MMA Origins: Chris Weidman

Being the champion

Due to the nature of the first win – as well as Zuffa’s love for rematches – it was pretty clear that Weidman/Silva II was a must. Sure enough, the fight was booked just five months after their original meeting.

Again Weidman would come out on top, and again it was not in the way anyone expected. The first round again went Weidman’s way; this time he battered Silva from the clinch – one of Silva’s favoured positions – stunning him and knocking him down, although he was unable to finish him.

The ending, again coming in the second round, was even more shocking than the ending of the first fight. This time Silva threw a leg kick, Weidman checked it, and Anderson’s leg snapped like a twig.

Weidman now had two wins over the UFC’s most decorated fighter, with two of the most memorable finishes in promotional history.

His next foe was supposed to be Vitor Belfort – fresh off three stunning wins via head kick and fuelled by testosterone replacement therapy – but when TRT was taken off the menu, so was Vitor, and in stepped Lyoto Machida.

While Machida had been beaten by this point, nobody had really dominated him, not even Jon Jones. Of course, he’d never faced Chris Weidman.

Showing not only tremendous skills but also tremendous willing to follow a gameplan, Weidman pushed an absolutely torrid pace in the fight, forcing Machida to back up continuously, ensuring he could never control the distance as he usually did. He outstruck and outgrappled Machida to a clear decision. As well as proving that the Silva victories were no flukes, the win showed that Weidman was a serious champion, not a transitional one.