UFC 162 is just around the corner, and with it comes what might be the first title challenger in 2013 to actually deserve his title shot. Chris Weidman isn’t Nick Diaz. He’s not Chael Sonnen or Frankie Edgar. Even though it was more than a year ag…
UFC 162 is just around the corner, and with it comes what might be the first title challenger in 2013 to actually deserve his title shot.
Chris Weidman isn’t Nick Diaz. He’s not ChaelSonnen or Frankie Edgar. Even though it was more than a year ago, Weidman did not lose his last fight.
To be more specific, Weidman hasn’t lost any of his previous fights. He’s undefeated at 9-0 heading into his UFC 162 main event against Anderson Silva, the otherworldly fighter who is nearly unanimously considered to be the greatest fighter in the history of the sport.
Weidman deserves the opportunity to dethrone Silva, and there’s a refrain among fans and media that grows in volume with each passing day that leaves us closer to fight week: Weidman can win this fight.
And it isn’t just that Weidmancan win; there’s a growing belief that he will win.
But why, after all we’ve seen him do over the past seven years, would anyone in their right mind pick against Silva?
Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter is here to answer that question, and he’ll also give you his prediction for Silva vs. Weidman. On top of that, Botter gives you one more UFC 162 fight you should be paying attention to.
Watch the video above, and leave your own predictions below.
On Saturday, July 6, UFC 162 will be prefaced by an undercard that features a wealth of exciting matchups—lightning-fast strikers such as Edson Barboza will battle it out alongside tried-and-true veterans like Chris Leben.What’s more, there’s muc…
On Saturday, July 6, UFC 162 will be prefaced by an undercard that features a wealth of exciting matchups—lightning-fast strikers such as Edson Barboza will battle it out alongside tried-and-true veterans like Chris Leben.
What’s more, there’s much on the line for many of the fighters involved.
The main card ups the figurative ante by opening with a potential barn-burner between Cub Swanson and Dennis Siver—the former is undergoing a career resurgence while the latter is benefiting from a recent drop to featherweight.
The action certainly doesn’t stop there.
The entire main card is riddled with dynamic fighters and tantalizing matchups, with the evening of course culminating with Chris Weidman’s effort to dethrone the great Anderson Silva.
Fireworks are certainly in the making. Let’s examine three crucial reasons why dipping into your wallet for UFC 162 may prove to be a wise investment.
At UFC 162 on July 6, 38-year-old Anderson Silva will make an attempt to extend his unprecedented title defense streak to 11 consecutive fights. Awe-inspiring in its own right, that record could potentially be one of many that he prolongs if he achieve…
At UFC 162 on July 6, 38-year-old Anderson Silva will make an attempt to extend his unprecedented title defense streak to 11 consecutive fights. Awe-inspiring in its own right, that record could potentially be one of many that he prolongs if he achieves victory.
That is, of course, unless Chris Weidman delivers on his promises and halts the middleweight juggernaut dead in his tracks.
Undefeated in his own right, Weidman—in spite of his relative inexperience—has the tenacity, determination and wrestling pedigree to potentially frustrate “The Spider.”
The Silva-Weidman matchup for the UFC middleweight crown may be at the forefront of what this fight card offers but it’s certainly not the only noteworthy consideration. Namely, several other fighters are set to make a concerted effort to recover from recent defeats.
Let’s examine the matchups that feature fighters willing to throw all their chips on the table at UFC 162.
On July 6 at UFC 162, Chris Weidman will try to end the seven year, 16 fight unbeaten streak of Anderson Silva’s reign of terror through the best of the best in the Octagon. Weidman has shown extreme confidence at every phase of the process leading int…
On July 6 at UFC 162, Chris Weidman will try to end the seven year, 16 fight unbeaten streak of Anderson Silva‘s reign of terror through the best of the best in the Octagon.
Weidman has shown extreme confidence at every phase of the process leading into this fight, and he’s not letting up now.
He readily admits that Silva is the best fighter this sport has ever known, but Weidman believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that he will beat him when they face off next weekend.
Weidman is even ready for his next fight because beating Silva once won’t be enough—he knows he’ll probably have to do it twice to solidify his place as middleweight champion.
“If I beat Anderson Silva, I definitely kind of expect a rematch,” Weidman said.“Unless he decides to retire because he’s the greatest of all time.He’s been undefeated in the UFC, and I’m sure he’s not just going to lose and then fight a couple of guys to get a title shot again. He’s going to be right back in there.”
Check out this exclusive interview with Chris Weidman where he talks UFC 162 and his showdown with Anderson Silva.
There has been a great deal of talk about how top ranked middleweight contender Chris Weidman will pose the biggest test of Anderson Silva’s career when the two square off on July 6. UFC president Dana White recently said, “All the pr…
There has been a great deal of talk about how top ranked middleweight contender Chris Weidman will pose the biggest test of Anderson Silva’s career when the two square off on July 6.
UFC president Dana Whiterecently said, “All the pros, like when you talk to all the fighters, every fighter out there that I’ve talked to and that we’ve interviewed think Weidman‘s going to beat him.” UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has gone on record with Sportsnet, saying, “Not only is he going to beat, I believe he is going to finish Anderson Silva. I believe it’s not going to be too long, that fight. This, people will be shocked.”
One person that isn’t sweating that kind of talk is Anderson Silva, who sees nothing special about his fight against Weidman at UFC 162, “A fight’s a fight, and this is another fight.”
Weidman is a strong wrestler. Along with those wrestling skills he possesses a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It’s that combination of skills that give him the chance at the upset. One would think that perhaps Silva would train to the strengths of his opponent, but that has not been the case. According to Silva, “I don’t really train thinking about my opponent. I train to do what I do best, and I’ve been doing since I was a kid, which is fighting. I train to overcome myself. I train to satisfy myself, not to satisfy anyone else. I’m not thinking about my opponent, I’m thinking more about myself, and getting better at what I do.”
The champion doesn’t really seem concerned about how his style matches up to Weidman’s or what strengths Weidman brings. Instead, Silva feels the fight will be decided by whom the better prepared fighter is once the cage door locks behind them, “Every fight is a new challenge and it’s going to come down to who is better prepared that night. Win or lose, the winner and loser always walk side by side. That doesn‘t really matter to me. I’ve been doing this since I was eight years old and there’s always new challenges, and my biggest concern is going out there and doing better for myself, I want to better myself, and I want to overcome anything that I have.”
Silva may have to wait on some of the new challenges he mentions considering he recently re-upped with the UFC for 10 more fights (via MMAJunkie.com). Speaking of fighting to the end of that deal, Silva said, “Everything’s a possibility, but It’s really going to come down to my willpower and my desire to still be fighting I have a lot of other things I want to do, a lot of other desires. One of those is fighting Roy Jones, we’re just going to see how things work out in the next few fights and how I feel.”
Many have wondered why Silva would want to fight Jones, a boxer whose best days are well behind him. “I feel that his boxing style is one that I would like to test myself against,” Silva said. “I’ve always been a fan of his and I’ve always wanted to test myself against Roy Jones.”
Whether that fight happens against Jones or not, or if he loses to Weidman on July 6, Silva feels that he has already done everything he can do in the sport of MMA, “Whatever I should have already done in this sport I’ve already done. Win or lose, I’ve already done everything that there is to do, and now it’s just a matter of doing what I love to do.”
It’s hard to argue with that statement. The UFC record book is littered with Silva’s accomplishments. Win or lose against Weidman, that fact is not likely to change in the very near future. Silva’s established his legacy; he’s looked at by many as the greatest MMA fighter in the history of the sport. If he wants to go out there and have some fun and do what he loves to do, who’s going to say no to that?
It does make you wonder though, if he wasn’t doing what he loved to do in his past fights, if he was more worried about the outcome than enjoying himself, what kind of Silva are we going to see on July 6? Is there another level inside Silva that he’s been holding back? Now that’s a scary thought.
*Al quotes obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
There has been a great deal of talk about how top-ranked middleweight contender Chris Weidman will pose the biggest test of Anderson Silva’s career when the two square off on July 6. UFC president Dana White recently said, “All the pr…
There has been a great deal of talk about how top-ranked middleweight contender Chris Weidman will pose the biggest test of Anderson Silva’s career when the two square off on July 6.
UFC president Dana Whiterecently said, “All the pros, like, when you talk to all the fighters, every fighter out there that I’ve talked to and that we’ve interviewed think(s) Weidman’s going to beat him.”
UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has gone on record with Sportsnet, saying, “Not only is he going to beat, I believe he is going to finish Anderson Silva. I believe it’s not going to be too long, that fight. This, people will be shocked.”
One person that isn’t sweating that kind of talk is Anderson Silva, who sees nothing special about his fight against Weidman at UFC 162, saying, “A fight’s a fight, and this is another fight.”
Weidman is a strong wrestler. Along with those wrestling skills, he possesses a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It’s that combination of skills that give him the chance at the upset.
One would think that perhaps Silva would train to the strengths of his opponent, but that has not been the case. According to Silva, “I don’t really train thinking about my opponent. I train to do what I do best, and I’ve been doing since I was a kid, which is fighting. I train to overcome myself. I train to satisfy myself, not to satisfy anyone else. I’m not thinking about my opponent, I’m thinking more about myself, and getting better at what I do.”
The champion doesn’t really seem concerned about how his style matches up to Weidman’s or what strengths Weidman will bring. Instead, Silva feels the fight will be decided by whom the better prepared fighter is once the cage door locks behind them.
“Every fight is a new challenge, and it’s going to come down to who is better prepared that night,” Silva said. “Win or lose, the winner and loser always walk side by side. That doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve been doing this since I was eight years old, and there’s always new challenges, and my biggest concern is going out there and doing better for myself. I want to better myself, and I want to overcome anything that I have.”
Silva may have to wait on some of the new challenges he mentions, considering he recently re-upped with the UFC for 10 more fights, per MMAJunkie.com. Speaking of fighting to the end of that deal, Silva said, “Everything’s a possibility, but it’s really going to come down to my willpower and my desire to still be fighting. I have a lot of other things I want to do, a lot of other desires. One of those is fighting Roy Jones. We’re just going to see how things work out in the next few fights and how I feel.”
Many have wondered why Silva would want to fight Jones, a boxer whose best days are well behind him. “I feel that his boxing style is one that I would like to test myself against,” Silva said. “I’ve always been a fan of his, and I’ve always wanted to test myself against Roy Jones.”
Whether that fight happens against Jones or not, or whether he loses to Weidman on July 6, Silva feels that he has already done everything he can do in the sport of MMA, “Whatever I should have already done in this sport, I’ve already done. Win or lose, I’ve already done everything that there is to do, and now it’s just a matter of doing what I love to do.”
It’s hard to argue with that statement. The UFC record book is littered with Silva’s accomplishments. Win or lose against Weidman, that fact is not likely to change in the very near future. Silva’s established his legacy; he’s looked at by many as the greatest MMA fighter in the history of the sport. If he wants to go out there and have some fun and do what he loves to do, who’s going to say no to that?
It does make you wonder though, if he wasn’t doing what he loved to do in his past fights, if he was more worried about the outcome than enjoying himself, what kind of Silva are we going to see on July 6? Is there another level inside Silva that he’s been holding back? Now that’s a scary thought.
*Al quotes obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
There has been a great deal of talk about how top ranked middleweight contender Chris