FanPost

Chris Weidman is a great champion

I have to preface this fan post with disclosing that Anderson Silva is not just my favorite fighter of all time,but my hero, I acknowledge I may have a bias when it comes to anything to do with him. For example, I’m not convinced of Weidman with his victories over the Spider. In short, I think Anderson gave him the first fight and that the outcome of the second fight was a freak accident, and that although Weidman dropped him in the rematch, that doesn’t mean that he would of won that fight. However, I do credit him for doing what he did in both bouts. Silva would have never been KO’ed if Chris didn’t have the belief in himself and the mental toughness to come forward and throw strikes despite the fact that the Spider was landing everything he threw at the challenger and taunting him in the process. In the second fight, Anderson never would of snapped his shin in half if Weidman never checked that kick (though I do not believe that he had the intention to break his leg by doing so). But nevertheless, I give credit to Weidman for these wins, and even though he hurt my feelings badly twice (In the first fight especially considering I traveled all the way from NL, Canada to Las Vegas to witness it) I actually became a big fan of his.

Like many of the fans of this sport ,I don’t think that he gets the credit he deserves, not just for being a dominate force but for being a great champion. The way he has conducted himself through his reign is admirable, and is probably the reason my fandom for him has only increased as time goes on. However, the talk of him not being heralded as the face of the organization and or being undersold and not getting enough praise for being one of the best ever needs to stop. I find that a lot of the fans of this sport and media alike have short memories, and are way to quick to deem a fighter either on their way to greatness or on their way out of the game. You’re only as good as your last fight. My memory is foggy at best, but in attempt to put things into perspective, Im 28 years old now but have been a fan of this sport since the age of 14. Granted, in the earlier years the interest came and went, but I always have had my thumb of the pulse of the sport and have been consistent in following it since TUF 1 (2005).I will attempt to recollect my thoughts on this throughout the last 10 years.

Chris Weidman just finished competing in his ninth UFC fight, and his third defense of the middleweight title . Anderson Silva’s ninth fight in the UFC was vs Thalis Laties and his third title defense was the second fight verses Rich Franklin. I don’t know about you guys & gals (and please feel free to comment on this) but if I remember correctly, the real hype on Silva being one of the best to ever grace the Octagon didn’t really start until after he beat Dan Henderson and had nobody else in the division to fight, and then went on to dispatch of James Irvin in a weight class above his own. Of course in retrospect its easy to say Irvin never stood a chance, but I vividly remember at the time (when Irivin was KO’ing everyone) that it was a real test for the spider to step up and take this fight, and he passed that test with flying colors. In an interview with a younger Ariel Helwani, Irvin says that he needed "about 20 stitches" in his face after that fight.

The point Im trying to make to the people exclaiming Weidman isn’t getting his due is- chill out. It will come in time, if it took what many consider the best pound for pound fighter on the planet about four or five title defence’s to get that praise, its going to take anyone else at least that many fights to get the same accolades. Its arguable Silva was getting the credit before the time I mentioned,but the way I remember it is that it was after the Henderson fight he entered into the potential G.O.A.T status, and that it wasn’t until after the Belfort win that he was launched him into super stardom on the world scale.

By the way, while I am truly a big fan and supporter of Weidman, I think that there are a number of middleweights in the division that can beat him. I think that many of the fans and media have short memories, and as mentioned earlier "you’re only as good as your last fight". So bare that in mind as I write that I think that, Anderson Silva,Luke Rockhold, Tim Kennedy, Jacare Souza, Yoel Romero and Alan Belcher (to name a few) COULD beat Chris Weidman . I’m not saying they will for certain, I’m saying I think these guys have the ability to do so. Before you barrage me with the notion of how uneducated on the subject I am, please let me remind you of something.

Andrei Arlovski