Is Chris Weidman In A Crossroads Fight?
By Anthony “Zute” George
It was not that long ago when Chris “The American Dream” Weidman was one of the biggest stars in the UFC. His stunning knockout of Anderson Silva in 2013 is still a highlight reel gem. Outside of Brazil, many UFC fans were growing tired of The Spider and his goofball antics inside the cage. An All-American wrestler, with matinee idol looks, put a stop to that over the top showboating from Silva. Life was good. Weidman defeated Silva in the immediate rematch as well, albeit in more freakish, as opposed to stunning, fashion, when Silva’s night ended early with a leg injury. By the end of 2013, Anderson Silva’s career was in question, while there was no doubt 2013 was the year of The Weidman.
Chris went on to defend his middleweight title twice by defeating Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort, scooping up Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonus respectively. The Belfort victory came in December of 2015. Even now, as it goes print to paper, it is hard to believe that was Weidman’s last victory. Chris has lost his last three fights, stopped in all three loses due to strikes. His loses to Luke Rockhold, where his lost his title, and Yoel Romero are telling because Weidman appeared to be winning those contests before being comprised by strikes. In sports, however, how you start is not always in keeping with the final outcome, just ask the Atlanta Falcons. Weidman’s last defeat against Gegard Mousasi is one of the odder fights in recent memory, as apparent illegal knee was ruled a legal knee due to instant replay, which was apparently not part of the rules. Confused yet?
Convolution aside, it was another loss for Weidman in a fight that he had some good moments in. But that is all in the past. All that matters now is The American Dream is still a top five ranked middleweight and will be put to the test Saturday night. Weidman faces number eight ranked Kelvin Gastelum, a fighter who was recently suspended due to a failed drug test. Gastelum is trying to put that shame behind him, as he recently defeated Nate Marquardt and looks to best Weidman Saturday night.
Weidman will have home cooking on his side against Gastelum. Will that be enough? Weidman has been vulnerable against good strikers and Kelvin is of that ilk; he also possesses good ground and submission skills.
Is this a must win for Weidman? One would think not insofar as he is still a wildly popular and top-rated fighter. Therefore, as long as he does not get blown out in quick fashion, his stock should not suffer much. Or will it? A loss, save for a controversial decision, would suggest Chris would fall out of the top five, meaning a title shot would be a long way off. It would also mean four straight loses for Chris. Any UFC fighter with that track record might be in danger of being scrapped from the roster.
Obviously, a victory defines a much clearer path for Weidman. Arguably, he could leap frog to the number two spot in the middleweight division, right behind Robert Whittaker, the Interim Champion. Yoel Romero and Jacare Souza are coming off loses and Luke Rockhold has not competed in over a year, and managed to get on the wrong side of UFC President Dana White. Even if Weidman does not jump that far up in the rankings if he wins, he will no doubt be in a position to fight in a title eliminator, facing the winner of the eventual Michael Bisping Vs Robert Whittaker fight. A showdown that should occur in the last quarter of 2017.
A victory for Weidman will also shake off any doubts that any fighter would have after being stopped in three straight fights. It is easy to say…well he was winning those fights until he got caught… but is that what a fighter is really going to latch onto after three straight stoppages? Athletes relate to us all the time that the losses always hurt way more than the victories and/or championships. I would imagine that holds true even more so in combat sports, even more so in knockout loses. Indeed, no one can really know for sure what is going on inside the head of Chris Weidman following three loses by stoppage. I am sure his thoughts differ from day to day. At the same time, it does not take Carl Jung to decipher that this is a must win for Chris’s state of mind. Another loss might be way too much for him to overcome, both mentally and in the minds of the UFC brass. There is a lot on the line for The American Dream Saturday night.
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