Words cannot describe how excited I am for UFC 162. Anytime you have a card with Anderson Silva on it, you are pretty much garenteed to get a fascinating show. Whether you see an explosive finish like the front kick against Vitor Belfort or a lackadaisical show like his highly criticized bout against Thales Leites, in which he did more dancing around the ring than actual fighting, there is sure to be plenty to talk about after the fight. But enough about Silva. The most talked about person leading up to UFC 162 is actually his opponent, a relatively unknown fighter from Long Island, NY, named Chris Weidmen.
Let me be clear. When I say relatively unknown, I'm talking about the opinion of the general public, not that of his fellow fighters. Because if you ask his fellow fighters, they know exactly who Chris Weidmen is and they know exactly what he is capable of. Undefeated in the octagon, Weidmen has risen the top of the division and finally earned his shot at the man who many consider to be the greatest fighter of all time. So what's different about this fight? No UFC fighter has figured out a winning formula against The Spider as of yet, so why should this be any different? What gives Weidmen an edge over the scariest man in the world?
Many think it's his wrestling. Chael Sonnen is the one man who has really given Silva a run for his money in the octagon. Chael is one of the best wrestlers/ground and pound fighters in UFC history, and whether it was over-confidence, pure ignorance, or a highly developed skillset in the right area, Chael proved that Silva is a mere mortal after all. After destroying Silva for four and a half rounds, and no I'm not exaggerating when I say 'destroying', Silva caught Sonnen with a late submission to retain the middleweight belt and set the tone for one of the most highly anticipated rematches of all time; one which Silva won with relative ease. Obviously Chael failed to accomplish what he set out to do against Silva, but perhaps his efforts weren't without purpose. Chael found something that nobody else could in countless attempts to do so. He found a way to defeat Anderson Silva.
As far as wrestling goes, Chris Weidmen is as good, if not better, than Chael Sonnen. He has a decorated wrestling background and can use that skillset to do what Chael did to Silva. This is not simply Chael Sonnen 2.0, however. Weidmen has plenty of tools that give him an edge over every opponent who dared challenge Silva for the belt. For one, he has outstanding jui jitsu, which pairs very nicely with his wrestling. Despite some verbal jabs from Silva, Weidmen's standup is pretty good as well. He should easily be able to stand with Silva long enough to bring the fight to the ground, which is sure to prove an invaluable asset to his chances at a victory.
There is no excuse not to watch the event tonight. Head over to Buffalo Wild Wings and check it out if you don't feel like forking over the money for a pay per view at home. It's fun and easy. And now, it's prediction time. This is a tough one. In general, you should never bet against Anderson Silva. People call him the greatest fighter of all time and I stand by the title wholeheartedly. On the other hand, if you created a fighter to beat Silva, you would probably come up with something similar to Chris Weidmen. So if I had to pick a winner, I would go with...
Anderson Silva
The only reason I say that is due to experience. If Weidmen had about 5 more fights under his belt, then I would go with Weidmen. But he doesn't, and thus, I choose Silva. That being said, I'll be rooting for Chris Weidmen the whole way. The only incentive to Silva winning is the potential for a super fight, but that is never guaranteed. For one, it seems like Silva doesn't want to fight Jones and GSP doesn't want to fight Silva. Also, while double checking the spelling of Thales Leites, I found that the GSP superfight was being talked about back in UFC 97. So if I were you, I wouldn't hold your breath.
There's still four hours to go until the Facebook fights begin which, of course, is way too long. Kill a half hour with the Countdown to UFC 162 video below, and prepare for one of the greatest fights you'll ever see tonight at UFC 162.
