Media 2 minutes of Chris Weidman's powerful takedowns

[tehMoose]

I think this is a make it or break it scenario of Weidman. He's coming of a win over Akhmedov a top 15 guy so he's got some momentum after a rough few years, but the win wasn't his best performance. If he's able to come out looking impressive vs Hall and I think he's putting himself in a good position to enter contender status, he'll be back in the top 10. But if he loses, then I see him just being a top 11-15 guy at best.

Vettori fought Akhmedov to a draw

If Weidman beats Hall let him beat Till next and there you go. Easy path to a title shot

He shouldn't have fought those Strikeforce guys lol

 

[DragRacer]

Prime Weidman was like an UberChael.

Chael had very effective wrestling, but barely above Askren-ish standup. Weidman was crisp on the feet with amazing timing, and jj to match his elite wrestling.

Prime versions of Sonnen and Weidman would be nightmares for Izzy. He's lucky there are no elite wrestlers at MW.

 

[JKS]

Vettori fought Akhmedov to a draw

If Weidman beats Hall let him beat Till next and there you go. Easy path to a title shot

He shouldn't have fought those Strikeforce guys lol

There really aren't obvious contenders at MW right now. Vettori is the best one IMO, at the least he fought Izzy to a split. As impressive as Whitaker has looked, I still don't think he's convinced many he's beating Izzy. Aside those two, not anyone else. I think there is room for Chris or even Luke coming back.

 

[RightToBareKnuckles]

Almost forgot about that lethal knockout of Munoz. Absolutely nuts

truth! looks like Munoz fakes a shot, Chris reacts a little bit but times the elbow perfectly

 

[moreorless87]

Prime Weidman was like an UberChael.

Chael had very effective wrestling, but barely above Askren-ish standup. Weidman was crisp on the feet with amazing timing, and jj to match his elite wrestling.

I think the problem Weidman had though is that his striking was strongly geared to facing guys he could threaten with wrestling.

The fights with Anderson and Machida he basically controls the pace of the match because their not able to get more aggressive for fear of being taken down. The losses were to a sucession of guys who really didnt fear the takedown(Rockhold, Moose and Jacare all good on their backs, Romero able to either block takedowns or stand back up fast) and were able to hustle him standing as a result, up the pace and his standup wasnt nearly so effective.

I mean you can see the logic to the way Weidman trained, Anderson was the guy to beat at MW when he was coming up so he was probably focused on building up the skills needed to take him out.

 

[wearetheromans]

Crazy how good Weidman used to be. A lot of people say USADA but I think that Rockhold loss combined with a laundry list of injuries was what really got the ball rolling. He used to be a motherfucker.

The beating he got from rockhold was life changing. He was in full mount for like 2 minutes just eating brutal shots.

His dumbass corner should have thrown the towel. He might have bounced back quickly if it was just an early tko

 

[wearetheromans]

Vettori fought Akhmedov to a draw

If Weidman beats Hall let him beat Till next and there you go. Easy path to a title shot

He shouldn't have fought those Strikeforce guys lol

Agreed, should have stuck with fighting UFC chumps where the competitions easier.

 

[mkt]

Prime Weidman was like an UberChael.

Chael had very effective wrestling, but barely above Askren-ish standup. Weidman was crisp on the feet with amazing timing, and jj to match his elite wrestling.

Chael's striking was better than Askren's. It wasn't great, but he threw with a bit of volume and had a great chin. It complimented his wrestling game and sometimes the threat of his TDs made his striking look better than it was. His only Achilles Heel was submission defense, but that wouldn't be an issue with Israel, who has never submitted anyone (even in minor MMA orgs early in his career).

But I agree Weidman kind of was Chael 2.0.

 

[mkt]

There really aren't obvious contenders at MW right now. Vettori is the best one IMO, at the least he fought Izzy to a split. As impressive as Whitaker has looked, I still don't think he's convinced many he's beating Izzy. Aside those two, not anyone else. I think there is room for Chris or even Luke coming back.

Yeah, the problem with guys like Whitaker, Costa and Gastelum is while they may have some wrestling skills, they're simply not going to follow a real wrestling gameplan for 5 rounds. I've heard people mention that each of these guys have some grappling chops (suggesting they could use them vs. Izzy), but it's not their nature to go for more than a TD or two the entire fight.

 

[Gio]

Prime Weidman was a monster. I remember being shocked when Rockhold murdered him.

I’d like to see Weidman have one last run. Put him against Paulo Costa and see what happens.

He had very powerful takedowns, but kinda got exposed in the Machida fight that he tends to slow down and lose the explosiveness in the championship rounds. And I remember I actually predicted that Luke finishes him in the 4th knowing he's having a hard time maintaining his steam late in the fight. Luke was pretty damn good too that time.

 

[Thepaintbucket]

That was pre Usada, injury free Chris. I thought weidman would be a serious threat to Jon jones.

 

[FIGHTING TALK]

Mousasi had zero answer to those entries. Does anyone else think Mousasi is overrated?

 

[I Lie To Girls]

Pre USADA Chris was a very elite grappler

 

[2EZ]

Looks slow and stiff to me

 

[Jackonfire]

I'm still not sure who I'm picking this weekend but I'm leaning towards Uriah.

 

[MarleyLynx]

Pre USADA Chris was a very elite grappler

Im not sure if it's Usada or a meta change. Everyone went from training for a lanky striker to training for generalist/grappling players. Of course his hit % is going to change drastically.

 

[Arnold Palmer]

Use to be a fan of the chris

that was until he outted himself as a cheat and we all found out about his own use

Sad day for the sport IMO and was so happy when the UFC gods sent a soldier to destroy him and permanently disfigure his face

 

[electricfuneral]

I thought he was going to go on a GOAT-like run. Now he is in a weird spot because his speed is so bad that he can't strike with top tier guys, his chin can't hold up either. Also Wiedman still has elite grappling but lacks the endurance to do it for 5 rounds now.

 

[ImLovinIt]

Prime Weidman is a beast. People quickly forget he was THE Chris. If only his cardio and chin never disappeared...

 

[Bork Neslar]

He dominated Maia and Machida. That's pretty impressive, I think.