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Chris Weidman made a triumphant return to the octagon at the co-main event of UFC Vegas 6 against Omari Akhmedov. Weidman, who was unranked in the Middleweight division going into the fight, had to grind his way to a get the win via decision.
"The All American " came out early in the first round in a karate stance much like his training partner, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. But he eventually decided to go back and rely on one of his strong points, wrestling, and tried to work Akhmedov against the fence on the clinch.
He eventually took the Dagestani fighter to the ground but couldn't pass his guard or establish much of top control. He ate some hard shots from Akhmedov's dirty boxing and a few clean body shots were also executed by him as well.
In the second round, Akhmedov came out swinging with some wild hooks and well-placed jabs as he tried to catch the former champion off guard. Again the dirty boxing caused problems for Weidman as he was eating some shots but nothing landed clean for Akhmedov.
But the Russian did enough to make put some doubt in the mind of Chris Weidman and secured some takedowns of his own. Weidman landed some shots from the bottom including one up kick. Referee Jason Herzog eventually stood him back up to his feet but he was looking tired and ate some more shots.
He was fortunate Akhmedov couldn't connect with anything clean, as he would have been taken out.
The former champion put all his wrestling skills on display in round 3. Akhmedov stuffed a takedown initially but The All American was too much for him. Weidman took his foe down but Akhmedov got back up.
Chris Weidman took the Dagestani fighter to the ground again and went for multiple submission attempts as he tried to finish the fight.
The former champ first attempted what looked like a Suloev stretch but Akhmedov got out of danger. He tried to get back up with brute force but Chris Weidman's technique was too much for him to break free.
The All American attempted an Arm Triangle, but it was tough for him to secure the submission perfectly. He landed some elbows from the top and eventually earned an (29-27,29-27,29-28) unanimous decision to get back into the winners column.
The third round was a fantastic display from the former champion and fellow fighters and analysts of the sport heaped praise on Chris Weidman.
Many including Ben Askren, featherweight champ Alex Volkanovski, Michael Chiesa shared their views on the fight.
It's good to see the former champion, who is loved by the MMA fans, get back into the win column. However, he did not look to be at his very best during the fight.
Chris Weidman looked tired during round two. If Akhmedov had landed a clean hit, it would spelled disaster for the former champion.
This has proved to be the main factor in his recent losses against Jacare Souza, Yoel Romero, and Gegard Mousasi. Chris Weidman started all those fights looking sharp and seized control early on. But he faded away in the later rounds and got caught.
He started showing his command early in this fight also, but once agan he faded in round two.
Hardcore MMA fans will find it tough to see an all-time favorite like Chris Weidman in trouble inside the octagon. In full flow, Weidman is still one of the most dangerous fighters in the division.
His performance in the third round showed exactly why he was once the world champion for over two years. However, Chris Weidman's conditioning didn't look good and it could cause problems once faces the top fighters in the UFC Middleweight division.
Nobody wants to see Chris Weidman lose and it is great to see him back to winning ways. However, he is yet to solve many issues and it was evident in his recent performance at UFC Vegas 6.
His ability and skills inside the octagon were never in doubt as he has been a fantastic fighter throughout his career. The question Weidman will need to find an answer would be how he will handle himself against the division's elite fighters when he starts to fade away during a bout.
Well, we didn't learn much about that in this fight as Akhmedov couldn't really push him to the limit.
The fans would be keen on seeing Chris Weidman in the octagon with better conditioning as many believe he can revive his career.
What do you guys think of Chris Weidman's performance?
