63 Facts About Chris Weidman

Christopher James Weidman was born on June 17,1984 and is an American professional mixed martial artist.

Chris Weidman is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he competes in the middleweight division.

An accomplished amateur wrestler, Weidman was a two-time NJCAA All-American and a two-time NCAA Division I All-American during his collegiate career.

In 2013, Chris Weidman came to worldwide prominence by defeating Anderson Silva to win the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Chris Weidman retained the title for two and a half years, defending it three times.

Chris Weidman was born in Baldwin, New York, on June 17,1984, the second of three children.

Chris Weidman is of German and Irish descent and was raised as a Lutheran.

Chris Weidman attended Baldwin Senior High School on Long Island where he was a Nassau County and New York state wrestling champion.

Chris Weidman became the first junior college wrestler in history to be an NYS Collegiate Champion.

Chris Weidman graduated from Hofstra University with a bachelor's degree in psychology as well as a master's in physical education.

Chris Weidman was later a wrestling instructor of the university.

Chris Weidman met Gabriel "Monsta" Toribio while attending Hofstra who invited Chris Weidman to come to Matt and Nick Serra's BJJ Academy a few miles from campus in Levittown, New York to help some of the fighters with their wrestling.

Chris Weidman took some submission grappling classes and within three months he competed in and won The East Coast Grappler's Quest in his weight class and the Absolute Division with all 13 matches ending in submissions.

When his dream was not attained, Chris Weidman had to decide if he wanted to continue training for the world teams and Olympics or give MMA a shot.

In May 2015, Chris Weidman got a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Renzo Gracie and Matt Serra.

Chris Weidman made his MMA professional debut representing the Serra-Longo Fight Team in February 2009 in Louis Neglia's Ring of Combat 23.

Chris Weidman fought as a Middleweight against Reuben Lopes, whom he submitted quickly via kimura, at 1:35 of the first round.

Chris Weidman defended the ROC Middleweight Championship on December 3,2010, at Ring of Combat 33 with an impressive victory over Valdir Araujo via unanimous decision.

Chris Weidman was offered contracts by numerous organizations, but Chris Weidman elected to wait until the UFC offered him a contract, which he quickly accepted.

Chris Weidman made his UFC debut against Alessio Sakara on March 3,2011, at UFC Live: Sanchez vs Kampmann, replacing an injured Rafael Natal.

Chris Weidman faced Jesse Bongfeldt on June 11,2011, at UFC 131, replacing an injured Court McGee.

Chris Weidman defeated Bongfeldt via first round standing guillotine choke, earning "Submission of the Night" honors.

Chris Weidman next faced Tom Lawlor on November 19,2011, at UFC 139.

Chris Weidman won the fight via technical submission, rendering Lawlor unconscious with a D'Arce choke in the first round.

Chris Weidman defeated Demian Maia by unanimous decision on January 28,2012, at UFC on Fox 2.

Chris Weidman replaced Michael Bisping on eleven days' notice after Mark Munoz was forced out of his fight with Chael Sonnen.

Chris Weidman faced Mark Munoz on July 11,2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs Chris Weidman.

Chris Weidman dominated Munoz throughout first round using his wrestling skills.

Chris Weidman was expected to fight Tim Boetsch on December 29,2012, at UFC 155.

However, Chris Weidman pulled out of the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Costas Philippou.

Not only is Chris Weidman going to beat Anderson Silva, I believe he's going to finish Anderson.

The loss to Chris Weidman was Silva's first in the UFC and ended his seven-year, 17-fight undefeated streak.

At UFC 168 on December 28,2013, Chris Weidman defended his title against Anderson Silva.

Chris Weidman controlled the top position for the remainder of the round and landed punches and elbows.

Low kicks were some of Silva's most effective strikes in their first encounter, which led Chris Weidman to focus on defending against them for the rematch.

Chris Weidman was expected to defend his belt against Vitor Belfort at UFC 173.

However, the bout was delayed after Chris Weidman sustained a knee injury which required a minor surgery on both of his knees, including meniscal tears in both knees that he had since high school.

Chris Weidman retained his title, winning via unanimous decision.

However, on September 22, it was announced that Chris Weidman had suffered a broken hand and the bout was again rescheduled to take place on February 28,2015, at UFC 184.

Chris Weidman lost the bout and his title via TKO in the fourth round.

Chris Weidman signed a new, six-fight contract with UFC in late September 2016 and faced Yoel Romero on November 12,2016, at UFC 205.

Chris Weidman lost the fight in the third round after getting knocked out by a flying knee.

Chris Weidman was allowed to recover, but after watching the replay the officials concluded the strike was legal.

The doctors did not allow Chris Weidman to continue and a TKO victory was granted to Mousasi.

Chris Weidman next faced Kelvin Gastelum on July 22,2017, at UFC on Fox 25.

Chris Weidman appeared emotional and said at the post-fight press conference that the doubts and negative comments which he received during his three-fight losing streak were tough on him and his family and he was happy to be back in the game.

Chris Weidman lost the back-and-forth bout via KO at 2:12 of the third round.

In June 2019, Chris Weidman announced his intentions to move up to Light Heavyweight beginning later on in 2019.

Chris Weidman cites numerous surgeries which prevent him from being able to cut to Middleweight as his reason for moving up weight classes.

Chris Weidman lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Chris Weidman was expected to face Jack Hermansson in a middleweight bout on May 2,2020 at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs Chris Weidman.

Chris Weidman faced Omari Akhmedov on August 8,2020 at UFC Fight Night 174.

However, Chris Weidman was pulled from the event due to a positive COVID-19 test and the bout was cancelled, The rematch took place at UFC 261 on April 24,2021.

At the start of the first round, Chris Weidman threw a heavy outside low kick which Hall checked with his left knee, causing Chris Weidman's right fibula and tibia to snap on contact.

Chris Weidman immediately fell to the mat, with referee Herb Dean calling a stop to the fight and declaring Hall the winner via technical knockout.

Chris Weidman announced the following day that doctors had informed him that he would be unable to walk without crutches for eight weeks, and would need a recovery period of between six and twelve months before he could resume mixed martial arts training.

Chris Weidman then underwent a second surgery as the fracture was not healing properly.

Chris Weidman won the ADCC East Coast Trials in 2009 and earned an invitation to that year's world championships.

Chris Weidman competed at 88kg and lost on points to Andre Galvao in the opening round, before being submitted by Vinny Magalhaes in the absolute division.

Chris Weidman was booked to compete against ADCC veteran and Judoka Owen Livesey in the main event of Polaris 23 on March 11,2023.

On October 29,2012, Chris Weidman's house was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Chris Weidman subsequently volunteered to help rebuild Sandy victims' homes via the non-profit group Staten Strong.

Chris Weidman's sister is married to UFC fighter Stephen Thompson's brother.