Call it trash-talk by proxy. Weidman isn’t speaking for himself in this promo because, 1) having other people do it lends him credibility by association, and 2) the sound of Chris Weidman’s voice has never gotten anybody excited for anything. Not trying to hate, here. Chris is just a soft-spoken, respectful dude who does his talking in the cage. And that’s fine. And that’s why GSP and Joe Rogan are doing the talking for him.
Whether that’s an effective promotional strategy or not remains to be seen, but I think this clip captures the current zeitgeist among MMA fans. Whether it’s because they truly believe that Weidman possesses the skills to knock Silva off his throne, or they’re just getting tired of King Andy’s bloody reign, it feels like public support is leaning hard on the challenger this time.
So who are you picking for Silva vs. Weidman? And why? And are your reasons actually rooted in reality?
Call it trash-talk by proxy. Weidman isn’t speaking for himself in this promo because, 1) having other people do it lends him credibility by association, and 2) the sound of Chris Weidman’s voice has never gotten anybody excited for anything. Not trying to hate, here. Chris is just a soft-spoken, respectful dude who does his talking in the cage. And that’s fine. And that’s why GSP and Joe Rogan are doing the talking for him.
Whether that’s an effective promotional strategy or not remains to be seen, but I think this clip captures the current zeitgeist among MMA fans. Whether it’s because they truly believe that Weidman possesses the skills to knock Silva off his throne, or they’re just getting tired of King Andy’s bloody reign, it feels like public support is leaning hard on the challenger this time.
So who are you picking for Silva vs. Weidman? And why? And are your reasons actually rooted in reality?
UFC 161 is set to go down Saturday night from the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Full results for the fight card will be updated right here as the fights take place.Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson Stipe Miocic vs. Roy Nelson Alexis Davi…
UFC 161 is set to go down Saturday night from the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Full results for the fight card will be updated right here as the fights take place.
Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson
Stipe Miocic vs. Roy Nelson
Alexis Davis vs. Rosi Sexton
Pat Barry vs. Shawn Jordan
Ryan Jimmo vs. Igor Pokrajac
Jake Shields vs. Tyron Woodley
James Krause vs. Sam Stout
Sean Pierson vs. Kenny Robertson
Roland Delorme vs. Edwin Figueroa
Mitch Clarke vs. John Maguire
Yves Jabouin vs. Dustin Pague
Following UFC 16,1 the promotion will take some time off and reconvene in Las Vegas on July 6 for UFC 162, a stacked event that will feature a number of the top featherweights competing as well as a middleweight title bout between champion Anderson Silva and top-ranked Chris Weidman.
What follows are some of the questions we have heading into the event.
(Replace the number ‘162’ with ‘163’, and this promo is still pretty damn relevant. / Props: TheSuperactiontv)
Anthony Pettis‘s divisional line-cutting has apparently angered the vengeful MMA Gods, who have struck down the crowd-pleasing striker with a knee injury. UFC president Dana White just confirmed the bad news, saying that Pettis is officially out of his scheduled featherweight title fight against Jose Aldo, which was slated to go down at UFC 163, August 3rd at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Pettis described the injury as a “small tear in my meniscus,” but didn’t give a specific timetable on his return.
So that’s the bad news. The good news is, Pettis has already been replaced by a title-challenger who’s actually earned a crack at the 145-pound belt: Chan Sung Jung, better known to us Westerners as “The Korean Zombie.” Jung was originally scheduled to face Ricardo Lamas in a likely #1 contender bout at UFC 162 next month, but has now been fast-tracked to a title fight in order to rescue the UFC 163 main event.
“TKZ” is 3-0 in the UFC, with incredible stoppage victories against Leonard Garcia (via twister submission), Mark Hominick (via seven-second KO), and Dustin Poirier (via d’arce choke, in a Fight of the Year candidate last May).
So who’s your pick in Aldo vs. Zombie? And is this a more interesting matchup to you than Aldo vs. Pettis?
(Replace the number ’162′ with ’163′, and this promo is still pretty damn relevant. / Props: TheSuperactiontv)
Anthony Pettis‘s divisional line-cutting has apparently angered the vengeful MMA Gods, who have struck down the crowd-pleasing striker with a knee injury. UFC president Dana White just confirmed the bad news, saying that Pettis is officially out of his scheduled featherweight title fight against Jose Aldo, which was slated to go down at UFC 163, August 3rd at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Pettis described the injury as a “small tear in my meniscus,” but didn’t give a specific timetable on his return.
So that’s the bad news. The good news is, Pettis has already been replaced by a title-challenger who’s actually earned a crack at the 145-pound belt: Chan Sung Jung, better known to us Westerners as “The Korean Zombie.” Jung was originally scheduled to face Ricardo Lamas in a likely #1 contender bout at UFC 162 next month, but has now been fast-tracked to a title fight in order to rescue the UFC 163 main event.
“TKZ” is 3-0 in the UFC, with incredible stoppage victories against Leonard Garcia (via twister submission), Mark Hominick (via seven-second KO), and Dustin Poirier (via d’arce choke, in a Fight of the Year candidate last May).
So who’s your pick in Aldo vs. Zombie? And is this a more interesting matchup to you than Aldo vs. Pettis?
Chris Weidman finally got the opportunity he has worked hard for, and now, he will face UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 162 this July. the undefeated Weidman looks to continue his streak and dethrone Silva in what will serve as the 11th…
Chris Weidman finally got the opportunity he has worked hard for, and now, he will face UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 162 this July. the undefeated Weidman looks to continue his streak and dethrone Silva in what will serve as the 11th middleweight title defense for Silva.
As usual, the MMA world stands split on this fight. How so? Half of the MMA world sees Silva recording an 11th successful title defense, while the other half sees Weidman‘s heavy hands, vicious elbows and relentless ground game paying dividends towards the potential upset of the year.
With an understandable amount of pressure on the undefeated Weidman, will he face fan backlash if he should fall to the champ? This remains a hot-button question, and while every title challenger might face criticism for their failed bids at the big one, Weidman should not face any fan backlash if his first pro loss comes against the best middleweight in the world.
First off, Weidman comes off of an injury that halted a UFC 155 bout with Tim Boetsch. Hence, this title bid will mark Weidman‘s first fight since UFC on Fuel TV 4, when he finished Mark Munoz. While fans of the young prospect will obviously hope Weidman shows no signs of cage rust, none can rule out that possibility before the cage door closes.
Secondly, facing the champion can do strange things to undefeated challengers. Sometimes, they can motivate the challenger, but at other times, the challenger’s title shot could prove to be a case of “too much, too soon.” Weidman‘s shot came not only because of how impressively he defeated Munoz, but because the former contenders fell in bouts with potential title-eliminator implications. But is he really ready?
Finally, remember whoWeidman faces at UFC 162. Silva stands across the cage from credible contenders, and he always finds a way to make them look like they don’t even belong in the upper echelon. If he can do the same to Weidman, that should not serve as a knock on Weidman.
Rather, it should remind us that, like it or not, “The Spider” is still that good, even for a fighter nearing the age when most men call it a career. Give Weidman the chance, however, and he could prove himself as better than the world’s best fighter this July.
It seems almost preposterous to suggest that a loss to an up-and-comer like Chris Weidman could tarnish the pristine legacy of longtime UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. After all, “The Spider” has racked up a 16-0 record in the UFC and has d…
It seems almost preposterous to suggest that a loss to an up-and-comer like Chris Weidman could tarnish the pristine legacy of longtime UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva.
After all, “The Spider” has racked up a 16-0 record in the UFC and has defended his belt a record 10 straight times, facts that deservedly make him the most prolific champ in company history.
“The All-American,” conversely, has only graced the Octagon five times and has competed professionally on just nine occasions.
Nevertheless, it’s the stark contrast in the resumes of each fighter that will undoubtedly put Silva’s immaculate reputation on the line at UFC 162 in Las Vegas in July.
In essence, a bout with an inexperienced and relatively unknown challenger like Weidman represents the most risky endeavor Silva has taken since making his UFC debut in 2006.
A win over The All-American will further solidify The Spider’s stature as the sport’s top dog. A loss, however, will fuel the flames of critics worldwide who believe that the 38-year-old Silva no longer belongs at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings.
Although he routinely gets labeled a heavy favorite by the oddsmakers, Silva has only been deemed a 2.8-to-1 favorite (-280) to best the seemingly green Weidman (+220), according to Bovada.com.
But the soon-to-be 29-year-old New York native obviously didn‘t earn a shot at Silva because he’s got a wealth of experience or because he’s dominated the UFC’s middleweight division for an extraordinarily long stretch of time.
While Weidman has reeled off an impressive five-fight winning streak in the UFC, the former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler ultimately landed his dream fight because of the stylistic issues he presents for Silva.
In an interview with MMAweekly.com in May, the Serra-Longo Fight team product said the following regarding Silva’s choice to pass on a bout with him before his last fight with Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153.
I think there are a couple of reasons (why Silva didn’t want to take the fight). The number one reason, I am a terrible match-up for him. On paper I think I have him beat in more areas than he has me beat. I don’t think he’s ever fought a guy who has him beat in as many areas as I do. I’m young. I’m hungry. I don’t have the biggest name, so people are going to expect him to beat me. I think he knows being a smart guy and being around the MMA game that it’s not going to be an easy fight.
The perception that a dominant wrestler like Weidman could solve the riddle of Silva spawned when another former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, ChaelSonnen, nearly dethroned the pound-for-pound king at UFC 117.
Only a Hail-Mary triangle armbar with 1:50 left in the bout saved Silva from getting dominated in a decision loss to the pressure-heavy Sonnen.
But while the blueprint to best Silva obviously got put on film at UFC 117, Weidman remains adamant that he began believing he could top The Spider long before that night.
I always thought I had better wrestling. I thought I had the length and athleticism to be aware on the feet to when I could strike for my takedowns and look to punch. And when I hit the ground, I always felt confident in my jiu-jitsu. So it wasn’t like I saw the ChaelSonnen fight and said, ‘Oh, my God! Look! I can beat him!’ It was way before that.
Weidman has made it clear that he doesn’t just plan to just best The Spider, he intends to stop his long reign of terror while starting one of his own.
To prove how confident he’s become with the idea of knocking off the sport’s top pound-for-pound fighter, Weidman has liberally stated that if he wins, he’ll give Silva an immediate rematch.
Listen, I’m not even being cocky or arrogant when I say I’ll give him an immediate rematch. You have to believe you’re going to win. I believe I’m going to win. He’s had 10 title defenses. His only option, after I beat him, is to retire or have a rematch with me.
Anderson Silva, the greatest mixed martial artist residing on planet Earth, will put his middleweight title on the line for a record 11th time when he takes on current No. 1 contender Chris Weidman at UFC 162.While the fight, scheduled over the Fourth …
Anderson Silva, the greatest mixed martial artist residing on planet Earth, will put his middleweight title on the line for a record 11th time when he takes on current No. 1 contender Chris Weidman at UFC 162.
While the fight, scheduled over the Fourth of July weekend, is sure to pack some fireworks, the smart money still has to be on “The Spider” walking away with the belt.
According to MMAOddsBreakers.com, Silva is sitting as a -260 favorite. That is far from a “sure thing,” but Silva’s aura of invincibility makes it difficult to bet against him.
However, in an interview with Mark Johnston of SportsNet, UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre almost guarantees that Weidman will handily defeat Silva.
I believe it’s a bad matchup for Anderson Silva. It’s very bad. Not only is [Weidman] going to beat, I believe he is going to finish Anderson Silva. I believe it’s not going to be too long, that fight. People will be shocked.
GSP’s endorsement aside, Weidman is still a long shot, though there are three factors that could lead to “the All-American” pulling off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.
It seems almost preposterous to suggest that a loss to an up-and-comer like Chris