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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Chris Weidman did the unthinkable in July when he knocked out Anderson Silva to capture the UFC Middleweight Championship, and with another dominant first round and the injury to Silva at UFC 168, he's heading into 2014 with new challenges.
First up will be a fight with Vitor Belfort sometime in the spring, and he said on Saturday night that he's looking forward to a new opponent in a title fight.
"I think it's a great matchup," Weidman said at the post-fight press conference. "It's a totally different opponent than Anderson Silva so it's nice to move on, and I'm excited for the challenge."
There's no set timetable for when that fight will happen, and with Weidman saying that he may need to have his knee checked out, it could be late in the spring.
Penick's Analysis: Weidman-Belfort is a highly interesting fight. Belfort's three straight head kick wins this year have him seeming at his best, but Weidman's the type of fighter Belfort could have a lot of trouble with. He's huge for the middleweight division, he hits extremely hard, and he's got the wrestling and top game to negate a lot of what Belfort does well. If Belfort can't keep himself upright, Weidman's going to have a great chance to get his first title defense away from Anderson Silva.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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