Tag: Chris Weidman

Chris Weidman compares Alex Pereira’s ‘deficiency’ in particular skill set to Ben Askren’s

Chris Weidman isn’t entirely sold on Alex Pereira when he sees a gaping hole in his wrestling.

[autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] isn’t entirely sold on [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] when he sees a gaping hole in his wrestling.

Light heavyweight champion Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is fresh off his first title defense – a first-round knockout of Jamahal Hill in the UFC 300 main event.

In less than three years with the UFC, Pereira already has captured titles in two weight divisions and even is contemplating a future move to heavyweight. Weidman thinks Pereira is one-dimensional and compared his lack of well-rounded skills to Ben Askren, who dominated opposition with his grappling.

“It’s hard for me to get fully behind Pereira because I do see such an opening with the wrestling, and he hasn’t really fought wrestlers,” Weidman said on the “Believe You Me” podcast. “It’s almost so crazy, and it’s such a deficiency based on what we’ve seen so far. It’s almost like Ben Askren coming into the UFC and being able to just become a multiple-time champion with no hands.

“It’s like a striker looking at Ben Askren and thinking, ‘How the hell is this guy the world champion?’ He was able to do it in Bellator, he was able to do it (in ONE Championship). I mean, the guy had an unbelievable MMA career and he had no striking at all. … This guy’s almost the opposite. I would almost say he’s as bad (at) wrestling as Ben Askren is with striking.”

Like Daniel Cormier, Weidman is surprised with the amount of success Pereira has been able to have with what he sees as a limited skill set.

“This guy may go down as one of the best fighters of all time,” Weidman said. “It is weird to see. I don’t know if it’s just the matchups or the evolution of the sport.”

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Michael Bisping, Anthony Smith suggest Sean Strickland as Chris Weidman’s next opponent

Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith want to see Chris Weidman face a marquee name next.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] want to see [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] face a marquee name next.

Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) picked up his first win since August 2020 when he defeated Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 54 – a TKO finish which was later ruled a unanimous decision after instant replay showed Weidman poking Silva in the eyes twice before dropping him.

Although there was controversy surrounding the finish, Smith thinks former champion Weidman still has the ability to face elite-level competition at middleweight.

“Skill for skill, I think he can compete with everybody in that division up to the very top,” Smith said on a recent episode of the “Believe You Me” podcast. “But it’s just, can he stay healthy enough to put a run together? … If you can get him a big name, halfway up, maybe fast-track him.”

Looking through the rankings, Bisping threw out the name [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC), who recently lost his middleweight title in a competitive battle against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297.

“Give him Sean Strickland,” Bisping said. “Sean Strickland-Chris Weidman: ‘The All-American’ against ‘Here’s the thing guys’ American. Do it. I think that’s a good matchup.”

Smith was on board with the idea right away.

“That’s a really good fight,” Smith said. “I didn’t even think about that. I’m going to text him that right now.”

Strickland would be considered a big step up in competition after Weidman rebounded with a win over unranked Silva. Prior to that, the 39-year-old dropped a decision to Brad Tavares at UFC 292 – his first fight back after suffering a gruesome leg break in April 2021.

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Daniel Cormier: Chris Weidman ‘really did deserve to get a victory because he fought so well’ at UFC on ESPN 54

Daniel Cormier doesn’t have an issue with Chris Weidman getting his hand raised despite some egregious eye pokes at UFC on ESPN 54.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] doesn’t have an issue with [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] getting his hand raised at UFC on ESPN 54.

Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) picked up a controversial win over Bruno Silva this past Saturday at Boardwalk Hall – a unanimous decision that was initially ruled a third-round TKO. Weidman dropped Silva with a left hook but poked him in both eyes before landing the blow.

The finish was reviewed, and a slow-motion replay showed that Silva was clearly poked in the eye two times before Weidman dropped him and finished him on the ground. With Weidman up on the judges’ scorecards, the result was overturned to a unanimous decision, and Cormier agrees with the final outcome of the fight.

“There’s a rule in place, that if you go past a certain point in the fight, it’s scored,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “If there is an illegal blow, they score the fight and if you score that fight, Chris Weidman wins. So I think by them making it a decision, it saves the fight, staying a win for Chris Weidman – because he really did deserve to get a victory because he fought so well. He made one point that I thought was very important. He said, ‘I get it, but Bruno Silva has to understand you can’t fall to the ground and turn away from the fight because I am going to jump on you and finish the fight.’

“Chris Weidman did what his instincts told him, and that was to go finish Bruno Silva when Bruno reacted the way that he did from the eye poke. I’m only saying this because, to me, it felt like a soccer player when they get fouled and they’re rolling around on the ground when the guy barely touches them. Bruno Silva got eye poked, but I think he understood where he was in the fight. He was getting beat. He was losing. He fell to the ground. He reacted in the way he was reacting, hoping, ‘Wait, stop, stop, stop, poke to the eye. No contest.’ Instead, Weidman went and finished him.”

Weidman picked up his first win in almost four years, and his first since breaking his leg in a TKO loss to Uriah Hall in April 2021.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.

Eye-poke controversy or not, Ray Longo happy with Chris Weidman’s performance at UFC on ESPN 54

Ray Longo is proud of Chris Weidman regardless of the controversy surrounding his fight at UFC on ESPN 54.

Ray Longo is proud of [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] regardless of the controversy surrounding his fight at UFC on ESPN 54.

Weidman’s win over Bruno Silva this past Saturday was initially ruled a third-round TKO before getting overturned to a unanimous decision. The finish was immediately called into question after a slow-motion replay showed Weidman poking Silva in both eyes before setting up the fight-ending sequence.

Longo admits he was worried about the outcome after Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) committed repeated unintentional fouls, but he thought the former UFC middleweight champion was en route to winning anyway.

“You have to address it because you don’t want to see it end in a DQ (disqualification), but he got his eye poked, too,” longtime coach Longo said of Weidman on “Unlocking The Cage.” “I don’t want to get crazy with this. There’s a picture where he’s getting thumbed right in the eye. He chose not to even complain about it, which I’m not saying is right or wrong, but yeah, you have to be concerned because the last thing you wanted to do is see that become a problem. But you’ve got to remember, too: The first round was clean. He won that convincingly.

“The second round, I think there was a minor eye poke where they stopped, but he won that round, too. So, he was up in the fight. Either way, I think he won that fight even if they went to the scorecards, which is exactly what they did at the end. But no, you have to be concerned with that. It’s like a guy when he knees a guy, and he’s not grounded. You’ve got to be careful. You don’t want the fight to stop for that. The eye pokes are a little different, I think, for some reason. But yeah, I was definitely concerned.”

Prior to the unfortunate ending, Weidman was looking in much better form than he did in his return fight vs. Brad Tavares at UFC 292. He was kicking plenty with his repaired leg, and Longo sees that as a win itself.

Silva was understandably emotional at the way the fight played out, and Longo is open to the pair running things back.

“But either way, as a coach, even if it was a DQ, I’m happy with what I saw,” Longo continued. “For a guy that went through a horrific injury like he did to come back like that at 39 years old, going to be 40 in a couple of months, I thought it was fantastic. It’s a win either way for me, no matter what happened.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.

Video: Chris Weidman’s return ended with an eye poke – and win. But should it have?

Should Chris Weidman’s win over Bruno Silva have been a DQ or a no contest instead of a win? We discuss on “Spinning Back Clique.”

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel, along with [autotag]John McCarthy[/autotag] – former referee and current PFL analyst – reacted to [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag]’s controversial return win at UFC on ESPN 54.

Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) defeated Bruno Silva this past Saturday, but with plenty of controversy. The former UFC middleweight champion eye poked Silva three times before eye poking him a fourth time, which led to the end of the bout.

Despite the repeated fouls, Weidman was awarded a TKO win, which was then overruled to a technical decision win. It was a highly debated result that had many split. So was it the right call?

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McCarthy and MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura, Nolan King, host “Gorgeous” George Garcia, discussed Weidman’s win and whether it was the right ruling.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and also don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.

John McCarthy explains Chris Weidman eye-poke debacle at UFC on ESPN 54 – and how commission … got it right?

Bruno Silva won’t like what “Big” John McCarthy had to say about the controversial ending to his UFC on ESPN 54 fight with Chris Weidman.

[autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag] won’t like what “Big” John McCarthy had to say about the New Jersey commission’s handling of the controversial ending to his UFC on ESPN 54 fight with [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag].

This past Saturday, Weidman came away victorious after initially stopping Silva by ground-and-pound for a third-round TKO at Boardwalk Hall. The result was instantly called into question after a slow-motion replay showed Weidman egregiously poking Silva in both eyes a moment before the finishing sequence. Upon further review by referee Gary Copeland and the State Athletic Control Board, which regulated UFC on ESPN 54, the fight went to the judges’ scorecards because the fight entered Round 3, resulting still in an announced unanimous decision (but actually technical decision) win for Weidman.

The controversial outcome naturally upset Silva and didn’t sit well with many observers on social media, but McCarthy, a former referee and current PFL analyst, explained Monday on his “Weighing In” podcast that the commission ultimately got it right – even if he did take umbrage with Copeland’s lack of warnings against two previous Weidman eye pokes before the two that led to the finish.

“When Gary Copeland has Chris Weidman, who is putting his fingers out like it’s a pitchfork – you need to address that as the official,” McCarthy told co-host Josh Thomson. “I don’t care that you’re in New Jersey where Chris Weidman is a hero. I’m being honest: I wanted Chris Weidman to win this fight. … But I can’t have Chris Weidman getting preferential treatment as far as you’re the one creating this problem. You need to address the problem and make sure the individual who is creating the problem doesn’t do it anymore. Well, he did do it more.”

McCarthy continued: “I don’t think Gary saw the eye pokes (just before the finish), so that was understandable. He makes the call of stopping the fight. Once he makes the call of stopping the fight and they look at the tape, you can see that he did get poked in the eye. … They need to have the judges score whatever part of the third round they’ve seen. Who won that round? You already have two rounds that have been judged. This need(ed) to go to a technical decision. It’s not a unanimous decision victory. It’s a technical decision victory for Chris Weidman.”

“Chris had won the first two rounds. And if you’re gonna say the third round, I think Chris was winning that one for the most part, too. So I knew Chris was gonna win the fight, but that way it’s not on the fact that a foul occurred and the referee made a decision to stop it without seeing the foul. Now (the commission is) saying, ‘OK, we see the foul. This is what we do.’ Based upon the fact that the fight had entered the third round, you could go to a technical decision. If the same thing had happened in the second round, it would’ve ended up being a no contest. You would not have had a technical decision, because they can only go to that technical decision if the fight enters the third round.”

Even if the commission got it right based upon the rules in the end, Silva is still sure to feel wronged. Silva told MMA Fighting that he plans to appeal the result, but McCarthy explained how that is likely to be a futile process for him.

“What they’re doing is, by going to that technical decision, it’s the right thing to do. I’m just gonna tell you straight out,” McCarthy said. “Because giving Chris Weidman a victory off of TKO, then you’re saying that you’re not addressing the fact that there was a foul. They are addressing that fact. Gary Copeland could’ve decided to have taken points for the fouls. He didn’t do that. That’s his decision. … So the commission actually did the right thing. But, yes, by doing that right thing, they’re taking the ability of Bruno Silva to protest the stopping of the fight as a TKO and making it a no contest later on. They’re taking that away by doin the right thing.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.

Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: UFC on ESPN 54, Brandon Moreno’s hiatus from MMA, Whittaker-Chimaev, more

On this week’s episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” our panel discusses UFC on ESPN 54, Brandon Moreno’s hiatus from MMA, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura, and Nolan King will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

  • UFC on ESPN 54 is in the books, and it left plenty to talk about, including [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag]’s win over Erin Blanchfield and where she fits into the title picture at women’s flyweight; [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]’s 3-0 start in his return to welterweight; [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag]’s controversial win over Bruno Silva and his future in MMA. We recap the main results of Saturday’s event in Atlantic City.
  • Sad news for the men’s flyweight. Arguably the division’s most popular name has announced a hiatus from MMA. Former champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] revealed that he’s in need of a break from fighting and that he will be stepping away for some time, but he promises to come back eventually. We react to the news and its impact on the flyweight division.
  • The UFC’s debut event in Saudi Arabia is taking shape. UFC CEO Dana White announced several key matchups for the June 22 event, including a title eliminator bout between [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] and [autotag]Khamzhat Chimaev[/autotag] – which will serve as the main event of the card. We break down Whittaker vs. Chimaev, along with the rest of the fights announced.
  • Things got weird earlier this month when [autotag]Igor Severino[/autotag] got disqualified, and later cut from the UFC, after biting his opponent Andre Lima at UFC on ESPN 53. We heard almost immediately after the incident from Lima, UFC CEO Dana White, the Nevada Athletic Commission, but this Severino broke silence in an exclusive interview with MMA Junkie. We discuss the whole incident as well as Severino’s recent comments.

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Mick Maynard’s Shoes: What’s next for Chris Weidman after controversial UFC on ESPN 54 win?

Chris Weidman has the chance to go out on a win after UFC on ESPN 54, but it doesn’t appear he’s eager to take that exit from MMA.

[autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] got a win for the first time since snapping his leg when he defeated Bruno Silva in the UFC on ESPN 54 featured bout Saturday.

Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) has struggled to find wins since he lost the UFC middleweight title in December 2015. The path got even tougher after a devastating leg break in April 2021, but he’s back on the triumphant side following a controversial, eye-poke-heavy unanimous decision over Silva (23-11 MMA, 4-5 UFC) at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

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Prior to the event, Weidman said he was mulling whether this would be his retirement bout. He didn’t hang it up in the immediate aftermath of the win, which indicates the 39-year-old will attempt to compete at least once more.

Where does Weidman fit into the overall 185-pound divisional hierarchy? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future after UFC on ESPN 54.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.

Chris Weidman doesn’t plan to retire after UFC on ESPN 54 win: ‘I still think I have it’

Former UFC champion Chris Weidman says no to retirement after defeating Bruno Silva in controversial fashion at UFC on ESPN 54.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] is not ready to hang up the gloves.

The former UFC middleweight champion got confirmation on Saturday that he should continue his career and put retirement on the back burner – at least for now.

Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) defeated Bruno Silva (23-11 MMA, 4-5 UFC) in a unanimous decision on the main card of UFC on ESPN 54, which took place at Boardwalk Hall.

The result paired with the performance was a sign for Weidman that his time is not up yet in MMA despite being a few months away from turning 40.

“I still think I have a lot of potential, and I’ve had a lot of adversity and I still think I have it,” Weidman told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC on ESPN 54 post-fight press conference. “So, until I don’t think I have it anymore, I’m here. This is fun. I still have my brains. I still got my looks. Until one of those starts going, I’m here, man. This is too much fun, and I think I was meant to do this. I’ve been doing this for a really long time.”

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Weidman, 39, thinks if he would’ve lost to Silva, that it might’ve been the end of his fighting career. However, with a win at hand and having snapped a two-fight losing streak, he thinks he’s got plenty more to give.

“I’ve considered it plenty of times,” Weidman said when asked about retirement. “I think if I would’ve lost tonight, if I would’ve not gotten my hand raised, it could’ve been the last time. I had that in my mind. If I was in there and I was just, ‘I don’t have it anymore,’ I may have out the gloves down, but it didn’t happen, and I got the win, so here I am.”

Although Weidman did look good in his return fight, the result did come with some controversy.

Weidman was originally given a TKO win, but then it was announced that he had won by unanimous decision. Weidman accidentally eye poked Silva in the third round, causing him to go down. Then, Weidman followed up with more shots and the fight was over. Because of the accidental eye poke, which was the fourth for Weidman in the fight, the bout was not deemed a stoppage and instead was judged until the incident.

“I’ll never question a guy if he’s saying he got poked in the eye, but you can’t just drop every time you feel something is touching your eyeball,” Weidman said. “He poked me in the eye one time and I stood there and took it. Unless the ref is going to say something, I don’t drop. I come from a wrestling background, and it’s a similar thing, you can’t look for the referee to help you.

“Sometimes they’re going to be against you, and you always have to be ready to defend yourself at all times. He dropped again. I don’t know if he was looking for a way out, but you can’t just turn your back and fall to the ground every time your eye feels poked.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.

UFC on ESPN 54 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $24.5 million

UFC on ESPN 54 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 54 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $173,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC on ESPN 54 took place at Boardwalk Hall. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 54 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Sedriques Dumas[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Kyle Nelson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Bill Algeo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rhys McKee[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jamall Emmers[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Julio Arce[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Herbert Burns[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Dennis Buzukja[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Connor Matthews[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ibo Aslan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jacob Malkoun[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andre Petroski[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Caolan Loughran[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Angel Pacheco[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,540; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $54,000 while title challengers get $54,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-54 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,842,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $24,579,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.