On this day in 2014, the middleweight title of the UFC was disputed in a great main event.
Chris Weidman had his setbacks during his time in the UFC, but nobody will ever be able to take his greatest performance from him.
'The All-American' competed 20 times in the Octagon of 2011-2024, with Weidman retired from the UFC earlier this year.
His biggest achievement remains his fight on UFC 162, where he produced one of the greatest disruptions in the history of the sport to put an end to the record match of middleweight Anderson Silva champion.
After his rematch with Silva who ended in a devastating leg injury, Weidman looked to continue his time at the top of the division by going against another legend of the sport.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Chris Weidman weathered the attempts from Lyoto Machida to a late turning point to preserve the title of the middleweight
On UFC 175 on July 5, 2014, Chris Weidman looked to make the second defense of his middleweight title after he won the belt by beating Anderson Silva almost exactly a year earlier.
To dispel the criticism that he was lucky in his UFC 168 Rematch with Silva, the new champion was linked to another dangerous Brazilian striker.
Lyoto Machida only seemed to be the third hunter in the UFC history that titles have won in multiple weight classes after they went to the middleweight in 2013.
While the challenger had some success on the feet, Weidman was able to establish an early lead in the fight, to bank the first pair of rounds thanks to his constant pressure, making him his opponent to land.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
In the fourth round, however, the tide looked like it was about to turn when meadow and Machida produced one of the rounds of the year.
Weidman was forced to endure any adversity because his Takedowns, after he had secured 5 of 13 during the entire game, were more difficult to find.
Machida taunted and took the American away, but despite a final flurry in the fifth round, he was unable to put his opponent away, which led to the pastor won a unanimous decision.
Chris Weidman then defeated another Brazilian legend in his third and final title defense
Chris Weidman returned to the Octagon for his third title defense, the next May on UFC 187, where he met a Brazilian icon.
This time 'the All-American' did not leave any room for a comeback when he put Vitor Belfort in the opening round.
Belfort opened his opponent early and let his strikes go, but after Weidman had secured his first Takedown, the bloody champion unleashed ruthless ground and pounds to get the finish.
Weidman lost the title later that year to Luke Rockhold, with a difficult series of results that ended his time at the top of the division.
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