Courtesy of Damon Martin and official MMAWeekly.com content partner Bleacher Report . The moment that the UFC 162 main event was announced, middleweight contender Chris Weidman became the sexy pick to finally dethrone Anderson Silva from his reign as UFC champion. Silva has virtually been untouchable since winning the title back in 2006, but the seemingly invincible armor he wore took more than a few dings when he faced Chael Sonnen in two fights between 2010 and 2012. Despite Silva ultimately coming out on top in both fights, Sonnen’s wrestling countered the Brazilian’s laser-like accuracy on the feet for the better part of 25 minutes in total. So with Weidman carrying a similar background, being a former two-time NCAA All-American wrestler with an added element of a rapidly developing submission game honed under Brazilian jiu-jitsu legends like Renzo Gracie and John Danaher, it’s safe to say the New York native is a popular choice to finish what Sonnen started in his fights with Silva. “All the pros, like when you talk to all the fighters, every fighter out there that I’ve talked to and that we’ve interviewed think Weidman’s going to beat him,” UFC president Dana White said recently when speaking to the media about the upcoming UFC 162 main event. “ Georges St-Pierre thinks he’s going to win so much that he didn’t even want to plan to fight Anderson.” White didn’t get a chance to talk to every fighter on the roster because at least one middleweight contender who spent several weeks preparing for Weidman last year doesn’t believe he’s going to walk out of UFC 162 with the title in tow. “I think Dana’s quote was all the fighters he’s talked to were picking Weidman,” UFC middleweight Tim Boetsch recently told Bleacher Report – an official MMAWeekly.com content partner – about the upcoming fight.
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