Chris Weidman had never thrown a kick or slapped on a submission five years ago.
Anderson Silva, meanwhile, already had defended the UFC middleweight title four times. He was regarded then, like he is now, as the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world.
So why do many people — fighters included — think Weidman will dethrone the greatest champion the sport has ever known tonight in the main event of UFC 162 in Las Vegas? How could the kid from Baldwin, Long Island, be the smallest underdog (+210) that Silva has faced since Dan Henderson in 2008?
“Not only is he going to beat, I believe he is going to finish Anderson Silva,” UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre said in a March interview.
Weidman is something of an MMA prodigy. A former All-American wrestler at Hofstra, the 29-year-old started training in the sport after failing to make the Olympic wrestling team in 2008 because of injury. Eight months later, Weidman was winning a world championship in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, tapping out black belts in the process.
After four dominant victories in New Jersey’s Ring of Combat MMA promotion, Weidman was signed by the UFC. He hasn’t lost since, compiling a 5-0 record in the organization.
Weidman has the size, athleticism, wrestling ability and jiu-jitsu techniques to give Silva fits the way no one ever has. Silva has won 16 straight UFC bouts, including 10 title defenses. Both are records.
“You don’t have to look too far to realize Chris Weidman has the exact skill set to beat Anderson Silva,” said Chael Sonnen, the man who came the closest to beating Silva in 2010.
Silva, 38, has shown no signs of slowing down. He has finished 13 of his last 15 fights, a ridiculous accomplishment.
But there’s also one more thing Weidman has to combat Silva’s aura — his confidence.
“He’s the pound-for-pound best fighter, and I know I can beat him,” Weidman said. “There’s no better feeling than that.”
* Frankie Edgar might not be in the main event or a title fight, the way he has been in his last seven trips to the Octagon. But the Toms River, N.J., native won’t be thinking about that when he meets Charles Oliveira.
“The pressure is always there,” Edgar said. “It’s the pressure I put on myself. That’s the only pressure that matters. I don’t care what the media or anyone else says. I’m the one in there.”