Silva vs. Weidman

This is the official discussion thread for Silva vs. Weidman. Let's see what you've got.

I just watched Franklin/Silva I again today to start my usual UFC weekend buildup routine and get my juices flowing for this fight ... 

Dana's face when he was putting the belt on Silva ... he looked seriously pissed off that their golden boy, highly marketable, supposed to be the Hughes/Liddell of the middleweight division got beat. Badly.

Little did he know he was crowning the GOAT :)

Never noticed that, was it as bad as when Cain beat brock?

I hope wiedman wins.

Look how happy Weidman is as he touches the GOAT belt. I hope he enjoyed it since that was the first but also last time. (At least as long as Andy is around)

That belt's not good enough for a titan like Weidman, he'll get his own like Stone Cold's smoking skull belt when he massacres Andy on Saturday. 

anderson knows...how to play ****** mind games

I hope Anderson shines up Weidman's belt before Saturday night. Get ready for a new era to begin in the MW division.

Weidman is gonna walk out to the cage with his Gi, and brown belt on, and submit Silva in the 2nd....

John Danaher is a wizard. The man is a walking temple of MMA and jui jitsu knowledge. The man knows how to prepare his pupils for challenges better then just about anyone. Danaher orchestrated Weidman's whole camp. Add Serra and Longo to the mix of helping Weidman and I don't think there is any doubt he will be ready for Saturday night.

Silva is a ******* phenom

I really don't know, I don't want to say Weidman can't win, I think he has the tools to. However in my honest opinion he's only had 9 fights (which means nothing I know just gimme a minute) I know everyone will claim how Jon Jones had x amount of fights as did Cain and GSP and so on, but the difference is I've only seen one of Weidman's fights, the Maia fight (I've only seen highlights of the Munoz fight). From that fight I can't say I think he'll beat Silva, however I do agree its a different opponent, had a shorter camp that fight. From the highlights of the Munoz fight I've seen he did look very impressive, however as great as that elbow was; Standing is Anderson territory, I don't think he'll land anything like it or if he does Anderson will shake it off like he always does, his head movement is amazing to the point where a blow that would down a normal man just glances off him. Bottom line (and this is just my opinion) for Weidman to win be tenacious with the takedowns, now I dont know if he is as relentless as Chael (I'm a massive Chael fan also) but I reckon get him down and sub him fast, I think the first fight proved no one can control Anderson for 5 rounds (not even gonna debate Jon Jones), otherwise I think its just another day at the office for Anderson. Anyway thats just how I see it, I may be wrong but I'm going with Silva (currently in my picks as 1st round tko/ko but more likely 2nd round tbh) if Weidman pulls it out then more power to him and hopefully he can have as much success as Anderson has had defending the belt, just my opinion, take care hombres, peace out :) 

Mwah! Pre fight kiss.

Odd fight to call, I picked Silva but I know Weidman has the grappling ability to win. I just don't think he'll get the takedown, that's all. He's a power wrestler, not a speedy and explosive one and I think that works in Anderson's favor.

I was initially impressed by Weidman's supreme confidence and that was where my faith in him existed...but then I saw the video of the press conference and I'm sorry but Anderson Silva has it in the bag. Weidman's confidence is manufactured, it's not real.

Anderson Silva is a master of the psychological fight, no one's better at it. The **** he does is so ******* subtle but dangerous, it's beautiful.

Here's an example that no one talked about but I heard; Anderson Silva's going around reporters eating pieces of toast with a ridiculous amount of butter on them while Chris Weidman is killing himself cutting weight. That's just another subtle way he psyches out his opponent.

He let Weidman touch the belt for ****'s sake, that is HILARIOUS. Anderson Silva is the MASTER of the psychological fighting game, really the greatest of all-time. How the **** do people not like him, it baffles me. The only people who don't like Anderson are fat, I am convinced.

I picked Anderson Silva because, well...he's Anderson Silva.

How I feel about this fight.

* Edited at 07.05.2013, 1:08 AM ET *

But @anik I actually like Anderson Silva and am fat! 

Are you fat or just big boned? Because if it's the latter, Anik's theory still proves true.

As a disclaimer, I don't mean any ill will towards fat people. I used to be fat myself.

So does anyone else get the feeling like this fight might end up being a repeat of Silva/Maia or Silva/Leites? 

First off, I put the blame on the Leites fight on Leites. He was timid. Silva tried to engage him, but he'd back off.The Maia fight was much less forgivable to me. He had Maia hurt several times.

I'm pretty certain the reason that Silva fought like that was because he felt insulted to fight fighters who were significantly below him. Let's be honest. Neither was ready for a title fight. Leites got the shot because he beat Marquardt in a very weird fight. Maia served as an injury replacement.

Weidman has a dangerous skill set and he's shown no reason that he doesn't deserve a title fight. He did beat the man most thought would be next in line (Munoz). Silva would be foolish to fight Weidman like Maia.