Tag: UFC 175

UFC 175: Will the Biggest PPV of 2014 (so Far) Bear Fruit or Die on the Vine?

Just in case anyone was wondering, UFC President Dana White wants us all to know the state of his company is strong, thank you very much.
“Business has never been better for us,” White told Yahoo’s Kevin Iole this week, bolstered by healthy…

Just in case anyone was wondering, UFC President Dana White wants us all to know the state of his company is strong, thank you very much.

“Business has never been better for us,” White told Yahoo’s Kevin Iole this week, bolstered by healthy live-gate figures from the UFC’s recent shows in New Zealand and San Antonio, as well as his estimation that paid attendance for UFC 175 could top $5 million.

Iole wrote White “angrily scoffed” at recent criticisms that the world’s largest MMA organization is spreading itself too thin, quoting the bombastic UFC boss saying he was “just sick of listening to it, because it’s so (expletive) stupid and wrong. People are (expletive) without any facts.”

Not that he’d tell us if anything was wrong, mind you. The UFC guards most of its financials as state secrets, so any effort to gauge the promotion’s health necessarily includes a lot of conjecture. It would be easier on everyone if the company opened its books, but so long as it won’t, we all have to make do with the information that is available.

That’s why, despite White’s assurances that everything is fine, many observers will be carefully watching the pay-per-view performance of Saturday night’s broadcast from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

This is believed to be an important event for the UFC. With concerns lingering that its PPV numbers might be trending in the wrong direction, UFC 175 figures to be the organization’s best-selling card of the first half of 2014. It may also be an indicator of how rocky or rosy the rest of the year will be in our little corner of the sports world.

Those critics whom White talks about may be off base, but they’re certainly not hard to find. With broad-based concerns about the strength of the UFC’s product gaining traction in the public conversation, UFC 175’s buyrate will be the company’s best chance to prove it can still move the needle when it takes the time to put together a worthy lineup of fights.

If this show sells big—if estimates top 500,000 buys, for example—it could ease a lot of minds. On the other hand, if it slumps to the finish line, it will no doubt be viewed as a sign that the UFC’s problems run deeper than White wants to admit.

UFC 175 is as stacked as a UFC event gets amid its current breakneck schedule. It features title fights from Chris Weidman and Ronda Rousey and a supporting cast of crowd favorites like Lyoto Machida, Stefan Struve and Matt Mitrione, not to mention a preliminary lead-in from former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber.

Its promotional might was undermined a bit when Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva both ran afoul of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, but it’s still expected to do well.

Exactly how well may be our best barometer of what to expect from the UFC’s immediate future.

The company topped 500,000 PPV buys five times per year during 2012-13. It did it four times in 2011, and in 2010 it exceeded the half-million mark 11 times, including twice passing 1 million buys with UFCs 114 and 116.

But during the first half of 2014, the UFC hasn’t reached 500,000 buys at all. So far, this year’s high watermark has been the 350,000 PPVs sold for Jon Jones’ UFC 172 title defense against Glover Teixeira.

To cast matters into even sharper relief, UFC 175 comes immediately on the heels of last month’s flyweight-led UFC 174, which was initially rumored to have moved fewer than 100,000 units.

Iole wrote this week that that show may have pulled off “about 125,000,” but either way it was likely the lowest-selling UFC PPV of recent memory. Saturday’s event also comes one month before UFC 176, which suddenly looks pretty paltry after 145-pound champion Jose Aldo pulled out with an injury.

All told, it means UFC 175 will certainly be the company’s most lucrative PPV until at least late September, when Jones rematches Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 178. If this weekend’s show doesn’t crack 500,000 buys, it could very well be a bad sign for an organization already in danger of having its worst PPV year since the advent of The Ultimate Fighter reality show back in 2005.

The UFC began 2014 behind the eight ball, without the benefit of PPV stalwarts Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva on its active roster. Since then, the injury bug has nipped it ruthlessly hard. Even before Aldo withdrew from UFC 176, many of its titlists were already on the disabled list.

Heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez is ailing and won’t fight until November. Welterweight titlist Johny Hendricks recently had surgery on a torn bicep. By the time lightweight champion Anthony Pettis gets back in the cage against Gilbert Melendez near the end of the near, he will have missed 15 months after a knee injury.

In other words, the UFC will be out a lot of star power for most of this year, which means the bulk of its sales push will have to come from next-generation stars like Jones, Weidman and Rousey.

Can they manage it? We’re about to find out.

Rousey and Weidman both fought at last December’s UFC 168, which topped 1 million PPV buys and was the promotion’s biggest-selling offering of 2013. But that buyrate was driven by Weidman’s rematch with Silva and Rousey’s second fight with archenemy Miesha Tate. It didn’t necessarily turn them into salable draws overnight.

Rousey—hailed far and wide as the UFC’s next big thing—sold 340,000 PPVs with her main event fight against Sara McMann at UFC 170 in February. But she’s a prohibitive betting favorite this weekend against Alexis Davis, per Best Fight Odds, and it remains to be seen if fans will continue to turn out in numbers to watch her blow past overmatched competition.

Weidman may be an even bigger wild card. He beat Silva in back-to-back appearances last year but still hasn’t been granted much cachet with fans, after both those fights ended via unorthodox means.

He’ll be taking on a former light heavyweight champion in Machida—who has topped 500,000 buys in four of the six previous UFC PPVs he’s headlined—and likely needs an impressive victory to start working his way into the good graces of spectators.

If Rousey’s and Machida’s considerable fanbases turn out, and those curious to see how good Weidman really is take the PPV plunge, UFC 175 will no doubt be the brightest spot in what has been a rough first half of 2014 for the UFC.

The fight company also has good opportunities coming up at UFC 178, Velasquez’s scheduled return at UFC 180 and its traditionally stellar end-of-the-year PPV. Assuming those cards sell like they should, the promotion should see a considerable second-half rebound.

If that’s going to happen, though—and if White is going to be any less annoyed by the chattering from the peanut gallery—the comeback story must start on Saturday.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Seth vs. Jared: UFC 175 Edition


(Undercard fighter or ESPN personality? – it’s a surprisingly difficult game. Photo courtesy of Stuart Scott’s Twitter.)

CP staff writers Jared Jones and Seth Falvo have a few bones to pick with this weekend’s UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida card. Mainly, its non-existent advertising, lack of good underdog bets, and blatant bait-and-switch tactics regarding its FS1 prelims. Read along to understand what it’s like to watch two grown-ass men slowly march down the path of insanity.

Al Bundy gifs will reign.

Despite being just one day out from the biggest UFC event of the summer, the hype surrounding this card seems non-existent. Have you even seen an advertisement for this event that didn’t take place during a lesser UFC card? The UFC can’t possibly believe that this is adequate advertising…can they?

SF: Buddy, I haven’t seen a single advertisement for this card, period. What, did you really think I’d be one of the nine people who watched UFC Ultimate Step to This Never Back Down: Live from New Zealand?

As for whether or not this is adequate advertising, you’re missing the point entirely. The public isn’t burnt out from a lack of advertising efforts, they’re burnt out from constant exposure to generic cards composed of completely meaningless fights.

JJ: I already touched on the complete lack of advertising for this card in my UFC 175 fight hype article on Wednesday, so I’ll (try to) be brief. While I’d personally rather see no advertising at all for a UFC event than be repeatedly subjected to the music of Linkin Park, I must admit that the UFC’s decision to not advertise a card with two title fights (two!) is a bit puzzling. I mean, sure, one of them is a Japanese freak show-level squash match, but still, UFC 175 has a lot more to offer from a marketing standpoint than several cards prior.

Honestly, I’m starting to thinking Dana’s barely beneath the surface hatred for MMA fans with discernable taste is starting to affect his business decisions. He’s gone from trying to convince us that every fight is of the same quality, no matter how blatant a lie he must craft, to simply trolling us with his “Fuck You, Take It” understanding of how to advertise his product. “You say no one cares about little flyweights? Beat them over the head with ads. A double title fight card? PULL ALL SPONSORS.”

My point is, the UFC no longer cares about advertising, because they no longer care about the quality of the cards they expect us to pay $60 for. They’re just going to keep doing their thing while reiterating that business is in fact “booming” and barely pausing to consider that their customers might actually be right every now and again. It’s a brilliant business strategy if you’ve never learned a thing about how a business is run.

This has gotten off to a depressing start.


(Undercard fighter or ESPN personality? – it’s a surprisingly difficult game. Photo courtesy of Stuart Scott’s Twitter.)

CP staff writers Jared Jones and Seth Falvo have a few bones to pick with this weekend’s UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida card. Mainly, its non-existent advertising, lack of good underdog bets, and blatant bait-and-switch tactics regarding its FS1 prelims. Read along to understand what it’s like to watch two grown-ass men slowly march down the path of insanity.

Al Bundy gifs will reign.

Despite being just one day out from the biggest UFC event of the summer, the hype surrounding this card seems non-existent. Have you even seen an advertisement for this event that didn’t take place during a lesser UFC card? The UFC can’t possibly believe that this is adequate advertising…can they?

SF: Buddy, I haven’t seen a single advertisement for this card, period. What, did you really think I’d be one of the nine people who watched UFC Ultimate Step to This Never Back Down: Live from New Zealand?

As for whether or not this is adequate advertising, you’re missing the point entirely. The public isn’t burnt out from a lack of advertising efforts, they’re burnt out from constant exposure to generic cards composed of completely meaningless fights.

JJ: I already touched on the complete lack of advertising for this card in my UFC 175 fight hype article on Wednesday, so I’ll (try to) be brief. While I’d personally rather see no advertising at all for a UFC event than be repeatedly subjected to the music of Linkin Park, I must admit that the UFC’s decision to not advertise a card with two title fights (two!) is a bit puzzling. I mean, sure, one of them is a Japanese freak show-level squash match, but still, UFC 175 has a lot more to offer from a marketing standpoint than several cards prior.

Honestly, I’m starting to thinking Dana’s barely beneath the surface hatred for MMA fans with discernable taste is starting to affect his business decisions. He’s gone from trying to convince us that every fight is of the same quality, no matter how blatant a lie he must craft, to simply trolling us with his “Fuck You, Take It” understanding of how to advertise his product. “You say no one cares about little flyweights? Beat them over the head with ads. A double title fight card? PULL ALL SPONSORS.”

My point is, the UFC no longer cares about advertising, because they no longer care about the quality of the cards they expect us to pay $60 for. They’re just going to keep doing their thing while reiterating that business is in fact “booming” and barely pausing to consider that their customers might actually be right every now and again. It’s a brilliant business strategy if you’ve never learned a thing about how a business is run.

This has gotten off to a depressing start.

Lyoto Machida presents a very interesting matchup for Chris Weidman. If you’re looking to gamble on an underdog this weekend, is he your smartest option?

SF: A bet on Machida definitely isn’t the worst way to spend a few bucks, that’s for sure. But how about we look over the rest of the card before we call a (+155) underdog the smartest option. Let’s see…Alexis Davis and Alex Caceres are strictly “never gonna happen $5 for shiggles” picks, so they’re both out. I’m keeping my money as far away from Struve vs. Mitrione as possible, so Mitrione is out. Doane vs. Brimage is currently at pick ‘em odds, and I’ve never even heard of most of these undercard fighters. However, Urijah Hall (-450) vs. Thiago Santos (+325) is exactly the kind of underdog odds that I like, so I’m going to say that Santos is the slightly-smarter option.

Maybe the $80 I made off of Santos when he stepped into the cage as a +800 underdog against an overrated Ronny Markes in March is clouding my judgment, but I really don’t see why “Anderson Silva 3.0 (LOL)” is such a heavy favorite here. Are the oddsmakers really that impressed by the fact that the Uriah Hall who was fighting for his job after an 0-2 UFC run managed to defeat the unmotivated, fading Chris Leben who retired immediately after the fight? “Bro, Hall defeated a DISINTERESTED FADING LEGEND! Do you even know how hard that is? HE IS READY TO FACE! THE PAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN!” No thanks. I’ll gladly throw another $10 down on Santos, which will return over twice as much money as a bet on Machida would.

JJ: Bro, Chris Leben is a *BEAST* with a granite chin and K1-level striking, bro! Seriously, bro?! BRO!!

………….

I’m sorry, I think I just had a mini aneurysm. But as far as underdogs go, I’m running into the same issue as you, in that I don’t know who enough of these guys are to place bets on them. Machida doesn’t present a good enough cashback option to warrant a bet on him, and there’s no way I’m betting on Davis or the likelihood of Stefan Struve’s heart *not* imploding (too soon?). Fuck it, I’ll go with a 20 spot on the debuting Rob Font. He’s paired up against one of the most consistently inconsistent fighters of them all in George Roop, and a quick look over his record shows that he does possess the kind of KO power to finish the always KO-able Roop.

I’d also be tempted to throw a few bills at returning TUF 17 vet Kevin Casey, who is fresh off a first round blistering of Andrew Sanchez at RFA 15 to capture the promotion’s middleweight title. Then again, the guy he’s fighting is named Bubba Bush, so yeah, he’s probably f*cked.

Obligatory:

Will the main event and “The Biggest Star We’ve Ever Had” be enough to get this year’s Fourth of July card over 500k buys?

SF: I can’t even. Al, you’re up!

JJ: Uh…it could do 500k buys if it…uh…ah screw it. Keep on dancing, Al!

Urijah Faber headlining the FS1 prelims behind Brimage vs. Doane on the card we’re supposed to pay money for is quite possibly the most blatant bait-and-switch the UFC has ever pulled. Does the UFC really lack as much respect for its fans as it seems to?

SF: I’m not sure I’d call this a bait-and-switch. I see what they’re trying to do, I just don’t think it’s going to work. By putting Urijah Faber on the preliminary card, they’re encouraging the casual fans who would otherwise skip the prelims to tune in. This boosts their dreadful FS1 ratings – by the way, I’m willing to bet Faber on Fox was more Fox’s decision than the UFC’s decision – and because the go-home show before a pay-per-view is extremely influential on buy rates, this may also encourage the dudebro tuning in for a free Faber fight to purchase the pay-per-view.

Of course, this line of thinking really falls apart once you begin to question it. For starters, how many fans do they actually think are going to tune in for the preliminaries just because Uriah Faber is fighting on the preliminaries? Call me crazy, but I firmly believe that if you actually care about preliminary fights, you aren’t a casual fan, and one recognizable name isn’t going to change this. As for the idea that the fans tuning in for Faber are now more likely to buy the pay-per-view, who exactly is going to watch a Urijah Faber fight that wasn’t already planning on watching Weidman, Machida, and Ronda Rousey? And even if these fans actually exist, does anyone think those fans are going to pay for fights that they don’t care about, simply because they just watched a fight that they do care about for free? Do they actually believe their own “All it takes is just one fight to turn a person into a hardcore fan” insanity?

Or maybe they’re somehow lacing the Faber fight with black tar heroin, in which case, yeah, that’s pretty disrespectful to get me addicted to drugs unknowingly, UFC.

JJ: I’m sure that Yahoo reporter/UFC shill Kevin Iole would tell you that placing Faber on the prelims makes perfect sense, before supporting his argument with a line of reasoning so backwards and illogical you’d think it had been dreamed up by David Lynch. And I get it, placing Faber on the prelims to boost FS1 ratings could work, but at what cost, Seth? AT WHAT COST.

Urijah Faber is a main card fighter. Russell Doane is not. Case closed.

Before we leave, anything you’d like to say about the TUF 19 Finale: Edgar vs. Penn 3?

JJ: BJ PENN CAME OUT OF RETIREMENT?!!! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!!!!

SF: …that’s a real event?

One final *final* question: Is the #WeekofDanga destined to go down as one of the greatest, most creative endeavors in CagePotato history? 

SF: No question! #WeekofDanga #DangaArmy #NOLA

JJ: You’re right, Seth, it *isn’t* an actual question. I just added threw it in (and wrote your response) after you were finished drafting up your answers. Thanks for the kind words, though! #WeekofDanga #FarrahAbrahamforPresident

UFC 175: Full Fight Card and Predictions for Weidman vs. Machida

Saturday’s UFC 175 card featuring the middleweight championship bout between Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida will be one of the most talked about shows of the year.
Add in Ronda Rousey defending her women’s bantamweight championship against Alexi…

Saturday’s UFC 175 card featuring the middleweight championship bout between Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida will be one of the most talked about shows of the year.

Add in Ronda Rousey defending her women’s bantamweight championship against Alexis Davis, and this is one of the few shows produced by UFC recently that feels like a true pay-per-view-worthy event.

Here is the full card, predictions for every fight on Saturday and a preview of the main event.

 

Breaking Down Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida

There have been many fans who question the way middleweight champion Chris Weidman defended the title—Anderson Silva broke his leg mid-match—but the American star is looking to silence the doubters on Fourth of July weekend.

Standing in his way is former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

After 11 professional fights (seven in the UFC), Weidman is still undefeated. His last bout was the victory over Silva, but he was originally scheduled to headline UFC 173 against Machida. Weidman was forced to pull out of that main event with a knee injury but is now ready for UFC 175.

Tough Enough fighter Cathal Pendred talked about how excited he was for this fight:

While some will doubt Weidman’s win against Silva in December of 2013, few can claim his shocking upset in July of last year of the then-unstoppable middleweight king was anything but pure talent and mental fortitude.

Weidman stunned Silva by showing no fear and finished him off in decisive fashion.

When asked about his matchup on Saturday with Machida, Weidman had no problem breaking down exactly what his game plan is with The Great MMA Debate podcast, via Yahoo Sports:

Stylistically [Machida‘s] going to be the same as he was at 205. Going down might make him feel a little quicker, a little stronger and maybe give him more confidence. I’m expecting a very confident Lyoto Machida, but I’m going to break his will.

I feel like anyone at middleweight, when I have a full training camp, I’m going to go out there and finish them. That’s my mentality. I won’t stop. The whole fight will be me trying to finish him. If it goes five rounds, I’m not losing the decision because I’m almost finishing him the whole time. I’m always prepared for a war, but I’m looking for the finish the whole time. I won’t be happy unless I finish him.

There is no questioning Weidman’s will to win and physical prowess, but he will be taking on one of the most decorated and unique fighters in MMA history. Machida is a light heavyweight powerhouse who has taken on bigger competition for years.

Questions about the drop in weight and what it will do to his power have been raised, but he should be able to gain speed at a lighter weight which could be a major factor for a fighter that needs his quickness to stop Weidman.

Since making his debut at middleweight, Machida has knocked off the likes of Gegard Mousasi and Mark Munoz. Fortunately for Weidman, the Brazilian moved down a weight class due to his struggles against the elite competition at light heavyweight.

Using an elite mixture of wrestling, jiu-jitsu and striking, Weidman will prove to be too strong and too fast for Machida. Expect the defending champion to force the referee to step in and call for the early stoppage.

Predicted Winner: Weidman via Second-Round TKO.

 

*Stats via UFC.com.

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UFC 175: Keys to Victory for Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida

Chris Weidman knocked Anderson Silva out at UFC 162. He stopped him again in their rematch at UFC 168 after Silva snapped his leg on a checked kick. 
He defeated the greatest fighter on the face of the planet twice, successfully calling the middle…

Chris Weidman knocked Anderson Silva out at UFC 162. He stopped him again in their rematch at UFC 168 after Silva snapped his leg on a checked kick. 

He defeated the greatest fighter on the face of the planet twice, successfully calling the middleweight throne his own in the process. Even after doing all of that, some people still feel the newly crowned champ lacks the sort of credibility his predecessor had. 

He’ll be stepping into the Octagon against Lyoto Machida on Saturday, July 5 at UFC 175 to do just that—prove he’s deserving of the middleweight crown.

Machida has always been a difficult puzzle for most fighters to solve, but Weidman has never been defeated in his professional mixed martial arts career. 

With both fighters set to have their hands full, here are the keys to victory for both Weidman and Machida.

 

Lyoto Machida: Keep the Distance and Embrace the Boos

Machida is an elusive but remarkably patient counterstriker who can frustrate and evade the most talented fighters who are looking to simply march forward and strike—something Weidman has always been fond of.

The Dragon is agile enough to prevent even the most talented MMA wrestlers from taking him down and scoring points—again, a pivotal aspect of Weidman’s game. 

Machida is not new to the fight game, though. He’s privy to what fans want to see him do: knock the other dude senseless. But, as painstakingly boring as it is for the average MMA fan to endure, that’s only going to happen if his opponent is willing to engage first.

He’s welcomed the boos in previous fights, such as his bout with Dan Henderson at UFC 157, and should definitely welcome them here—he has to stay out of Weidman’s range in order to win this fight. 

On paper, this shouldn’t be too difficult of a task for The Dragon to accomplish—he’s faster and far more skilled on foot than the champion is. 

Unless Weidman plans to supplement his critics’ arguments with a barrage of boos during his first title defense against somebody other than Silva, Machida just needs to sit and wait for the champion to grow tired of not engaging. 

 

Chris Weidman: Cut Off the Cage and Get the Fight to the Ground

It’s really no secret—Weidman probably needs to get this fight to the ground in order to retain his belt against his striking savant of an opponent. 

Sure, Weidman was able to show his improved striking skills against Silva in both of his title bouts, but it’s highly unlikely Machida leaves his hands down and verbally calls at the champion to touch his chin. Knowing Machida and his tactical capabilities, it’s improbable he fires leg kicks in high volume in this fight, too—so go ahead and eliminate any freak-accident leg-snapping incidents from this equation. 

Weidman can’t just move forward the way he did against Silva; he needs to be more patient and slowly close off the cage. The champion has to be as careful as ever—even the smallest mistake can stop him from taking the strap as a carry-on on his way back to the Serra-Longo Fight Team. 

Closing the distance and maintaining some sort of constant contact with Machida is the only way Weidman takes this fight to the ground. There, and only there, can the champion begin to paint his ground-and-pound and submission-filled canvas en route to securing his title and eliminating all hopes of the second-coming of “The Machida Era.”

  

Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA. 

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Daniel Cormier: Chris Weidman’s the Best at 185, Maybe Even at 205

Undefeated UFC light heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier has offered extremely high praise for UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman heading into Weidman’s UFC 175 showdown with Lyoto Machida. 
In a promo on Fox Sports for UFC 17…

Undefeated UFC light heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier has offered extremely high praise for UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman heading into Weidman’s UFC 175 showdown with Lyoto Machida. 

In a promo on Fox Sports for UFC 175, which airs live on pay-per-view from Las Vegas on Saturday, “DC” states outright that Weidman is the best middleweight around and could be considered the best at 205 pounds. Here’s the transcription, per MixedMartialArts.com:

To be the man, you have to beat the man. Weidman did it twice. I think Weidman’s the best, not only at 185, but could be at 205. But Lyoto Machida is the anti-wrestler. Machida has a really sneaky way to keep you from getting him down. This will be a very close fight.

Cormier, who is also undefeated as a professional mixed martial artist (15-0), is referring to “The All-American’s” back-to-back victories over Anderson Silva at UFC 162 and UFC 168, respectively. 

While both fights ended in finishes, they ended in markedly different fashion.

At UFC 162 almost exactly one year ago, Weidman refused to play into the mind games of “The Spider,” who excessively taunted and showboated throughout the fight. 

Early in the second round, Weidman caught the seemingly unstoppable champ with a combination that knocked him out cold, marking Silva’s first loss in 17 fights and ending his record run of 10 consecutive title defenses in the process. 

Given the Brazilian legend’s stunning resume, a rematch was the only thing that made sense from a matchmaking standpoint. 

At UFC 168 in December, Weidman again controlled the action early on, but Silva began to find some rhythm on his feet as the bout progressed. 

In an unforeseen turn of events, early in the second round Silva shattered his left leg on Weidman’s knee when the champ checked a stiff leg kick. 

As a result, the referee had no choice but to waive off the championship bout. 

Weidman will be looking to defend his middleweight title for the second time when he faces Silva’s friend and Black House training partner Machida, who is known for his counterstriking and takedown defense. 

Is Weidman truly one of the best around in the upper weight classes, or will Machida show that his American counterpart is just as beatable as anyone else?

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

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UFC 175 Weigh-in Results: Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida Fight Card

UFC 175 is the first fight card of the weekend, and the 11-fight card features two championship fights.
Chris Weidman defends his UFC middleweight title against No. 3-ranked contender Lyoto Machida in the night’s main event, and Ronda Rousey returns to…

UFC 175 is the first fight card of the weekend, and the 11-fight card features two championship fights.

Chris Weidman defends his UFC middleweight title against No. 3-ranked contender Lyoto Machida in the night’s main event, and Ronda Rousey returns to defend her bantamweight championship against No. 2-ranked Alexis Davis in the co-main event.

All 22 fighters made weight successfully to make the event official.

UFC 175 Weigh-In Results

  • Chris Weidman (185) vs. Lyoto Machida (184.5)
  • Ronda Rousey (135) vs. Alexis Davis (135)
  • Stefan Struve (251.5) vs. Matt Mitrione (254)
  • Uriah Hall (185) vs. Thiago Santos (185)
  • Marcus Brimage (135.5) vs. Russell Doane (136)
  • Urijah Faber (136) vs. Alex Caceres (135)
  • Kenny Robertson (171) vs. Ildemar Alcantara (170)
  • Chris Camozzi (185) vs. Bruno Santos (185)
  • George Roop (135) vs. Rob Font (135)
  • Luke Zachrich (185) vs. Guilherme Vasconcelos (185)
  • Kevin Casey (185) vs. Bubba Bush (185)

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