Chris Weidman wins via osteoporosis

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

That is true. Belfort is at his most dangerous the first round. He has the ability to hurt guys and then pounce on them with a flurry of strikes that could put anyone down. Still, Weidman has the reach advantage and he has an uncanny ability to judge distance and time his strikes. He managed to beat Silva at the striking game. He should be able to do the same to Belfort.

 

[Zombie_Babies]

Good point, if you can out stand up Silva you can probably out stand up Belfort. Just watch the headkicks, homie. Kind of hard to leg check those.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

I wouldn't be surprised if Weidman checked Vitor's kick with an elbow or something else and breaks Vitor's leg. His training team seems to be really good at coming up with some technique to counter and punish his opponents.

 

[Zombie_Babies]

As long as he doesn't check it with his face. Anyhoo, I think he'll be fine. His camp seems to be pretty awesome and I'm sure they'll be ready for Vitor's kicks.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

I'm pretty sure Vitor won't have much of an opportunity to throw any kicks. My guess is that Weidman is going to take him down and wear him out with some of the ground and pound he showed against Silva. Vitor's best chance is at the start of the rounds before Weidman gets his hands on him.

There is always a chance that Vitor can KO Weidman, but Weidman's camp has some really smart people. They are going to have a good fight plan to take Belfort out of his element and nullify the kicks and punches. I'm thinking it's going to be Weidman by submission.

 

[Zombie_Babies]

Sounds possible. You gotta love his camp - good strategists and he listens to 'em. Not every fighter does that for some reason.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Yeah, a lot of fighters start out with a game plan, get into some trouble and then completely ignore everything their corner is telling them and everything they trained for before the fight. Weidman seems like a smart guy that can stick to the plan fairly well. He also seems to be able to take guys out of their game plan. Vitor isn't going to have a good night.

 

[Zombie_Babies]

That's the thing, man. Vitor can start so fast that he makes having a game plan pointless. If he can get that rush and get a shot or two in, well, it could be over fast. It's interesting at least. I don't think he'll win but who knows.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

That is true, but Vitor doesn't just rush in throwing leather. He usually measures up his opponent, throws a couple of strikes, and if he clips his opponent, he start the onslaught. Unfortunately for Vitor, he has a 74 inch reach and Weidman has a 78 inch reach. Weidman is excellent at measuring his opponent's striking and gauging striking timing. He showed off those skills against Silva, who arguably has the best striking and timing. I'm betting Weidman can do the same to Vitor.

You also have to consider Weidman's wrestling. He is a high level wrestler. Vitor has a bad record against wrestlers. There is a chance that Vitor could catch Weidman coming in for a takedown, but I don't think that is very likely. I think Vitor is going to be preoccupied with defending the takedown, and he won't be able to catch Weidman with a strike when Weidman takes him down.

I think the toughest challenge Weidman has at middleweight is going to be Machida. Machida has a good record against wrestlers. His style is really good because he jumps in, strikes, and gets out quickly. Machida, unlike Silva, has excellent takedown defense. I guess it's part of that sumo training he has. Too bad he didn't teach Silva how to stop the takedowns.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Looks like Silva wants to fight again.

This won't end well. He is going to end up getting beat up by younger, healthier guys that will make their names off of crushing him the same way that Weidman did. These guys seem to have an ego. They think they are going to be awesome until the end. It never works out like that. Fedor got beat by three guys in a row, and then took on someone who should have retired years ago. Fedor went out on a win, but it was an empty win. They may as well have put an actual punching bag in there against Fedor. Silva looks to be doing the same thing. He got knocked out, got his leg broken, and who knows that the next loss is going to be like.

I'm telling you, as much BS as people give GSP, that guy is the smartest fighter in MMA. He retired on a win, and he doesn't seem to care what others are saying. Silva should have just retired. Yeah, it would have been off of back-to-back loses, but so what? The guy has achieved legendary status. He doesn't need to prove anything else. This is going to be wuite sad to watch. I'll still watch it, but it'll still be sad.