Chris Weidman Doesn’t Think Lyoto Machida Has A Weak Chin, But Believes He Will Finish Him Nonetheless

UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is one of the most confident fighters currently fighting in the Octagon. Last year, he told anyone who would listen that he would finish longtime legendary champion Anderson Silva, and then he went out and did it.

Heading into his first title defense against someone other than “The Spider” at this weekend’s (July 5, 2014) UFC 175 from Las Vegas, Weidman is now tasked with the tough test of figuring out enigmatic former light heavyweight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida.

Weidman met up with Ariel Helwani on last night’s UFC Tonight to discuss his pending match with Machida from the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Again, he offered up the mindset he carries into all of his bouts:

“Yes, I got a full training camp, and I will finish the fight. I’m finishing the fight, I’m going for it.”

But the champ also had high praise for Machida’s skillset, noting that he will be extremely difficult to defeat:

“I think Machida’s the toughest test for me in the division; even tougher than Anderson in a lot of ways. I think he’s more well rounded. Anderson is a precision striker, he has that knockout ability, devastating knockout ability, and he has a mental edge on his opponents that no one could match.

But Machida, he’s really well rounded. He has better wrestling than Anderson Silva, he’s probably stronger physically stronger than Anderson Silva.

And the thing that’s tough about Machida, he’s not afraid to win a boring decision. He’s not afraid to kind of stay away, touch me, and stay away. It’s gonna be an interesting style, and I’m going to have to maintain my patience, but at the same time stay aggressive and look for the finish.”

Weidman has an accurate assessment of the situation, as he knows that Machida will be waiting for him to overcommit so he can surprise him with his vaunted counter shots. But staying in “The Dragon’s” face is probably what he has to do to win, so it’s a double-edged sword.

He’s going to look for the knockout, but he doesn’t think it will come easy. Last week, Weidman’s coach Ray Longo came out with the brash statement that Machida had “a really weak chin.” Weidman doesn’t necessarily echo that statement, however:

“I don’t know about that. I don’t want to say that about somebody. I don’t expect him to. I expect to hit him and him to still be there. If I go out there thinking I’m going to hit him and he’s going down and it’s over, it’s going to be a long night for me if he doesn’t go down. I always expect to go through tough times in a fight, and then I hope for the best.”

Always calm, confident, humble, and honest, Weidman seems to have a great head on his shoulders as he heads into one of the most telling bouts of his young career. He’s undefeated and has never been even threatened in the Octagon. Machida definitely has the skills to put the first blemish on his record, but Weidman doesn’t think that’s going to happen. He offered a quick prediction for the fight:

“I can’t tell you when it’s going to end, but it’s going to end.”

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea for USA TODAY Sports