5 Main Card Predictions For UFC 175

1. Chris Weidman (C) vs. Lyoto Machida

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEPWoXrJeE4 Weight Class: Middleweight It all comes down to this for Chris Weidman (11-0): Can he beat someone other than Anderson Silva, with a belt on the line, in definitive fashion? Weidman might be the most embattled UFC champion on the roster right now amongst fans, entirely because his initial win over Anderson Silva was dismissed by many as a mixture of luck on Weidman's part and cockiness on Silva's part. To be honest, Silva did take his clowning way too far in that fight, and he paid for it, losing both consciousness and his belt. In the rematch, lady luck would strike again, and Silva would break his leg as Weidman checked a leg kick. The thing is, it takes skill to check a kick properly, and it takes skill to take advantage of a clowning opponent and connect with a knockout punch. Yes, luck and a lack of respect (in their first fight) played a role in Silva's loss to Weidman, but Weidman is a highly skilled champion. Lyoto Machida (21-4), however, is an elusive, highly skilled opponent himself who has looked fantastic at middleweight, and is a former light heavyweight champion. "The Dragon" may not have the legendary status of Anderson Silva, but he's not far off. You are likely to see the best Lyoto Machida you've seen in years enter this fight, against a champion that the jury is still out on. Is Weidman as good as we think he is? Maybe. I would be leaning towards the Dragon on this one, however he has a nasty habit of trying to hit and run, scoring questionable decisions with the judges. If he engages, he upsets, but I'm not sure he will, so I'm going with Weidman by decision here.