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Chris Weidman

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Chris Weidman
Chris Weidman at UFC 230 in New York City in November 2018
BornChristopher James Weidman[1]
(1984-06-17) June 17, 1984 (age 40)
Baldwin, New York, U.S.
Other namesThe All-American
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
DivisionMiddleweight (2010–2018, 2020–present)
Light Heavyweight (2019)
Reach78 in (198 cm)[2][3]
Fighting out ofSimpsonville, South Carolina, U.S.
TeamSerra-Longo Fight Team
Renzo Gracie Academy
Ricardo Almeida BJJ
Upstate Karate (2020–present)[4][5]
Gym-O (2020–present)[4][5]
TrainerJiu-Jitsu Coach: Matt Serra/John Danaher
Striking Coach: Ray Longo/Mark Henry
RankBlack belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Matt Serra and Renzo Gracie[6][7]
WrestlingNCAA Division I Wrestling[8]
Years active2009–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total23
Wins16
By knockout6
By submission4
By decision6
Losses7
By knockout6
By decision1
UniversityHofstra University
Notable school(s)Baldwin Senior High School
Websitechrisweidman.com
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Medal record
Men's Submission Wrestling
Representing the  United States
ADCC North American Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Los Angeles 88 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Hofstra Pride
NCAA Division I Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Auburn Hills 197 lb

Christopher James Weidman (born June 17, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion.

An accomplished amateur wrestler, Weidman was a two-time NJCAA All-American and a two-time NCAA Division I All-American during his collegiate career. He began his mixed martial arts career in 2008, and joined the UFC in 2011, soon amassing a 9–0 record. In 2013, Weidman came to worldwide prominence by defeating Anderson Silva to win the UFC Middleweight Championship. This ended Silva's 16-fight winning streak inside the UFC and his seven-year reign as the champion. Weidman retained the title for two and a half years, defending it three times.

Background

[edit]

Weidman was born in Baldwin, New York, on June 17, 1984, the second of three children. He is of German and Irish descent[9] and was raised as a Lutheran.[10] He and his older brother were involved in numerous athletic activities. Chris started wrestling at a very young age. With his natural athleticism, he mastered the sport very quickly. He attended Baldwin Senior High School on Long Island where he was a Nassau County and New York state wrestling champion.[11]

A standout in college, he earned All-American wrestling honors twice at Nassau Community College before transferring to Hofstra. He became the first junior college wrestler in history to be an NYS Collegiate Champion. At Hofstra, he became a two-time NCAA Division I All-American, placing sixth at the 2006 NCAA championships his junior year and third at the 2007 NCAA's his senior year. Weidman graduated from Hofstra University with a bachelor's degree in psychology as well as a master’s in physical education.[8] He was later a wrestling instructor of the university.[12]

Training

[edit]

While attending Hofstra, Weidman met Gabriel "Monsta" Toribio, who invited Weidman to come to Matt and Nick Serra's BJJ Academy a few miles from campus in Levittown, New York to help some of the fighters with their wrestling. Weidman also took some submission grappling classes and within three months he competed in and won The East Coast Grappler's Quest in his weight class and the Absolute Division with all 13 matches ending in submissions.[13][14]

With full-time assistant coaching and graduate school at Hofstra, grappling had to be put on hold for a while. While coaching, Weidman trained for the Olympic trials. When his dream was not attained, Weidman had to decide if he wanted to continue training for the world teams and Olympics or give MMA a shot. Toribio brought Weidman to Ray Longo's MMA Academy and introduced Weidman to Longo. With his noticeable technique and skills, Weidman was encouraged to train full-time to fight. In 2011, Longo and Weidman LAW MMA opened, where they are instructors, owners, and operators in Garden City, New York.[12]

For such a novice fighter to be so aggressive and technical in a pure grappling competition against one of the world's best speaks volumes to what a great MMA middleweight Chris Weidman may become.

—Jordan Breen on Chris Weidman at ADCC 2009[15]

After winning the ADCC East Coast Trials, Weidman qualified for and competed at the 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship (with one year of formal submission grappling training) in Barcelona[16] where he lost in a quarter-final match-up.[15]

In May 2015, Weidman got a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Renzo Gracie and Matt Serra.[6]

Mixed martial arts career

[edit]

Ring of Combat

[edit]

Weidman made his MMA professional debut representing the Serra-Longo Fight Team in February 2009 in Louis Neglia's Ring of Combat 23. He fought as a Middleweight against Reuben Lopes, whom he submitted quickly via kimura, at 1:35 of the first round. Two months later at Ring of Combat 24, he stopped Mike Stewart with punches in the first round.[16]

His combination of gravity-defying throws, an ironclad base and scarily preternatural grappling skills has already made him one of North America's premier prospects.

—Tomas Rios on Chris Weidman in 2010[17]

In his third bout, Weidman won the Ring of Combat middleweight title on September 24, 2010, by defeating Uriah Hall at Ring of Combat 31 via punches in the first round. Weidman defended the ROC Middleweight Championship on December 3, 2010, at Ring of Combat 33 with an impressive victory over Valdir Araujo via unanimous decision. By this point Weidman was being called "one of the most highly-touted blue chip middleweight prospects ever".[18] Weidman was offered contracts by numerous organizations,[19] but Weidman elected to wait until the UFC offered him a contract, which he quickly accepted.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

[edit]
Chris Weidman at the weigh-ins of UFC 131 in June 2011

Weidman made his UFC debut against Alessio Sakara on March 3, 2011, at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann, replacing an injured Rafael Natal.[20] Weidman, who took the fight on two weeks' notice and who was also nursing a rib injury,[21] won a unanimous decision, scoring a decisive 30–27 on all three judges' scorecards.[22]

Weidman faced Jesse Bongfeldt on June 11, 2011, at UFC 131, replacing an injured Court McGee.[23] Weidman defeated Bongfeldt via first round standing guillotine choke,[24] earning "Submission of the Night" honors.[25]

Weidman next faced Tom Lawlor on November 19, 2011, at UFC 139.[26] He won the fight via technical submission, rendering Lawlor unconscious with a D'Arce choke in the first round.[27]

Weidman defeated Demian Maia by unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, and 29–28) on January 28, 2012, at UFC on Fox 2.[28] The fight was initially announced as a split decision but the judges actually scored it as a unanimous decision, clarified by UFC President Dana White in a tweet.[29] Weidman replaced Michael Bisping on eleven days' notice after Mark Muñoz was forced out of his fight with Chael Sonnen. Bisping was chosen to take Munoz's place in the co-main event.[30]

I want Anderson Silva. Every time I've had a full training camp, I've gotten a finish. Give me a full training camp and I'd love a shot at the man, Anderson Silva. I really think I could do pretty good. So give me a shot, please.

—Chris Weidman after defeating Mark Muñoz in 2012[31]

Weidman faced Mark Muñoz on July 11, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Muñoz vs. Weidman.[32] Weidman dominated Munoz throughout first round using his wrestling skills. In the second round, he knocked out Munoz with a counter elbow to the forehead followed by ground and pound to an unconscious Munoz, which awarded Weidman "Knockout of the Night" honors.[33] After the fight, Weidman expressed a desire to fight Anderson Silva and become the middleweight title holder.[31]

Weidman was expected to fight Tim Boetsch on December 29, 2012, at UFC 155.[34] However, Weidman pulled out of the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Costas Philippou.[35]

UFC Middleweight Champion

[edit]

After nearly a year out of competition due to injury and Hurricane Sandy, on July 6, 2013, Weidman faced Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight title in UFC 162 before a crowd of 12,399 spectators at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.[36][37] Bookmakers rated Weidman a 2–1 underdog;[38][39] however, numerous pundits and fighters including long-reigning UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, picked Weidman to upset the long-reigning middleweight champion:[40][41]

I believe it's a bad matchup for Anderson Silva. Very bad, style-wise. Anderson's weaknesses are Weidman's strengths. I've trained with Weidman, and his wrestling is on another level. Not only is Chris Weidman going to beat Anderson Silva, I believe he's going to finish Anderson. I believe it's not going to last too long, this fight. This fight will shock a lot of people.

Chris Weidman knocking out Anderson Silva at UFC 162 in Las Vegas, Nevada in July 2013

As St-Pierre predicted, Weidman knocked out Silva early in the second round with another "Knockout of the Night" performance to become the new UFC Middleweight Champion. In the first round, Weidman took down the champion onto the canvas to apply some solid ground-and-pound. The second round saw Silva taunting and mocking Weidman until he was caught and dropped by Weidman's left hook which was followed with punches to the grounded Silva — rendering him unconscious. The loss to Weidman was Silva's first in the UFC and ended his seven-year, 17-fight undefeated streak. The KO victory gave Weidman the distinction of being the first person to have ever knocked out Silva in a mixed martial arts match.[42] In honor of Weidman's victory, Nassau County proclaimed July seventeenth "Chris Weidman Day".[43][44] Mixed Martial Arts website Sherdog also declared Weidman's knockout of Anderson Silva as "Knockout of the Year" for 2013.[45]

On July 13, 2013, the UFC President Dana White announced that Weidman would rematch Silva for his first title defense at UFC 168.[46] Silva once again opened as the betting favorite.[47]

At UFC 168 on December 28, 2013, Weidman defended his title against Anderson Silva. In contrast to their first fight in UFC 162, there was no overt showboating by Silva, yet Weidman still had Silva in trouble early in the first round by dropping him — while in the clinch — with a right hook to the side of the head — followed by a barrage of punches. In spite of Weidman's onslaught, Silva managed to pull guard, regain his composure and bloodied Weidman's nose with some elbows and hammer-fist punches off his back. Weidman, however, controlled the top position for the remainder of the round and landed punches and elbows.[48] At the start of the second round, Silva attacked Weidman with a series of kicks including a heavy inside low kick which Weidman checked with his left knee. This check snapped Silva's left fibula and tibia on contact.[49] Silva immediately fell to the mat, forcing referee Herb Dean to stop the fight 1:16 into the second round and give Weidman the victory by TKO.[50] Low kicks were some of Silva's most effective strikes in their first encounter, which led Weidman to focus on defending against them for the rematch.

That was the number one thing I got hit with in the first fight, so I did work a lot against guys with good kicks and was working on checking them a lot. I did think that if he's going to go that hard on kicks, as he usually does, if I catch it on my knee it could really hurt him. But it's still crazy how that happened.[51] My trainer, Ray Longo, actually broke a guy's leg like that in the gym by putting the knee right on that shin when he kicked, just by following [the kick] up slowly, It's not really going shin-to-shin, but getting your knee on the shin. I've done it in sparring with some hard kickers to let them know not to kick me anymore. Their legs didn't break, but they would either take a minute to walk it off or they wouldn't be kicking me as much. It's something I've definitely been working on, thanks to Longo.[52]

Weidman was expected to defend his belt against Vitor Belfort at UFC 173.[53] Weidman opened as a 2-to-1 betting favorite.[54] After Vitor Belfort withdrew from his title bout at UFC 173, it was announced that Lyoto Machida will next face Weidman.[53][55] However, the bout was delayed after Weidman sustained a knee injury which required a minor surgery on both of his knees, including meniscal tears in both knees that he had since high school.[56] The bout against Machida eventually took place on July 5, 2014, at UFC 175.[57] Weidman retained his title, winning via unanimous decision (49–45, 48–47, and 49–46). After the fight his wife entered the octagon to kiss Weidman, whilst the audience cheered. The bout also earned Weidman his first Fight of the Night bonus award.[58]

A rescheduled bout with Belfort was expected to take place on December 6, 2014, at UFC 181.[59] However, on September 22, it was announced that Weidman had suffered a broken hand and the bout was again rescheduled to take place on February 28, 2015, at UFC 184.[60][61] However, on January 30, the UFC announced that Weidman had pulled out of the bout, citing an injury he sustained in training.[62] The bout with Belfort eventually took place on May 23, 2015, at UFC 187.[63] After surviving an initial flurry of punches from Belfort, Weidman secured a takedown, went into the mount position, and won the fight via TKO due to strikes in the first round.[64]

In the fourth defense of his title, Weidman faced Luke Rockhold on December 12, 2015, in the co-main event at UFC 194. Weidman lost the bout and his title via TKO in the fourth round.[65] That was the very first defeat of Weidman's career. After two and a half back-and-forth rounds, Weidman conceded a takedown after a missed wheel kick, Rockhold took Weidman's back and from there transitioned to the full mount landing heavy damage with ground and pound. After taking damage Weidman survived until the fourth round where Rockhold again took him down and continued his ground and pound success which ultimately led to a fourth-round TKO stoppage by the referee Herb Dean.[66] Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night honors.[67]

Post-championship

[edit]

A rematch with Rockhold was scheduled to take place on June 4, 2016, at UFC 199. However, Weidman pulled out of the fight on May 17 with a cervical disc herniation.[68][69]

Weidman signed a new, six-fight contract with UFC in late September 2016 and faced Yoel Romero on November 12, 2016, at UFC 205. Weidman lost the fight in the third round after getting knocked out by a flying knee.[70]

Weidman faced Gegard Mousasi at UFC 210. At 3:13 in the second round, Mousasi kneed Weidman twice in the head while Weidman had his hands near the ground. The referee stopped the fight because he thought that the second of these strikes were illegal. Weidman was allowed to recover, but after watching the replay the officials concluded the strike was legal. The doctors did not allow Weidman to continue and a TKO victory was granted to Mousasi.

Weidman next faced Kelvin Gastelum on July 22, 2017, at UFC on Fox 25. After being dropped at the end of the first round, Weidman rallied and submitted Gastelum via arm-triangle choke in the third round. Weidman appeared emotional and said at the post-fight press conference that the doubts and negative comments which he received during his three-fight losing streak were tough on him and his family and he was happy to be back in the game.[71]

After the last debacle in the last fight. I had to sit back and listen to people doubt me and wait my turn to get back out here and show everybody what I'm made out of and man! I love my wife, I love my wife. Ah, this is a tough sport guys. This is a tough sport. You gotta have thick skin. The family has to have thick skin. Your coaches have to have thick skin. You drag your family through mud in this sport with the things that they have to hear. Feels good to get back where I deserve.[71]

A rematch with Luke Rockhold was expected to take place on November 3, 2018 at UFC 230.[72] However, on October 19, 2018, it was reported Rockhold withdrew from the bout, citing an injury, and he was replaced by Ronaldo Souza.[73] Weidman lost the back-and-forth bout via KO at 2:12 of the third round.[74] Both fighters earned Fight of the Night honors.[75]

Move to Light Heavyweight

[edit]

In June 2019, Weidman announced his intentions to move up to Light Heavyweight beginning later on in 2019. He cites numerous surgeries which prevent him from being able to cut to Middleweight as his reason for moving up weight classes.[76]

Weidman's light heavyweight debut took place on October 18, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 6 against Dominick Reyes in the main event.[77] Weidman lost the fight via knockout in the first round.[78]

Return to Middleweight and injury

[edit]
Chris Weidman answers questions during a USO show at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

Weidman was expected to face Jack Hermansson in a middleweight bout on May 2, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Weidman.[79] However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed to a future date and the pairing was scrapped.[80]

Weidman faced Omari Akhmedov on August 8, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 174.[81] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[82]

A rematch with Uriah Hall was expected to take place on February 13, 2021 at UFC 258.[83] However, Weidman was pulled from the event due to a positive COVID-19 test and the bout was cancelled,[84] The rematch took place at UFC 261 on April 24, 2021.[85] At the start of the first round, Weidman threw a heavy outside low kick which Hall checked with his left knee, causing Weidman's right fibula and tibia to snap on contact. Weidman immediately fell to the mat, with referee Herb Dean calling a stop to the fight and declaring Hall the winner via technical knockout.[86] This injury was similar to the one Anderson Silva sustained against Weidman during their second match in December 2013, when Silva's left fibula and tibia were snapped after Weidman checked a leg kick.[87]

After the injury at UFC 261, Weidman was stretchered out of the octagon and was transported to the hospital, where he underwent surgery. He announced the following day that doctors had informed him that he would be unable to walk without crutches for eight weeks, and would need a recovery period of between six and twelve months before he could resume mixed martial arts training.[88] As of mid-June, he had already returned to light training within seven weeks after sustaining the injury.[89] Weidman then underwent a second surgery as the fracture was not healing properly.[90] As of early 2022, Weidman hoped to have a fight scheduled before the end of the year.[91]

After over two years away, Weidman faced Brad Tavares at UFC 292 on August 19, 2023.[92] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[93]

Weidman faced Bruno Silva on March 30, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 54.[94] He won the fight via TKO in the third round. However, the result would immediately be overturned to a technical decision win for Weidman due to him poking Silva in both eyes during the finishing sequence.[95]

Weidman is scheduled to face former LFA Midleweight Champion Eryk Anders on November 9, 2024 at UFC 309.[96]

Professional grappling career

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Weidman won the ADCC East Coast Trials in 2009 and earned an invitation to that year's world championships. He competed at 88kg and lost on points to André Galvão in the opening round, before being submitted by Vinny Magalhães in the absolute division.

Weidman was booked to compete against ADCC veteran and Judoka Owen Livesey in the main event of Polaris 23 on March 11, 2023.[97] He lost the match by unanimous decision.[98]

Personal life

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On October 29, 2012, Weidman's house was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy.[99] He subsequently volunteered to help rebuild Sandy victims' homes via the non-profit group Staten Strong.[100] Weidman is a practicing Christian.[101] He and his wife Marivi have three children. The couple began dating during their high school days.[102] Weidman and his family moved from New York to South Carolina in the summer of 2020.[103][104][105]

Weidman's sister is married to UFC fighter Stephen Thompson's brother.[106]

Filmography

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Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2016–2018 Kevin Can Wait Nick Dawson 4 episodes

Championships and accomplishments

[edit]

Collegiate wrestling

[edit]

Mixed martial arts

[edit]

Mixed martial arts record

[edit]
Professional record breakdown
23 matches 16 wins 7 losses
By knockout 6 6
By submission 4 0
By decision 6 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 16–7 Bruno Silva Technical Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot March 30, 2024 3 2:18 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Originally ruled a TKO (punches) win for Weidman; changed to a decision by the athletic commission due to Silva suffering an eye poke leading to the stoppage.
Loss 15–7 Brad Tavares Decision (unanimous) UFC 292 August 19, 2023 3 5:00 Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Loss 15–6 Uriah Hall TKO (leg injury) UFC 261 April 24, 2021 1 0:17 Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Win 15–5 Omari Akhmedov Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik August 8, 2020 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Return to Middleweight.
Loss 14–5 Dominick Reyes KO (punches) UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman October 18, 2019 1 1:43 Boston, Massachusetts, United States Light Heavyweight debut.
Loss 14–4 Ronaldo Souza KO (punches) UFC 230 November 3, 2018 3 2:46 New York City, New York, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 14–3 Kelvin Gastelum Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum July 22, 2017 3 3:45 Uniondale, New York, United States
Loss 13–3 Gegard Mousasi TKO (knees) UFC 210 April 8, 2017 2 3:13 Buffalo, New York, United States
Loss 13–2 Yoel Romero KO (flying knee) UFC 205 November 12, 2016 3 0:24 New York City, New York, United States
Loss 13–1 Luke Rockhold TKO (punches) UFC 194 December 12, 2015 4 3:12 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Lost the UFC Middleweight Championship. Fight of the Night.
Win 13–0 Vitor Belfort TKO (punches) UFC 187 May 23, 2015 1 2:53 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Defended the UFC Middleweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
Win 12–0 Lyoto Machida Decision (unanimous) UFC 175 July 5, 2014 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Defended the UFC Middleweight Championship. Fight of the Night.
Win 11–0 Anderson Silva TKO (leg injury) UFC 168 December 28, 2013 2 1:16 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Defended the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Win 10–0 Anderson Silva KO (punches) UFC 162 July 6, 2013 2 1:18 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Won the UFC Middleweight Championship. Knockout of the Night. Knockout of the Year.
Win 9–0 Mark Muñoz KO (elbow and punches) UFC on Fuel TV: Muñoz vs. Weidman July 11, 2012 2 1:37 San Jose, California, United States Knockout of the Night.
Win 8–0 Demian Maia Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis January 28, 2012 3 5:00 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win 7–0 Tom Lawlor Technical Submission (D'Arce choke) UFC 139 November 19, 2011 1 2:07 San Jose, California, United States
Win 6–0 Jesse Bongfeldt Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 131 June 11, 2011 1 4:54 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Submission of the Night.
Win 5–0 Alessio Sakara Decision (unanimous) UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann March 3, 2011 3 5:00 Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Win 4–0 Valdir Araújo Decision (unanimous) Ring of Combat 33 December 3, 2010 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Defended the Ring of Combat Middleweight Championship.
Win 3–0 Uriah Hall TKO (punches) Ring of Combat 31 September 24, 2010 1 3:06 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Middleweight debut. Won the Ring of Combat Middleweight Championship.
Win 2–0 Mike Stewart TKO (punches) Ring of Combat 24 April 17, 2009 1 2:38 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Catchweight (190 lb) bout.
Win 1–0 Reubem Lopes Submission (kimura) Ring of Combat 23 February 20, 2009 1 1:35 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Catchweight (190 lb) bout.

[119]

NCAA record

[edit]
NCAA Championships Matches
Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event
2007 NCAA Championships 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) at 197 lbs
Win 8–2 J.D. Bergman 9–4 March 15–17, 2007 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win 7–2 Jerry Rinaldi 4–3
Loss 6–2 Josh Glenn Fall
Win 6–1 Mike Tamillow 9–8
Win 5–1 Jared Villers 9–2
Win 4–1 Dustin Porter Fall
2006 NCAA Championships 6th at 197 lbs
Loss 3–1 Jake Rosholt Fall March 16–18, 2006 2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win 3–0 Ryan Bader 10–7
Win 2–0 Wynn Michalak 10–7
Win 1–0 Darren Burns 10–4

Pay-per-view bouts

[edit]
No. Event Fight Date Venue City PPV Buys
1. UFC 162 Silva vs. Weidman July 6, 2013 MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. 550,000
2. UFC 168 Weidman vs. Silva 2 December 28, 2013 MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. 1,025,000
3. UFC 175 Weidman vs. Machida July 5, 2014 Mandalay Bay Events Center Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. 545,000
Total sales 2,120,000

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
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  2. ^ "Fight Card – UFC 187 Johnson vs. Cormier". UFC.com. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  3. ^ "Chris Weidman ("All American") – MMA Fighter Page – Tapology". tapology.com. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Thomas Gerbasi (August 6, 2020). "Chris Weidman Making Most Of New Environment". Ultimate Fighting Championship.
  5. ^ a b Thomas Gerbasi (April 21, 2021). "Chris Weidman Honors Late Father-In-Law Ahead Of UFC 261 Bout". Ultimate Fighting Championship.
  6. ^ a b Guilherme Cruz (May 6, 2015). "Chris Weidman receives black belt in jiu-jitsu ahead of UFC 187 bout with Vitor Belfort". MMAfighting.com.
  7. ^ @serrabjj (May 6, 2015). ""Huge congrats to @ufc champ & now BJJ black belt !!!"" (Tweet). Retrieved July 30, 2017 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ a b "Chris Weidman | UFC". UFC.com. September 14, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  9. ^ Curreri, Frank. (August 23, 2012) The Chris Weidman Diet | UFC &reg – News. Ufc.com. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
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  11. ^ Connolly, Chris (July 24, 2013). "Weidman has his day". Nassau Herald. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  12. ^ a b UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship (April 2, 2017), UFC 210 Countdown: Full Episode, archived from the original on April 3, 2017, retrieved April 3, 2017
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  15. ^ a b Breen, Jordan (September 26, 2009). "ADCC 2009: Weidman Wows, Even in Defeat". Sherdog. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
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  18. ^ Roling, Leland (December 29, 2010). "World MMA Middleweight Scouting Report: #2 – Chris Weidman". BloodyElbow.com. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  19. ^ Raimondi, Marc (May 21, 2013). "UFC top contender Weidman nearly signed with Bellator before contract flap". New York Post. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
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  23. ^ Whitman, Mike (April 5, 2011). "McGee Injured; Bongfeldt-Weidman Now Targeted for UFC 131". Sherdog.com. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  24. ^ Hemminger, Brian (June 11, 2011). "UFC 131 results: Chris Wiedman chokes out Jesse Bongfeldt". MMAMania.com. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  25. ^ Stupp, Dann (June 12, 2011). "UFC 131 bonuses: Stout, Weidman, Herman and Einemo get $70,000 awards". MMAJunkie.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  26. ^ Stupp, Dann (July 16, 2011). "Tom Lawlor vs. Chris Weidman joins UFC 139 lineup". MMAJunkie.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  27. ^ Knapp, Brian (November 19, 2011). "UFC 139 Prelims: Bader, McDonald Deliver KOs". Sherdog. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  28. ^ Knapp, Brian (January 28, 2012). "Evans Clinches Title Shot, Routs Davis at UFC on Fox 2". Sherdog.com. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  29. ^ [1]. Twitter
  30. ^ Okamoto, Brett (January 19, 2012). "Mark Munoz forced out of fight". ESPN. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  31. ^ a b Erickson, Matt. "Chris Weidman dominates Munoz for TKO victory". MMAJunkie.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
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[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chris Weidman.
Achievements
Preceded by 6th UFC Middleweight Champion
July 6, 2013 – December 12, 2015 		Succeeded by
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