Does Weidman Hold The Key To Victory At UFC 162?

Anderson Silva is currently on a sixteen fight win streak within the UFC. He is regarded as the greatest of all time (GOAT) because he has never been defeated since his debut in 2006, knocking out Chris Leben in the first round. Silva has finished 14 of his opponents, 2 via submission and a whopping 12 via TKO/KO.

Anderson’s victims include Stephen Bonnar, Forrest Griffin, Chris Leben, Chael Sonnen, Yushin Okami, Vitor Belfort, Patrick Cote, James Irwin, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Travis Lutter, Nate Marquardt, Damien Maia, and Thales Leites.  

Although Anderson competes as a mixed martial artist, the majority of his victories have come through devastating Muay Thai skills that would make a Thai King proud. Very few times has Silva needed to reach deep into the tool box, with seven of his fights finished in the first round, and five within the second round.

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To determine whether Chris Weidman holds the key to victory in their scheduled fight at UFC 162 you have to ask yourself what does Weidman bring that Silva’s other opponents didn’t?

chris weidmanFirst of all, there was the physicality of Stefan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin, the world class Jui Jitsu skills in Damien Maia, the Olympic wrestling credentials in Dan Henderson, and the power , speed and agility of Vitor Belfort.  None of these assets however made a difference, so why should Chris Weidman pose a threat?

Unlike Silva’s former opponents, Chris Weidman is undefeated and on a five fight win streak within the UFC. Weidman is competing during the prime of his career and is ten years younger than Silva.  Weidman is also a former New York State Collegiate wrestler who made easy work of Mark Munoz (a two time Californian State Wrestling Champion).

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What is great about this fight is that the height and reach stats are almost identical. Both fighters stand at 6ft 2 inches with Weidman having a slight reach advantage, 78 inches vs. Anderson’s 77.6. The reach advantage however is unlikely to make little difference as Silva’s stand-up skills are world class.

In your opinion, is Chris Weidman the real deal to beat Anderson Silva or are we just getting over excited with another wrestler we have seen before?