UFC on Fox 2 Results: Lack of Late-Fight Punch Troublesome for Chris Weidman

Chris Weidman might have beaten Demian Maia in their middleweight bout on Saturday, but there was very little to be encouraged about. The last round of the fight was actually hard to watch, and the booing Chicago crowd agreed. 

The two fighters had nothing left in the tank. This was a fight that Weidman won by split decision. Either one of the two men could have easily distanced himself with a good final round, even if it didn't result in a knockout; but that didn't happen. 

The fact that Weidman was declared the winner is a less than enthusiastic sign. If you're going to exert your energy in the early rounds trying to land a knockout or earn a submission, do it. At the very least, be so dominant to where you can clearly finish the fight on defense, nursing a lead. 

Conversely, if you're going to save your energy for a late attack, that's fine. The only problem is that Weidman didn't do either. 

There was no early knockout, or even a flurry. The fight moved slow for the entire bout. Neither man did anything to really separate himself from his opponent.

This is the equivalent of an NFL team winning a game with five turnovers, while their opponent commits six.  

On the one hand, a win is a win. But on the other hand, you at least want to see something encouraging from that win. Weidman didn't deliver on that tonight. 

Winning a fight is one thing. Not losing it is another, and that is what happened tonight. Neither man had anything left at the end of the fight.

If they were facing a championship caliber fighter, either Maia or Weidman would have been defeated early on. 

This was a poor showing from both men. Even the winning fighter has very little reason to be encouraged. There is no way that UFC wanted a fight like that showcased on national television. 

Photo Courtesy of ESPN.

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