Chris Weidman looked like he was in trouble early, to the delight of the Brazilian fans in attendance, but he weathered the storm early in the fight and dominated Belfort later in the 1st round.
Vitor came out strong to begin the fight and had Chris off-balance with his mixture of punches and head kicks. During one point in the round Belfort unleashed an impressive barrage of punches and knees that seemed to have Weidman dazed. Weidman covered his face with both arms and let Belfort tee off on him until Vitor backed up from sheer exhaustion. At that point Chris knew he had him.
Chris got the fight back to the middle of the ring, there he stalked Belfort and landed a lighting quick takedown. The look in Vitor’s eyes said it all.
Flat-back on the canvas Vitor knew he was in trouble and had no answer for the size/weight of Weidman. Weidman quickly worked his way to a full mount and began his series of ground and pound.
After 30 seconds the referee had seen enough and decided to save Belfort from any more punishment. The champion,Weidman, stood in triumph and the crowd erupted. USA chants rang loud and Weidman took his usual celebratory lap around the octagon.
His message post fight, “Stop doubting me, this is the last chance you have to join the team!”
That statement says all you need to know about Chris Weidman.