Chris Weidman will go down as the man who scored one of the more stunning upsets in UFC and MMA history when he ended Anderson Silva’s historic middleweight title reign in 2013. While he solidified his place as a future UFC Hall-of-Famer in the years following, the New York native has had a tough run in recent years.
The former champ has lost nine of his last 12 and has heard MMA fans clamoring for his retirement. Well, he finally did just that over the weekend after 15 years in the sport. With him calling it quits, now seems like a perfect time to look at the 10 greatest moments in the UFC legend’s athletic career.
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10. NJCAA two-time All-American wrestler
Weidman would decide to compete at the NJCAA level to begin his college wrestling career. He enrolled at Nassau Community College and became an All-American in both 2004 and 2005. From there, Weidman transferred to Hofstra University to continue what would be an outstanding amateur wrestling career. At Nassau, he would become the first junior college wrestler in history to become an NYS Collegiate champion.
9. Being a two-time DI All-American wrestler
Weidman competed twice at the NCAA Division I level, and both years, he earned himself a spot at the NCAA Championships. He walked away each year with a medal around his neck and a spot on the podium.
In 2006, Weidman placed sixth at 197 bounds, losing to Jake Rosholt. At the tournament, he scored a victory over future Ultimate Fighter winner Ryan Bader, along with two more wins. A year later, Weidman rose to third on the podium, going 5-1 with a fall over Dustin Porter in the opening round. He ended his NCAA career 8-2 at the championships.
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8. Qualifying for the 2009 ADCC World Championship
Weidman showed off his ever-improving ground skills, winning the ADCC East Coast Trials to qualify for the 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship. This all came with just one year of formal submission grappling training. Weidman lost in the quarterfinals in Barcelona at the championships. He would earn his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu a few years later from Renzo Gracie and Matt Serra.
7. MMA debut for Ring Of Combat in 2009
Following his exceptional wrestling career, Weidman turned to training mixed martial arts. He made his official debut in 2009 at Ring of Combat 23. On that night Weidman scored a first-round submission over Reubern Lopes with a kimura. Less than two months later, he stopped Mike Stewart in the first round and began his journey to regional circuit superstar.
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6. Defeating Uriah Hall for the Ring of Combat championship
After securing himself a pair of wins to begin his career, Ring of Combat officials placed Weidman into a title bout with Uriah Hall. Just over three minutes into the fight, it was Weidman flooring his future UFC co-worker. Weidman won the Ring of Combat middleweight championship at Ring of Combat 31. Giving him his first notable mixed martial arts title.
5. Last UFC victory over Bruno Silva
Competing live on ESPN in 2024, Weidman earned what would eventually be his final UFC victory. Scoring a technical decision over Bruno Silva from Atlantic City, NJ. The win gave him the 16th of his career and marked his first since 2020. It was originally a TKO win for Weidman that was overturned to a decision due to an accidental eye poke.
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4. Third successful UFC middleweight title defense
The UFC threw a lot of top Brazilian athletes at Weidman, and “The All-American” just continued to take them out. In this case, it was Vitor Belfort. In their 2015 clash, Weidman scored a first-round TKO over the former champion. With the win, Weidman improved to 13-0 at UFC 187, earning his sixth finish in the UFC.
3. First title defense versus. Anderson Silva
Having defended the belt so many times and for so many years, it was a no-brainer that the UFC granted Anderson Silva an immediate rematch against Chris Weidman at UFC 168 in 2013. To everyone’s surprise, the end result was the same. Weidman walked out of the Octagon with the UFC middleweight title after Silva suffered a devastating leg injury in the second round.
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2. Win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 175
Many doubted that Weidman could put together a long and successful run as UFC middleweight champion. Many questioned how both his victories over Anderson Silva ended, but he erased all that in 2014. Weidman stood toe-to-toe with former light heavyweight king Lyoto Machida for 25 minutes at UFC 175. When the bell sounded to end the bout, it was Weidman earning the unanimous decision victory.
1. Stunning upset of Anderson Silva for UFC middleweight title
Not many people knew the name Chris Weidman when he was announced as the No. 1 contender to Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight championship. But as the sport has shown us, anything can happen. On July 6, 2013, at UFC 162, the unexpected occurred. Weidman connected with a big right on the UFC icon in the second round. Flooring Silva and earning one of the greatest upsets in UFC history.
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