The Film Room: Chris Weidman

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UFC 230 is now available on Amazon Prime.

Chris Weidman put an end to a three-fight losing streak when he submitted Kelvin Gastelum in July 2017. Injuries have kept him on the shelf ever since, but he will look to return to former glory when he meets Ronaldo Souza in the UFC 230 co-main event on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Considering Weidman’s place as a former champion, a decisive win over “Jacare” could net him another crack at 185-pound gold.

Weidman enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the sport, as he ended Anderson Silva’s historic reign in just his 11th professional appearance. He also endured a difficult fall, losing three fights in a row to Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero and Gegard Mousasi. With those setbacks now behind him, Weidman has turned his attention to “Jacare.” This installment of The Film Room puts him under the microscope.



Weidman is not called the “All-American” just because he likes apple pie and baseball; he was a two-time NCAA All-American at Hofstra University. Since right-handed wrestlers like to shoot for takedowns from a southpaw stance, Weidman’s most-used setup for takedowns is a right straight from orthodox into a southpaw stance before immediately shooting at the hips. This not only hides the stance switch but also gives the opponent something to think about before having to switch to defending a takedown. It can overload an opponent’s reactions.



Once on the ground, Weidman has some of the most relentless ground-and-pound in the division and possesses underrated submission skills. Early in his career, before he was comfortable on the feet, Weidman was a pure wrestler in MMA and won three of his first seven fights via submission. Now that he is more comfortable striking, he mostly uses his grappling as a crutch when he cannot get the job done on the feet. He can still dominate most middleweights on the mat.



Many fans were unfamiliar with Weidman before his win over Silva in 2013, but those who followed his early MMA career knew he was a world-class grappler. Nobody expected him to turn into the technical striker we see today. The most impressive aspect of his striking is his ability to cut off the cage and force exchanges at his pace and range. Lyoto Machida is known as one of the most difficult fighters to back to the cage, yet Weidman routinely cut him off and forced him to fight off the fence. Weidman will use a healthy dose of lead-hand feints and the ability to quickly move side-to-side in either direction to deny opponents the chance to circle away from his pressure.



When striking at distance, Weidman favors his kicks, especially since there is no fear of being taken down. He mixes up his kicks beautifully from head to toe and recently developed an effective front kick to the body that slowly drains the opponent’s cardio and allows him to set up his punches and takedowns.



Since joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Weidman has vastly improved his hands. Although he often overextends on his punches and keeps his hands rather low, he has a beautiful lead hook and right straight that he can land on the lead or on the counter. Something to watch for in his striking is how he will use a level-change feint to get his opponents to drop their hands to defend the takedown before coming up with a right hand between their guard.

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