad nights, so Silva can be beat by anybody (including himself).

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Silva vs. Weidman: 3 Areas of Concern For Anderson Silva

UFC 162 may provide the greatest challenge to Anderson Silva’s belt in his long career with the UFC. Despite taking on top-level competitors in the past, such as Rich Franklin, Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami, he has made them all look foolish in their a…

UFC 162 may provide the greatest challenge to Anderson Silva‘s belt in his long career with the UFC. Despite taking on top-level competitors in the past, such as Rich Franklin, Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami, he has made them all look foolish in their attempts at snagging his title.

However, fighters such as Sonnen and Dan Henderson have given a glimmer of hope as to providing a blueprint to defeating Silva. Silva’s wrestling is the chink in his armor, which American wrestlers with decent striking can look to expose.

Chris Weidman may be the perfect guy to expose Silva’s wrestling.

Here are three areas of concern for Silva going into his title defense against Weidman.

 

Wrestling

As mentioned in the intro, Silva’s biggest area of concern comes in the wrestling department. And as stated before, Weidman is one of the best wrestlers in the business.

If there was anything Sonnen gave us other than entertainment, it was the game plan for dominating Silva from the top position. Had he been able to hold out for around two more minutes, Sonnen would have walked away with Silva’s golden strap.

Weidman finds himself with a similar, yet more refined, skill set to Sonnen. He is just as skillful in the wrestling department, but he can probably set up his takedowns better because of his hands. His boxing opens up the ability to use his wrestling. 

If he plants Silva on the mat, he not only has great ground-and-pound, but he has very good submission skills. Silva is equally competent in submission grappling, but once Weidman wears him down, opportunities for tapouts may arise.

 

Going Through the Motions

When you have dominated for as long as Silva has and not come close to losing often, you tend to get bored with the lack of competition. That is another area of concern for Silva, especially against a dangerous young stud like Weidman.

We have seen Silva give lackluster performances against the likes of Thales Leites and Demian Maia, when he knew he was going to win easily. If he comes in with that mindset, he could easily kiss his belt goodbye. 

He could always start off with that too-relaxed attitude and get woken up when Weidman brings it to him. However, if he takes that Maia-Leites attitude, he is in for a long (or possibly short) night.

 

Age

As great as Anderson Silva still looks, he is not the spring chicken he used to be. That being said, there is still a reason he is the best, so perhaps, this concern should fall upon deaf ears.

However, it could also be Weidman‘s age that causes concern. Weidman is a young, hungry kid that has the youth to conquer Silva’s older age.

Sometimes, experience is a great advantage, which it may be here. However, when you consider Weidman has more than a couple UFC fights under his belt, his youth may triumph over Silva’s experience in the Octagon.

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Silva vs. Weidman: 3 Areas of Concern For Anderson Silva

UFC 162 may provide the greatest challenge to Anderson Silva’s belt in his long career with the UFC. Despite taking on top-level competitors in the past, such as Rich Franklin, Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami, he has made them all look foolish in their a…

UFC 162 may provide the greatest challenge to Anderson Silva‘s belt in his long career with the UFC. Despite taking on top-level competitors in the past, such as Rich Franklin, Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami, he has made them all look foolish in their attempts at snagging his title.

However, fighters such as Sonnen and Dan Henderson have given a glimmer of hope as to providing a blueprint to defeating Silva. Silva’s wrestling is the chink in his armor, which American wrestlers with decent striking can look to expose.

Chris Weidman may be the perfect guy to expose Silva’s wrestling.

Here are three areas of concern for Silva going into his title defense against Weidman.

 

Wrestling

As mentioned in the intro, Silva’s biggest area of concern comes in the wrestling department. And as stated before, Weidman is one of the best wrestlers in the business.

If there was anything Sonnen gave us other than entertainment, it was the game plan for dominating Silva from the top position. Had he been able to hold out for around two more minutes, Sonnen would have walked away with Silva’s golden strap.

Weidman finds himself with a similar, yet more refined, skill set to Sonnen. He is just as skillful in the wrestling department, but he can probably set up his takedowns better because of his hands. His boxing opens up the ability to use his wrestling. 

If he plants Silva on the mat, he not only has great ground-and-pound, but he has very good submission skills. Silva is equally competent in submission grappling, but once Weidman wears him down, opportunities for tapouts may arise.

 

Going Through the Motions

When you have dominated for as long as Silva has and not come close to losing often, you tend to get bored with the lack of competition. That is another area of concern for Silva, especially against a dangerous young stud like Weidman.

We have seen Silva give lackluster performances against the likes of Thales Leites and Demian Maia, when he knew he was going to win easily. If he comes in with that mindset, he could easily kiss his belt goodbye. 

He could always start off with that too-relaxed attitude and get woken up when Weidman brings it to him. However, if he takes that Maia-Leites attitude, he is in for a long (or possibly short) night.

 

Age

As great as Anderson Silva still looks, he is not the spring chicken he used to be. That being said, there is still a reason he is the best, so perhaps, this concern should fall upon deaf ears.

However, it could also be Weidman‘s age that causes concern. Weidman is a young, hungry kid that has the youth to conquer Silva’s older age.

Sometimes, experience is a great advantage, which it may be here. However, when you consider Weidman has more than a couple UFC fights under his belt, his youth may triumph over Silva’s experience in the Octagon.

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UFC 162: Why Anderson Silva Will Roll to Another Easy Win

Anderson Silva has given UFC fans and experts every reason to believe in him. After all, he hasn’t shown a glimpse of vulnerability in nearly three years and has yet to lose a fight inside the Octagon.That’s why the Spider is poised to roll to another …

Anderson Silva has given UFC fans and experts every reason to believe in him. After all, he hasn’t shown a glimpse of vulnerability in nearly three years and has yet to lose a fight inside the Octagon.

That’s why the Spider is poised to roll to another victory on Saturday at UFC 162, where he’ll make his 11th straight successful title defense look easy against inexperienced challenger Chris Weidman.

The current UFC middleweight champion, Silva is 16-0 in the UFC since making his debut in the Octagon just over seven years ago. But those 16 victories have all come in dominant fashion mostly. Of the 16 wins, only two have come via judges’ decision with the other 14 ending early via knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Even in a match that Silva had no business winning, he found a way to earn a submission victory and extend his streak.

Flashback to August 2010 at UFC 117, when challenger Chael Sonnen dominated Silva for a majority of the fight before the champion broke free late in the fifth and final round to win via a triangle armbar. 

While that victory showed Silva’s vulnerability, it also highlighted his ability to get out of any situation inside the Octagon.

Weidman will likely take an approach similar to the one Sonnen took three years ago in Oakland, but that doesn’t guarantee success against the Spider. If the former wrestler doesn’t execute his takedowns perfectly, he could give Silva the opening he needs to land a critical strike.

There are very few weaknesses in Silva’s game, and having fought in 37 professional mixed martial arts bouts over the course of his career, the 38-year-old has faced and solved nearly every situation and problem a fighter can come across.

Plus, we know the moment won’t be too big for Silva. He’s been defending his championship match after match for the past six years. If either fighter is going to let nerves or adrenaline impact his judgment on Saturday, it will be Weidman.

Not only has Anderson Silva proven impossible to beat in the UFC, but he’s rarely been challenged. While Chris Weidman has the talent, athleticism and fighting style to give him problems, history tells us that the Spider will emerge with yet another easy victory.

 

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter. 

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