Rockhold dethrones Weidman to claim UFC middleweight belt

Luke Rockhold handed Chris Weidman the first loss of his UFC career and claimed the middleweight championship with a superb performance in the co-main event of UFC 194 Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Rockhold took advantage of a poor tactical decision made by Weidman late in the third round to take control of the fight completely, en route to a fourth-round technical knockout victory.

Weidman, who came into the fight with a 13-0 record that included two victories over Brazilian legend Anderson Silva, attempted an ill-advised wheel kick with around a minute to go in the third round. He missed badly, and Rockhold promptly took him to the mat.

From that point on, the bout was all Rockhold as the challenger pounded away at Weidman, whose face was thoroughly cut up and barely survived the third round.

The end came at the 3:12 mark of the fourth, when referee Herb Dean finally stopped the contest as Weidman was no longer throwing any punches, while Rockhold continued to do damage from top position.


"It's indescribable," Rockhold said after his win. "Are you kidding me? I can't even believe this is real."

Rockhold, a former Strikeforce middleweight champion, improved to 15-2 with his victory. Weidman dropped to 13-1.

The bout was close up until Weidman attempted his wheel kick, although Rockhold took control in the second round thanks to his tremendous kicks. Weidman, however, had seemingly recovered in the third, attacking Rockhold with kicks of his own before his poor attempt that changed the complexion of the fight.

"I remember throwing that," a disappointed Weidman said after the fight. "He caught me and brought me down. That wasn't the smartest move."

"He shouldn't be trying that kind of stuff on me," Rockhold said of the kick. "I knew that if I got top control and got on the ground, I'm operating on a different level than anybody right now. I'm comfortable in my own game."

The 31-year-old Weidman won the UFC middleweight belt in July 2013, beating Silva via knockout at UFC 162. He successfully defended the belt three times, the last at UFC 187 in May when he stopped Vitor Belfort.

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Weidman TKOs Belfort to retain UFC title

It took defending champion Chris Weidman less than one round to brutally stop Vitor Belfort and retain his UFC middleweight title in the co-main event of UFC 187 Saturday in Las Vegas (Sunday in Manila).

Weidman took down Belfort and unloaded a series of punishing shots, forcing referee Herb Dean to stop the title fight at the 2:07 mark of the first round.

It was Weidman's third successful title defense, following a stoppage of Anderson Silva in December 2013 and a decision over Lyoto Machida at UFC 175 in July 2014.

Weidman was in trouble in the early minutes as Belfort connected on left hands and uppercuts that forced the champion to go on the defensive. He was able to take control of the fight, however, and Belfort had no answer for the brutal ground-and-pound that Weidman unleashed.

"He hit me with some good shots, but I've been there in sparring," Weidman said after the fight, as quoted by the Associated Press. "I was just covering, covering, covering, and I was ready to come back."

Belfort, for his part, offered no excuses.

"He got me in a bad position, and he got some strikes. There's no excuse. He was a better man tonight," said the Brazilian fighter.

Weidman remains unbeaten in his MMA career with a 13-0 record, while Belfort dropped to 24-11.

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Jones, Weidman to defend titles at UFC 187

MANILA, Philippines – UFC champions Jon "Bones" Jones and Chris Weidman are both seeing action on May 23 as they will defend their titles against separate challengers at UFC 187 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the UFC announced.

Jones will defend his light-heavyweight belt for ninth time against top contender Anthony "Rumble" Johnson in the main event of the evening.

Jones is coming off a successful title defense against Daniel Cormier in early January, after which it was revealed that he had failed an out-of-competition drug test by testing positive for cocaine metabolites.

Meanwhile, Weidman returns to action when he faces off against Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort in the co-main event.

Weidman will be making the second defense of the belt that he won off former champion Anderson Silva at UFC 162 in July 2013.

Weidman was originally scheduled to fight Belfort at UFC 181 last December, but the bout had to be rescheduled when the champion suffered a broken hand. It was re-set for February 28, only for Weidman to suffer another injury in training, leading to another postponement.

In the undercard, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrnoe takes on unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov in a showdown that will have implications in the title picture of the lightweight division.

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Two UFC champions may be out for 6 months

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions Chris Weidman and Ronda Rousey may both be out for six months after receiving lengthy medical suspensions following their victories at UFC 175 last weekend.

Rousey, who knocked out challenger Alexis Davis in only 16 seconds to retain the women's bantamweight title, needed stitches on her right hand after tearing her knuckles when she landed an overhand right punch.

According to the Nevada Athletic Commission, Rousey "requires x-ray on right hand," and if positive, must be cleared by an orthopedic physician or be out of action until January 2015.

Another champion, Chris Weidman, requires x-rays on his left jaw, right elbow, right ribs and right ankle after a five-round struggle against challenger Lyoto Machida.

Weidman must be similarly cleared by a doctor or otherwise be out of action until January 2015 as well. He was also handed a "minimum suspension" of at least a month.

Also receiving a potential six-month medical suspension was Uriah Hall, who beat Thiago Santos. Hall will have to be cleared by an orthopedic physician as well after suffering an injury on his right second toe.

Another fighter, Stefan Struve, will have to be medically cleared before fighting again. He was also tasked to see a cardiologist every six months.

Struve shockingly fainted inside his locker room prior to his bout against Matt Mitrione. The bout was eventually cancelled.

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Silva undergoes surgery to repair broken leg

MANILA, Philippines – Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva has undergone surgery to repair his broken left leg, the company announced in a statement.

The 38-year-old Silva broke his left tibia and fibula when his kick was checked by Chris Weidman during their championship fight in the main event of UFC 168 in Las Vegas over the weekend.

“Following Saturday evening’s UFC 168 main event, former champion Anderson Silva was taken to a local Las Vegas hospital where he underwent surgery to repair a broken left leg,” the UFC said in a statement.

“The successful surgery, performed by Dr. Steven Sanders, the UFC’s orthopedic surgeon, inserted an intramedullary rod into Anderson’s left tibia. The broken fibula was stabilized and does not require a separate surgery,” it added.

The UFC said Silva will stay in the hospital “for a short while,” although no additional surgery is scheduled.

Recovery time will take an estimated three to six months.

Silva’s gruesome injury, which occurred in the second round of the five-round championship fight, led many of his fellow MMA fighters to fear for his future in the sport, but the UFC said the Brazilian legend is not yet thinking about his future in MMA.

“There has been no immediate decision about his future, and (Anderson) would kindly ask for privacy at this time as he deals with his injury and prepares to return home to recover,” the UFC said.

Silva, who started his UFC career with 16 consecutive victories, has now lost back-to-back fights. Weidman, for his part, was successful in his first-ever UFC title defense and now has an 11-0 record.

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Weidman retains title after Silva suffers injury

MANILA, Philippines – Chris Weidman retained his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title in shocking fashion after challenger Anderson “The Spider” Silva suffered a gruesome leg injury in the second round of their fight in the main event of UFC 168.

Silva threw a left leg kick that was checked by Weidman, and the Brazilian legend clearly injured his leg in with the strike, as he immediately fell back with his lower leg dangling at an odd angle.

The fight was stopped at the 1:16 mark of the second round, and Weidman was declared the winner via technical knockout.

“No matter what happened in this fight, he’s still known as the greatest of all time, so props to Anderson Silva and God bless him,” said Weidman, who shocked the UFC world when he knocked out Silva in their first encounter last July.

Silva was not made available for a post-fight interview and left the Octagon on a stretcher, according to reports from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

One reporter, Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting, tweeted that the Brazilian was “yelling at the top of his lungs on the stretcher back stage.”

Silva, who won 16 consecutive UFC fights before losing to Weidman in July, caught flak for “clowning” inside the Octagon, as Weidman caught him with his hands down and knocked him out.

There was no clowning around from the “Spider” this time around, but Weidman still connected on him in the first round that sent Silva on his back.

Silva was not knocked out, but Weidman spent most of the first round landing elbows from the top position. Silva managed to sneak in an occasional elbow but was clearly on the defensive.

The Brazilian tried to be more aggressive in the second round, landing an inside leg kick early. Weidman was able to block his other kicks, however, including the one that snapped Silva’s left shin.

“That was the number one thing that I got hit with in the first fight,” Weidman said, referring to Silva’s leg kicks. “I was working on checking him a lot.”

Despite his victory, Weidman also looked subdued in the post-fight interview, and said he never expected that Silva would break his leg. “It’s still crazy how that happened,” he said.

Weidman is now 11-0 in his UFC career. Silva has lost back-to-back fights for the first time after winning his first 16 matches inside the Octagon.

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Silva admits making 'basic mistakes' against Weidman

MANILA – Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva acknowledged he made mistakes in his title defense against Chris Weidman at UFC 162, which saw him lose inside the Octagon for the first time in his career.

Weidman caught Silva flush in the second round, knocking out the Brazilian legend to become the new middleweight champion.

“My mistakes in that fight – and that’s the first time I’m saying this – were basic mistakes,” Silva said in an interview with SporTV.

“I did everything I had to do, except to hit him,” he added. “I didn’t counter-attack. When I stopped with my feet parallel, I should have hit him and walked one step behind. I didn’t do that.”

After the fight, Silva came under fire for showboating, and some even believed that his antics inside the cage led to his loss.

But the Brazilian said he does not regret his actions, and vowed to clean up the mistakes he made when he and Weidman meet again on December 28 in a highly-anticipated rematch.

“I saw my mistakes, and I’m working on that to train for this next fight,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough fight, and it won’t last too long if it stays standing.”

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Silva still a genius in GSP's eyes

MANILA, Philippines – Despite losing his crown to Chris Weidman, Anderson Silva is still a “genius” in the eyes of his MMA pound-for-pound rival, Georges St-Pierre.

St-Pierre said Silva’s showboating tactics may have backfired against Weidman but it was effective against the rest of his opponents.

"Anderson Silva is a genius. He wants you to think that you don't even belong in the ring with him, because he's too good for you. That's what he wants his opponent to think. He's a genius," he said.

St-Pierre said that even during the Weidman fight, Silva created an illusion that he’s winning the bout.

He added that Silva was nearly successful against his challenger despite failing to land damaging strikes on Weidman.

"Look at that fight with Weidman. He did a lot of crazy things, but he didn't land one significant strike on Chris Weidman. He landed some good leg kicks, but he didn't a land significant strike that really hurt Weidman. But because of this game, he made it look like he was dominating the fight. It's an illusion that he creates, which is very smart, because he can get into his opponent's mind.”

Unfortunately for Silva, his mind games didn’t work against the up and coming middleweight.

Weidman caught Silva with a left hook to the jaw while the latter was sticking out his chin.

“At one point I was afraid that he (Weidman) was starting to believe the hype, but he stayed focused and he did well. Obviously, Anderson, he got caught. But I still believe that Anderson Silva is the best in the world. That's what I believe."

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UFC: Weidman KOs Silva to claim middleweight title

MANILA, Philippines -- In a stunning upset, Chris Weidman knocked out Brazilian legend Anderson "The Spider" Silva in the second round of their main event bout at UFC 162 Saturday in Las Vegas (Sunday in Manila) to become the new UFC middleweight champion.

Weidman knocked out Silva at the 1:18 mark of the second round, and in the process ended the Brazilian's 16-fight winning streak in the UFC.

It was also Silva's first loss since 2006, and the first time that he has ever been knocked out.

The loss also stopped Silva's streak of 10 consecutive successful title defenses, also a UFC record.

Weidman started off strong, but Silva was taunting and playing around in the opening round, and even putting his hands on his hips.

Silva paid for his nonchalance in the second round when, with his hands on his hips again, Weidman connected on a huge left hook that floored the Brazilian legend.

The loss dropped Silva's record to 33-5. Weidman, meanwhile, remains unbeaten in his MMA career with a 10-0 record.

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'Anderson will test Weidman's chin'

MANILA, Philippines – Veteran UFC fighter Dan Henderson warned Chris Weidman that his chin will be tested when he takes on Anderson “The Spider” Silva for the middleweight championship at UFC 162 on July 6.

“He hasn’t been very well tested with his chin,” Henderson said of Weidman in an interview with Rick J. Lee. “And Anderson definitely will test is. He’s very accurate with his striking.”


Silva, who has held the UFC’s middleweight belt since 2006, has connected on 67.8% of his significant strikes since making his UFC debut and has won 20 of fights via knockout.

Even Henderson, who is known for his strong chin, was wobbled by Silva when they fought at UFC 82 in 2008.

Henderson admitted that he is not very familiar with Weidman’s work, although he believes the challenger can give Silva a tough fight.

“I really haven’t seen much of Chris Weidman,” Henderson admitted. “I know he’s very well-rounded, and very tough, and just a tough dude on his feet and a wrestler as well.”

“So I think he’s capable of putting Anderson on his back and also striking with him,” he added.

But Henderson is still favoring the Brazilian legend to retain his championship.

“I would probably have to bet on Anderson if I was going to bet,” he said.

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