At UFC 162 in July, Chris Weidman did what fifteen other UFC fighters before him could not — beat the legendary middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
On Dec. 28, three days removed from Christmas cheer, the two men do battle once more, to see whether Weidman’s shocking knockout victory was a fluke or not.
Here’s our quick guide to the mega-rematch at UFC 168 in Las Vegas:
— Weidman, 29, hails from Baldwin, L.I., and was a two-time All-American wrestler at Hofstra.
— In 2012, his family’s Long Island home was completely destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. “My family was out, and I stayed back to manage the damage going on,” Weidman wrote in an interview with mmafighting.com. “First floor, garage, backyard, [and] deck all pretty much destroyed.”
— Silva owned the title at 185 pounds for more than six years. His notable defenses include decimating Dan Henderson and a resurgent Vitor Belfort.
— Silva, a 38-year-old from Brazil, is known as an especially entertaining champion. His specialty is his striking ability and he dodges punches as if he were in The Matrix.
— Weidman’s knockout of Silva came just 78 seconds into the second round. He rocked Silva so hard his head bounced off the canvas.
— The upset was reminiscent of another UFC stunner: Matt Serra, also from Long Island, took the welterweight championship from the legendary Georges St-Pierre in 2007.