On Saturday, Chris Weidman dramatically wrested control of the 185-pound belt from Anderson Silva, ending the UFC middleweight’s almost seven-year reign as champion. Weidman’s victory at UFC 162 is, in many ways, the end of an era. After sh…
On Saturday, Chris Weidman dramatically wrested control of the 185-pound belt from Anderson Silva, ending the UFC middleweight’s almost seven-year reign as champion.
Weidman’s victory at UFC 162 is, in many ways, the end of an era. After shaking off the stars from Weidman’s knockout blow in the second round, Silva told a booing crowd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas that his days of pursuing the title are now over.
But those sentiments obviously fell on deaf ears as only moments later, UFC president Dana White was already preparing the rematch.
That rematch would be a lucrative night for the promotion and very tempting for Silva who hasn’t tasted defeat in a long, long time. Here are three reasons why we should expect a big comeback from the spider.
The UFC 162 results are in from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and with the event in the books comes another installment of our Key Stats series. Following every event, the numbers are broken down and compared to the key statistics of past fight card…
The UFC 162 results are in from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and with the event in the books comes another installment of our Key Stats series.
Following every event, the numbers are broken down and compared to the key statistics of past fight cards.
Individual performances will be highlighted, as will the card’s overall performance.
UFC 162 was certainly a unique event. Middleweight champion Anderson Silva saw his undefeated streak in the UFC ended and his reign as top middleweight terminated. Chris Weidman defeated the longtime top pound-for-pound fighter with a second round knockout.
Some fighters earned strong results, as well as impressive stat lines. Others, like Silva, did the opposite.
Let’s walk through the key stats from the Fourth of July weekend event.
We know — these things are just popularity contests. But as we look ahead following this weekend’s mind-blowing UFC 162 card, we decided to take a yearbook approach and predict which fighters will go on to even greater success, and which ones will be pumping our gas someday.
Most likely to make well over $24,000 to show in his next fight: Chris Weidman
Perhaps this is jab towards the fighter pay issues that have risen as of late but Chris Weidman established himself as a future star, no matter how differently the fight would have been had Anderson Silva taken it seriously. Yes, Weidman officially made just $48,000, but by dethroning Anderson Silva, he earned a lot more than just money — Weidman became world famous overnight ending up on sites like TMZ and every major newspaper in the country, and he was the man responsible for one of the most historic moments in UFC history. Weidman’s ability to have a similar legacy in the middleweight division is now in question, especially when you consider that an immediate rematch with Silva is still the most likely scenario. Say what you will about Weidman and the fact that eighteen fighters were not enough to convince you otherwise — he knocked out Anderson Silva. That’s all you need to know.
Rematch…retirement….Roy Jones….Stephan Bonnar II…who knows what the future really has in store for the former middleweight kingpin? And with the reiteration that his participation in superfights is off, it becomes more bleak. It really all depends on how Silva would like to go out: On his shield, or dancing the night away worse than J-Lo. Without discrediting Weidman, it was not what we expected or wanted from the supposed best fighter who has ever lived. When some unknown jackass gets KO’d while taunting his opponent, we applaud and move on with our lives, but let’s face it, the best fighters in the world usually don’t put themselves in such vulnerable positions. However it’s impossible to say that it was not a deserving loss for Silva and we’ve never seen him do that before; you live by the gun, you die by the gun.
We know — these things are just popularity contests. But as we look ahead following this weekend’s mind-blowing UFC 162 card, we decided to take a yearbook approach and predict which fighters will go on to even greater success, and which ones will be pumping our gas someday.
Most likely to make well over $24,000 to show in his next fight: Chris Weidman
Perhaps this is jab towards the fighter pay issues that have risen as of late but Chris Weidman established himself as a future star, no matter how differently the fight would have been had Anderson Silva taken it seriously. Yes, Weidman officially made just $48,000, but by dethroning Anderson Silva, he earned a lot more than just money — Weidman became world famous overnight ending up on sites like TMZ and every major newspaper in the country, and he was the man responsible for one of the most historic moments in UFC history. Weidman’s ability to have a similar legacy in the middleweight division is now in question, especially when you consider that an immediate rematch with Silva is still the most likely scenario. Say what you will about Weidman and the fact that eighteen fighters were not enough to convince you otherwise — he knocked out Anderson Silva. That’s all you need to know.
Rematch…retirement….Roy Jones….Stephan Bonnar II…who knows what the future really has in store for the former middleweight kingpin? And with the reiteration that his participation in superfights is off, it becomes more bleak. It really all depends on how Silva would like to go out: On his shield, or dancing the night away worse than J-Lo. Without discrediting Weidman, it was not what we expected or wanted from the supposed best fighter who has ever lived. When some unknown jackass gets KO’d while taunting his opponent, we applaud and move on with our lives, but let’s face it, the best fighters in the world usually don’t put themselves in such vulnerable positions. However it’s impossible to say that it was not a deserving loss for Silva and we’ve never seen him do that before; you live by the gun, you die by the gun.
Most likely to be allowed to date your sister: Frankie Edgar
Not only does he have the best entrance music this side of Big Nog, there is never a dull moment when the real Jersey Shore darling fights and quite frankly (no pun intended… or pun intended, thank you) we all wish we could fight our battles like he does. This was the first time in eight fights that Edgar did not compete for the title, and he still won Fight of the Night honors. Edgar will never be in a boring fight considering his fighting style and his ability to match his opponent’s pace; his cardio suggests he could have probably won fights against light-heavyweights in PRIDE with their opening ten minute round. Frankie becomes bloodied more frequently than Dustin Rhodes in the early ’90s no matter how lopsided or even his fights are. With the marketability of a prime Stallone and the heart of a prime Jake Lamotta, Edgar could skip the waiting line and get another crack at the featherweight title — and some of us wouldn’t have a problem with it.
Least likely to get another co-main event slot (even if he deserves one): Charles Oliveira
When this fight was announced, to say Oliveira was not being fed to the wolves was like saying you knew this guy wasn’t dead all along. Oliveira did more than just keep up with Edgar the whole fight — he had him in a bit of a knot at the end of the first round and tagged the former champion more than once with some solid shots. At the tender age of 23, it’s unclear what Oliveira’s future has in store, and if he is the budding prospect he is advertised to be (even if we get the feeling that everyone in the UFC is a “prospect” until they turn 32) or if he will be lost in the shuffle. Edgar’s star power to the habitual fan helped this fight get a co-main event slot but this was not the mismatch many, including this scribbler, thought it was going to be. Oliveira stand-up has improved drastically and we all know his submission game is gross in a good way. He should definitely be included in headlining plans again, even if it seems far away for now.
Least likely to be acknowledged while continuing to do his job efficiently: Mike Pierce
Mike Pierce isn’t going to be the annoying Spring Break emcee you would love to drown any time soon, but he doesn’t really get credited for even being at the festivities. The tough-as-nails wrestler has only lost three since 2009 (Fitch, Hendricks and Koscheck – all fellow wrestlers, all highly regarded) and that last one was debatable. Pierce’s four-fight win streak includes two stoppages by strikes, but Pierce can’t find a way out of the prelims. What is even odder is that Pierce opened the show on Facebook underneath a guy he beat in his last fight: Seth Baczynski. Maybe the brass thinks he isn’t exciting enough but with all due respect, we could name about fifty fighters we’d rather never see again and instead, watch a vintage Spike TV: Mike Pierce marathon. Come on, it’s main card time.
Most likely to be signed by Bellator, then lose in the opening round of their next heavyweight tournament: Dave Herman
We figured that coming out in a pink scarf at a press conference would have immediately cemented Dave Herman’s demise in Zuffa, but somehow, “Pee Wee” was able to survive two years of consistent failure during his UFC stint. After winning his first fight against Jon Olav-Einemo in June 2011, Herman failed a pre-fight drug test for marijuana, got his ass kicked by Stefan Struve, got his ass kicked by Roy Nelson, got his ass kicked by Big Nog, then failed a post-fight drug test for marijuana. Herman getting another fight at UFC 162 was an undeserved gift — not that he did much with it. Following his 17-second smashing at the hands of Gabriel Gonzaga, it’s safe to say the number two, three, four or whatever-they-call-themselves promotion in the world could easily secure the services of Herman, if they want to roll the dice on an underperforming pothead. And don’t act like Bellator is above that sort of thing, either. (See: Q. Jackson, W. Machine).
Finally, there is a fighter in Greg Jackson’s stable we can finally relate to. Swanson’s revival in the featherweight division could be the most impressive career-comeback currently happening in all seven divisions. He’s on a five-fight win streak with wins over Dustin Poirier, Ross Pearson and George Roop, and his lone Octagon loss was nearly two years ago at the hands of Ricardo Lamas (another future title-threat at 145 pounds). Although he may have to do a little extra to get a rematch with Aldo for fan-convincing purposes,Swanson’s exciting striking game and pure fighting spirit is something slobs like us dream of when we’re on our 34th chicken wing.
Newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman believes he can beat Anderson Silva again, and while he isn’t thinking about superfights yet, he thinks those options will be available soon. “The All-American” said as much in an appearance on…
Newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman believes he can beat Anderson Silva again, and while he isn’t thinking about superfights yet, he thinks those options will be available soon.
“The All-American” said as much in an appearance on Ariel Helwani‘s The MMA Hour this afternoon, noting that there is no other fight he wants more than a rematch with Silva.
“(Silva) deserves a rematch,” Weidman told Helwani over the phone. “I still think I would beat (Silva) again … There is going to be a rematch, and I’m focused on Anderson Silva, superfights will come … I want the rematch, that’s the fight I want.”
Weidman also indicated that the suggested timeline of having the rematch during Super Bowl Weekend in February would be “perfect” for him, as he has a few bumps and bruises he wants to heal up before he’s back in the cage.
While there is no questioning that “The Spider” deserves an immediate rematch, given his 17-fight win streak and 10 successful title defenses, the Brazilian himself cast doubt on Silva-Weidman II.
Silva was tentatively linked to a superfight with UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones with another victory on Saturday night, but Weidman brought those plans to a screeching halt.
Speaking with color commentator Joe Rogan immediately after the loss, Silva said he was not interested in fighting Weidman again, or even competing for the middleweight strap again (via MMA Junkie).
Nevertheless, Weidman said the UFC told him that is the fight to expect next, so he is talking their word at face value.
As expected, other middleweight contenders not named Anderson Silva are chomping at the bit for a shot at the new champion, including Michael Bisping and VitorBelfort.
While the UFC’s newest titleholder reiterated he fully expects to fight Silva a second time, he’s open to taking on Bisping or Belfort, though he believes “The Phenom” deserves it more.
“I think Vitor deserves [a shot] more than Bisping, but it’s UFC’s call,” Weidman said succinctly.
Bispingcalled out Weidman on Twitter within minutes after he beat Silva, while Belfort wasted no time in relentlessly asking UFC President Dana White for another title fight (via Yahoo! Sports).
“The Count” has almost no shot chance at fighting for the middleweight strap given that he’s just 2-2 in his past four fights, beating Brian Stann and Alan Belcher and losing to ChaelSonnen and, coincidentally, Belfort.
On the other hand, Belfort has won four of his past five bouts, with his sole loss coming in a light heavyweight title fight against Jones on a short notice fight at UFC 152 in September.
Since then, the Brazilian slugger has bounced back with headkick knockouts over Bisping and former Strikeforce 185-pound titleholder Luke Rockhold.
Will fans be treated to Weidman vs. Silva II during Super Bowl weekend next year or will the Brazilian legend actually stick to his word and turn down one of the biggest rematches in UFC history?
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
(Instagram: Letting the whole world see images of intimate moments that will later fill you with sadness and loathing since 2010.)
Last week, Nick Diaz posted a picture of himself with a woman he identified as his ex, and wrote “Never Post pictures of your girlfriend on Instagram Especially if you love her. #xgf #x #ftw #hatelife #might #have #to #slap #the #winner #tomorrow #need #a #fight #danawhite.”
As best as we could guess, Nick was saying that he wasn’t in a good emotional place right now, probably because of a recent break-up, and he wanted to fight the winner of UFC 162‘s main event between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman. Now, Diaz calling out the winner of a middleweight title fight despite his two-fight losing streak at welterweight makes about as much sense as him saying not to post pictures of a girlfriend on an Instagram post where he posts a picture of a girlfriend, but dammit we were intrigued.
At the UFC 162 post event scrum, Dana White confirmed that Diaz had contacted him directly, asking to come out of his self-described retirement and fight again. “[Nick] texted me that he broke up with his girlfriend and he wants to fight,” White told reporters.
(Instagram: Letting the whole world see images of intimate moments that will later fill you with sadness and loathing since 2010.)
Last week, Nick Diaz posted a picture of himself with a woman he identified as his ex, and wrote “Never Post pictures of your girlfriend on Instagram Especially if you love her. #xgf #x #ftw #hatelife #might #have #to #slap #the #winner #tomorrow #need #a #fight #danawhite.”
As best as we could guess, Nick was saying that he wasn’t in a good emotional place right now, probably because of a recent break-up, and he wanted to fight the winner of UFC 162‘s main event between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman. Now, Diaz calling out the winner of a middleweight title fight despite his two-fight losing streak at welterweight makes about as much sense as him saying not to post pictures of a girlfriend on an Instagram post where he posts a picture of a girlfriend, but dammit we were intrigued.
At the UFC 162 post event scrum, Dana White confirmed that Diaz had contacted him directly, asking to come out of his self-described retirement and fight again. “[Nick] texted me that he broke up with his girlfriend and he wants to fight,” White told reporters.
Dang, having any sort of fame must seriously suck. Nick can’t get high, get his ass beat, break up with a girlfriend, or text his boss without the whole world seeing or being told about it.
We suppose doing a half-assed job of promoting his new, surprisingly good MMA promotion, and doing triathlons more often and casually than most people stretch isn’t keeping Nick happy these days. Every time he tries to get out, MMA keeps pulling him back in. But hey, you didn’t believe that retirement bullshit was real in the first place, did you?
Now that Diaz is back, who do you want to see him fight next, ‘Tater tots? Chris Weidman? Carlos Condit? Anderson Silva? Joe Riggs? Roy Jones Jr.?
“The Spider” Anderson Silva began to spin his web of deceit at UFC 162 in the opening minutes. It looked as if Silva was ready to put on another performance in evasion and counter striking much like he had done in his previous outings.Only this time hi…
“The Spider” Anderson Silva began to spin his web of deceit at UFC 162 in the opening minutes. It looked as if Silva was ready to put on another performance in evasion and counter striking much like he had done in his previous outings.
Only this time his opponent, Chris Weidman, didn’t fall into the trap. Rather than rushing straight in as so many have done before him, the Serra-Longo product kept a cool head and slowly worked his way into striking range. It wasn’t flashy (a back hand slap as a setup?), but it worked.
With one punch Weidman sent not only the UFC middleweight champion crashing down, he sent perhaps the greatest MMA fighter to compete back to the realm of mortals.
For years Silva seemed like a God among men. His ability to lean away from punches and provide crisp, accurate, devastating counter punches seemed unreal. We’ve seen professional boxers be able to utilize the lean as part of their defensive skill set but never have we seen a guy manage to evade strikes like Silva did.
The Brazilian seemed primed for another highlight reel finish as he began to taunt Weidman at UFC 162. For a moment it seemed as if the trap had been sprung perfectly. Weidman abandoned his ground game in the second round and instead chose to fight “The Spider” exactly where Silva wanted to be; on the feet.
This time, Silva fell into his own trap.
Weidman, with only nine professional fights under his belt prior to UFC 162 and being out of action for nearly a year, ended the reign of “The Spider” at 185 pounds.
Now that the smoke has cleared and fans are coming to grips with what has to be one of the most shocking losses in MMA history, is it fair to say Weidman‘s KO over Silva at UFC 162 was the biggest upset in MMA history?
Looking back, the sport has seen the mighty fallen on many occasions. The two fights most fans come up with when thinking of the greatest upsets are Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Serra at UFC 69 and Fabricio Werdum’s submission of FedorEmelianenko in Strikeforce.
Serra was perhaps the biggest underdog in MMA history as he was awarded a title shot by competing on the UFC’s reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. Sporting a meager 9-4 record, Serra didn’t have many impressive wins at the time.
And although GSP is one of the most dominant champions in MMA history, he wasn’t on the same level as he is now back at UFC 69. St-Pierre was a great fighter but only sported a 14-1 record. He had some impressive victories but many fans were left with a sour taste in their mouth after having to digest his split-decision victory over BJ Penn at UFC 58.
When Emelianenko brought the aura of invincibility to Strikeforce, MMA fans quickly found it to be a bit cracked. It began with Andrei Arlovski putting Emelianenko against the ropes and looking to be on his way to a huge upset. Brett Rogers enjoyed a small measure of success which says a lot given how raw he was in MMA and where his career has gone since then.
In both fights however, Emelianenko was able to escape and take home the victory. Against Werdum, there would be no escape.
Although very few fans gave Werdum any shred of hope, the Brazilian was still considered one of the world’s best BJJ practitioners. He’d spent much of his career in flux due to losing a bout every time it seemed he had gotten some momentum.
It only took 69 seconds for Werdum to slap on a triangle choke to force Emelianenko to tap out. It was a rookie mistake by one of the best in the world and gave the Russian his first (legitimate) loss. The win catapulted Werdum up the heavyweight rankings and instantly became 1a. or 1b. for biggest upset in MMA history.
Now we have 1c. Weidman came into UFC 162 having only nine professional bouts and although he enjoyed a decorated grappling career, few fans knew who he was prior to Saturday night. His biggest moment came against Mark Munoz in July of 2012 on FUEL TV. Not only did such few fans get to witness the dominant performance, there were also many people who disregarded the win due to the condition of Munoz.
Prior to the Munoz fight, most fans remembered only a sloppy showing against Demian Maia in Jan. of last year. Granted Weidman took the fight on extremely short notice and endured a tough weight cut, it’s something that doesn’t always register in fans’ minds.
Standing against Weidman was the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Silva had completely destroyed and embarrassed the UFC middleweight division since his arrival. He even jumped up a weight class to school a few light heavyweights on just how great he is.
With being a complete unknown and Silva already established as the best fighter in history by many, it’s safe to say Weidman‘s upset definitely belongs in the conversation of biggest upset in MMA history.
Of course, it’s subjective and will change from person to person, but I personally believe it was the biggest upset in MMA’s history. Everyone knew Serra’s best chance for winning was to land a haymaker and Werdum’s best chance to win was by his BJJ. Silva appeared to be on a different level than any of his previous opponents and even if you picked Weidman to win, nobody guessed Weidman would do it via knockout on the feet.
I’m sure many will disagree and discredit Weidman‘s victory because Silva “didn’t care” or was simply caught clowning around. But how many times have we seen Silva use this tactic and deliver a highlight reel finish? Weidman not only took on the world’s best fighter, but he beat him at his own game.
“The Spider” 
