UFC on FUEL TV 4's Chris Weidman: I really think I can submit Anderson Silva

[BluenoseGreig]

When 2012 began, UFC middleweight Chris Weidman (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) was considered a bright prospect with ample potential.

After dominating Mark Munoz in the headliner of Wednesday UFC on FUEL TV 4 event, "The All American" is now a bona fide contender, and he's certain if given the chance, he could take out the division's longtime kingpin, Anderson Silva.

"Anderson Silva has been through 15 guys," Weidman said at Wednesday's post-event press conference. "All those 15 guys tried to take him down, hold him down, tried to submit him. It's not going to be easy. 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."

It's a bold claim for the 28-year-old just nine fights into his UFC career. But UFC president Dana White didn't find Weidman's thoughts to be out of line.

"He looked damn good tonight," White said. "If you ask anybody out there, I think pretty much everybody had Munoz No. 3 in the world. Weidman absolutely destroyed him tonight."

Weidman was actually the oddsmakers' favorite heading into that matchup, but even those that expected the Serra-Longo Fight Team product to win didn't necessarily envision such a lopsided victory. Weidman outgrappled Munoz in the first round before blasting him with a crisp counter elbow in the second and finishing him off with a vicious barrage of punches.

But Weidman said he knew domination was possible – and necessary.

"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."

Silva fought this past weekend, where he downed his nemesis, Chael Sonnen, in the second round of what White has called the biggest fight in company history. Sonnen helped his cause with an unrivaled onslaught of cutting trashtalk, but Weidman isn't going to try and follow the same path.

"I'm a pretty laid-back guy," Weidman told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "My wife wouldn't say I am, but I think I am. I don't know. I can't pull a Chael Sonnen. That guy is a gifted man on the mic. I couldn't even pretend to be that guy. I'd love to be that guy, but I'm just going to be myself, and I'm going to try to make it happen in the cage.

"This is five straight in the UFC. I beat two top-five guys. I feel like I did put my duties 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."

White previously said that former Bellator champ Hector Lombard, who makes his UFC debut at next week's UFC 149 event, was the frontrunner in the middleweight division's contendership order. However, after witnessing Weidman's now-signature victory over Munoz, the UFC boss seemed to think the company's newest middleweight star may indeed be ready for "The Spider."

"Hector Lombard is a guy who's going to fight in his first UFC fight next Saturday," White said. "We'll see how he does. We'll see what happens because I can guarantee you if you talked to 100 people, none of them would have told you that they thought the fight was going to go this way tonight.

"The 185-pound division just got very interesting. We'll see what happens."

http://mmajunkie.com/news/29649/ufc-...rson-silva.mma

[Rich Davie]

I think this kid has a very good chance of dethroning Anderson Silva... he's a fucking animal in the octagon !

[BluenoseGreig]

Yes, the way he destroyed Munoz really impressed me. I thought he had a chance but I felt Munoz would just have too much for him, damn was I wrong! Not sure it would be ideal to pitch him into a title fight next though, I'd have him fight 1 more first, maybe against Sonnen! I still think Lombard gets the title shot with a win, unless it is a very unimpressive win.

[Mu_Shin]

Depending on what happens, there's your match-up: Weidman/Lombard for the number one contender spot.

If Lombard is the fighter I think he is, and many others think he is, he should dispatch Tim Boetsch pretty handily. Boetsch made a strong comeback against a game Yushin Okami, but looking at his losses, he seems to have trouble with the higher echelon matchups, like Phil Davis and Vladimir Matyushenko (even though I read he took the Matyushenko fight on three days notice and fought to a decision loss). Having seen Lombard in action in Bellator, I think he's for real, and will prove it soon.

Just got to watch the Weidman/Munoz fight last night, and this kid is impressive. As far as I can see, he has it all; strength, endurance, wrestling savvy, good power in his hands, and an obvious will to win. Mark Munoz is a good UFC vet, and just got owned by Weidman, who displayed plenty of killer instinct with that great elbow shot followed by a devastating barrage that went on at least five shots too long...

Balancing these two challengers against the likelihood that Anderson Silva will continue competing in MMA, I'm wondering who else is out there to give Silva a legitimate run for his money at this point. In dominating Chael Sonnen the way he did, Silva again proves he's far and away the best middleweight on the planet. In my mind, as stated above, it only remains for Hector Lombard to establish himself as a winner in the UFC, and we'll see which of these two will get the next shot at the 185 lb strap...

[BluenoseGreig]

I'd like to see Lombard/Weidman but not before one of them fight Anderson because that would mean Silva being out of action for at least another 6 months and more like 9 months. Unless they put somebody else in to face Silva that is!!!

[Drock]

Id love to see Chris Weidman Dethrone Anderson Silva

[Brunow]

I think Weidman has a legit shot at Silva. But if Silva beats, he'll just become a post gimme fight.