UFC
UFC on Fuel 4 victor Chris Weidman believes he can submit Anderson Silva
Jul 12, 2012 - 12:55:14 PM UFC on Fuel 4 victor Chris Weidman believes he can submit Anderson Silva

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Chris Weidman was poised for a breakout opportunity in the UFC with Wednesday's UFC on Fuel 4 main event, but what he pulled off against Mark Munoz was above and beyond even the the most confident expectations.

Weidman dominated the entirety of the fight, and that's not hyperbole. Munoz literally had zero success in the two rounds the fight took place. He landed zero strikes, he failed to defend takedowns, he got passed left and right, nearly got submitted, and finally succumbed to an incredibly well timed and placed elbow, followed by a vicious series of strikes on the ground.

With the performance, Weidman immediately emerged as yet another contender in the UFC's Middleweight Title picture. In fact, Weidman himself feels he's emerged as the contender in the UFC's Middleweight Title picture, calling out Anderson Silva after the win, and expanding on that at the post-fight press conference.

"Anderson Silva has been through 15 guys [in the UFC]. All those 15 guys tried to take him down, hold him down, tried to submit him. It's not going to be easy," Weidman said of that fight (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). "Chael Sonnen is that good, but he was able to get him down in every fight and put him in that position. I'm going to follow that blueprint."

"I've got the length with Anderson Silva, so he's not going to be able to play on the outside much with me. If he comes in, my takedowns are pretty good. I'll take him down. I think, I really do believe, that I could submit him and finish him. I really think I can."

The reason that fight doesn't seem far-fetched right now is because of how Weidman won this fight with Munoz. The conversation about the title picture had omitted Weidman, as the belief was that others would be ahead of him even if he defeated Munoz. Now, however, Weidman's dominance may just have made the case for him, and that's just what he had hoped to accomplish.

"I have a great coaching staff, great training partners, and I did believe I could come in here and dominate the fight," Weidman said. "A lot of people before this were asking me if I thought I deserved the title, and I was like, 'I don't want to be one of those guys who just calls out Anderson Silva.' I mean, there's like six of them right now doing it, and now I'm that guy, too. But I wanted to make a statement in this fight and make it obvious to everybody that I'm ahead of the pack."

"This is five straight in the UFC. I beat two top-five guys. I feel like I did put my dues in. I know I'm just 9-0, but I really believe I'm ready, and I'm going to go after Anderson Silva and get that shot."

Penick's Analysis: Weidman's performance was just incredible last night. Shutting Munoz down entirely, taking him down with ease, constantly attacking with submissions; the fight was just immensely fun to watch. Then that elbow he delivered was one of the single most brutal strikes thrown this year, followed by one of the worst sustained beatings on the ground prior to the stoppage. Referee Josh Rosenthal has been known to give fighters every opportunity to continue, but this was one situation where he should have recognized after the first two strikes on the ground that Munoz was done. The added series of strikes were entirely unnecessary, and absolutely vicious. Still, the overall skillset Weidman showed off on Wednesday was excellent, and though a title fight right now may yet be too early for him, this win was so convincing that he makes the most sense at this stage to get that fight.