Chris Weidman retained his middleweight title on Saturday night after unanimously outpointing Lyoto Machida at UFC 175.
Weidman was the greatest victor in Memorial Day weekend’s flagship event, convincingly defeating another former champion 49-45, 49-46, 48-47 to enhance his reputation beyond two defeats of Anderson Silva.
Weidman’s relentless pressure largely prevented Machida’s unique form of striking but most impressive was his ability to stand toe-to-toe and hurt the Brazilian feted for his knock-out ability. The 30-year-old, known for his wrestling and jiu-jitsu on the ground, has now got the better of three fights with all-time greats using stand-up skills.
American Weidman pressed forward for most of the second round, keeping Machida on his heels and got a takedown against the fence with just under a minute left. Weidman was able to land a few shots to the grounded Machida and two knees as he rose just before the bell.
Machida's awkward style and solid kicks kept Weidman's offence in check for most of the first half of the fight.
Opening things up
Weidman opened things up in the third round, slamming Machida twice and landing two big straight rights that stunned the challenger and sent him into survival mode.
Machida stuffed most of Weidman's takedown attempts throughout the fight and dazed the champ with a straight left halfway through the fourth round. Machida added a few kicks and punches to clearly gain the momentum in what was his best round.
In the fifth, both fighters landed multiple power shots and both were hurt. Weidman seemed to take control of the round with a late takedown, but Machida fought back and had the champ in trouble against the cage as the final bell sounded.
In the co-main event, women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (10-0) stopped Alexis Davis at 16 seconds of the first round.
Rousey rocked Davis with a solid right, secured an immediate judo toss and landed nine punches, knocking out Davis and forcing the referee to stop the fight. Her fourth successful title defence.