Weidman vs. Silva II

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

Silva, after a slow first round, will come out and decimate Weidman with a flurry of punches and kicks. Knees will follow when he gets the plum and Weidman will go down in the middle of the second round.

...

Unless Silva approaches the fight like a five year old again. Ego's aside he's the better fighter.

Silva should have the rematch if Weidman chooses to stand, however I don't think that will be the case.  I think Weidman will take Silva down and look to win there. 

Many people are vastly underestimating Silva's ground game which I think is exceptional.  I would still give Weidman the edge here, however Silva is not going to be easy to put away. 

I see this coming down to how good Weidman's cardio will be in the biggest fight of his life (to prove the first wasn't a fluke), if Silva can avoid too much damage and get to round 3-5 I think he wins easy.  If not I forsee the first defense for the champ.

Prediction: I see Silva weathering the early onslaught from the champ and taking it via 3rd round tko.  Weidman was looking tired in the 2nd round of their last fight imo.  

 

 

* Edited at 12.28.2013, 8:14 PM ET *

"Silva should have the rematch if Weidman chooses to stand"

Weidman chose to stand in the second, and now Silva can't stand.

* Edited at 12.29.2013, 12:41 AM ET *

First and foremost my heart goes out to Silva, I hope his leg heals well and he will be ok. If he feels up to it after he heals I hope Silva will be able to return.... or at least get his wish of boxing RJJ.

I could not think of a way for this fight to end in a less satisfying fashion. Perhaps the greatest champ in MMA history has just ended his career. The doubt of Weidman, saying he got a "flook" win last time wont change because he didn't beat Silva this time, Silva's leg gave out. 

Weidman v Belfort next, I am excited. Perhaps Lyoto for the following title fight. 

Heal well Silva, If anyone deserves a good and easy recovery its him.

Kinda feel bad for Silva. Now everybody is going to say he's a bum. Poor guy couldn't happen to a better guy =(

one of the nastiest things i have ever seen. Great job by Weidman for checking those leg kicks. Sucks for Silva he is still one of the greatest fighters ever, but the next generation is coming and Weidman is it for the middleweight division.

It all makes sense now.

Leading up to, during, and after UFC 168 I earned a whole new respect for Chris Weidman. He conducted himself with honor and dignity before, during, and since his upset of Anderson Silva at UFC 162. Weidman is a class act, very humble, and one of the most skilled and complete fighters among the new generation of MMA fighters.

Though it sucks that Anderson Silva had to suffer such a horrific and possible career-ending injury, and it sucks for me as a fan of Anderson Silva to see him no only lose, but lose the way he did, Chris Weidman really impressed me in the first round of the fight, and showed more improvement in his overall fight game since the last time he faced Silva.

There is no doubt in my mind that Anderson is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, and if I had to see him pass the torch to someone, I'm glad it is a class act and highly skilled fighter like Chris Weidman. I wish Anderson Silva a speedy and full recovery from his injury, and wish Weidman the best of luck in the future as UFC MW Champion.

Joey CoCo Diaz ‏@madflavor 6s

Chael's voodoo doll finally worked!!!

I'm 0-5 picking against Weidman now! It's not that I don't think he isn't a great fighter or anything. I guess I just put too much faith in Lawlor and I thought Maia would get the job done.
Then the lackluster performance against Maia stuck in my head when I picked against him against Munoz. Picking Andy twice isn't a strange in itself. But wow, 0-5. For shame, for shame....

Excited for Weidmans next fight

So hard to watch that flopping leg

well stated @Jaykool777 

Weidman is a great man for the belt to pass to in the wake of Silva. Hes one of the few people that could eventually rival Silva in dominance and streak. Though Chris has 3 hard tests coming in the near future Vitor, Lyoto, and the winner of Carmont v Souza. Since Vitor has the next title shot I am betting Lyoto gets the following one or at least fights for the next #1 contender spot most likely with Carmont or Souza.

Lots of interesting fights coming up at 185, I am excited to see how it plays out. As much as I hate to admit it I am kind of happy its no longer the watch Silva pwn everyone show anymore; my only hesitation is how Silva lost and that a champ that skilled suffered such a bad injury.

Heal well Silva

@arcon

I agree with you that Weidman has a laundry list of monsters ahead of him but I wouldn't start riding Lyoto too quickly.  He still has to fight Mousasi who I personally think matches up A LOT better with Machida then people think.  Mousasi has never been knocked down in his career which takes away a huge advantage for Lyoto.

But, Machida is still a beast so anything could happen.  But I wouldn't start talking like he's already beat Gegard.

Anderson is a notoriously slow starter. He drops round 1 to pretty much everyone. That being said, the punch that landed behind his ear was nasty, even if kind of lucky.

There was nothing lucky about the check, tho. Weidman wanted Anderson's leg to hit his knee, and it did. It is unfortunate that Anderson broke his leg, but a check like that would have him handicapped for the rest of the fight even if it didn't end there. I believe Weidman was on his way to winning the fight.

Weidman convinced me that he is the best middleweight fighter right now. I don't know about how prime Weidman would have fared against prime Silva (it was clear that Anderson was slowing down since UFC 148, his guard disappointed me yesterday and I didn't see anything suggesting that he is still capable of moving his head and body out of harm's way when clinched with his opponent, an ability that was one of his most reliable assets), but right now, Weidman can beat anyone that makes the cut.

I am sad right now, but thankfully yesterday's horrible lines allowed me to profit 80% of what I invested. That makes it easier. Lol.

EDIT: wasn't sure on where to post this so I posted it in the two possible places.

* Edited at 12.29.2013, 4:21 PM ET *

^^ Better safe than sorry

Good post Idrownfish thumbed it up twice now...