...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
How much of a chance do you think Chris Weidman legitimately has against Anderson Silva, and do you think he'll pull off an upset this July?
DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK COLUMNIST
It baffles me that some MMA media are confidently backing Weidman to beat Silva. Do they know something we don't? Beating Mark Munoz and Demian Maia is great and all, but it's not a lot to go on to make such a bold statement. Yes, Weidman is clearly very talented, but we're talking about a relatively inexperienced fighter going up against the greatest MMA fighter of all time. Anderson Silva if fully focused and motivated will notch up another title defense. Any other outcome would be nothing short of a miracle.
C.J. TUTTLE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
A chance due solely to the fact that he could land a shot on Silva's temple or chin, or Anderson Silva could suffer a broken toe or eye poke. But in all honesty having woken a beast like SIlva and motivating him by the things that Weidman is saying, I think the GOAT will come in ready to show his dominance going into the last 10 fights of his career.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I'd give Weidman about a 10% chance for victory. He's never fought anyone even close to Silva's training partners, let alone the man himself. As a matter of fact, 10% feels too high, but upsets do happen so I'll stick with it. I don't think Weidman can conjure up the magic needed for him to pull off the upset. I don't think he has the tools he needs to do it. Maybe if he had more seasoning or had fought better competition he might have a better chance, but as it stands now I'd give him the proverbial puncher's chance. I mean that figuratively, of course.
TONY BECERRA, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
When the cage door closes I think anyone at this level has a chance. That being said, Anderson Silva has proven time and time again why he is the best in the world. If Anderson is healthy I don't see Chris Weidman walking out of the cage as the champion in July.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Zero out of 100, 0%, None, Nada, Nil, Zip, Zero, Less Than Zero, -248. He has the same chance of beating Anderson Silva that the Kansas City Chiefs do of winning the Super Bowl next year. The same chance the Chicago Scrubs have of winning the world series this year. The same likelihood that I am going to trip, fall over a garden hose and discover the key to time travel after my arm lands in a dog turd. It won't happen. He's beaten Mark Munoz and Demian Maia ... Anderson Silva is ANDERSON FREAKIN SILVA. Weidman will be crushed, and then Silva will mock him worse than he did Maia in their bout. This isn't even a fight, its a death sentence for Weidman's unbeaten streak.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Chris Weidman has just as good a chance as any of the other fighters who have faced Silva in the last several years. I would say he has almost none. Several fighters better than he have tried and failed. If you look down the long list of top tier fighters who have lost to Silva and then look at Weidman’s skills, there is very little hope for him to defeat the long time champion.
RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
The best striker Chris Weidman has ever faced is Uriah Hall. Silva by murder 10 times out of 10.
CAMERON LYMAN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Chris Weidman has continually improved with each showing. The question is, how will the injury layoff affect him? There is only one thing he does better than Silva which also happens to be Silvia's kriptonite: wrestling. Does he stand a chance? Sure. Will he pull off the upset? Not bloody likely. After Sonnen exposed Silva's weakness, I can't believe that Silva has not added more wrestling to his regimen, especially since the Weidman fight is inevitably going to the ground.
(Attention MMATorch app users: Make sure to upgrade to the latest edition of the MMATorch app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device!)
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
