UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida Fight Card, TV Info, Predictions and More
There aren't many things more American than people beating the snot out of each other inside an Octagon. As such, Fourth of July weekend is typically one of the biggest of the year in the MMA world.
UFC 175 is proof.
Anchoring the event from the Mandalay Bay Events Center will be two title fights featuring two undefeated stars: Chris Weidman defends his middleweight strap against Lyoto Machida, while Ronda Rousey continues her assault through the sport against Alexis Davis.
The losses of Chael Sonnen, Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort for various reasons hurts the depth a bit. But with the returns of Stefan Struve and Marcus Brimage, along with the always-breathaking knockout potential of Uriah Hall, the card is quite worthy of celebrating America's independence.
Perhaps the most telling detail from the massive event: The card is so stacked, bantamweight title contender Urijah Faber, who headlined UFC 169, has been bumped to the prelims.
Buckle up and grab some apple pie. It's going to be a thrilling night.
Fight Card
| Kevin Casey vs. Bubba Bush | Middleweight | 7 p.m. | UFC Fight Pass | Bush |
| Luke Zachrich vs. Guilherme Vasconcelos | Middleweight | After | UFC Fight Pass | Zachrich |
| George Roop vs. Rob Font | Bantamweight | 8 p.m. | Fox Sports 1 | Roop |
| Chris Camozzi vs. Bruno Santos | Middlweight | After | Fox Sports 1 | Camozzi |
| Kenny Robertson vs. Ildemar Alcantara | Welterweight | After | Fox Sports 1 | Robertson |
| Urijah Faber vs. Alex Caceres | Bantamweight | After | Fox Sports 1 | Faber |
| Marcus Brimage vs. Russell Doane | Bantamweight | 10 p.m. | PPV | Doane |
| Uriah Hall vs. Thiago Santos | Middlweight | After | PPV | Hall |
| Stefan Struve vs. Matt Mitrione | Heavyweight | After | PPV | Struve |
| Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Alexis Davis | Women's Bantamweight | After | PPV | Rousey |
| Chris Weidman (c) vs. Lyoto Machida | Middleweight | After | PPV | Weidman |
Note: UFC Fight Pass can be found right here for the first two prelims
Fight of the Night Prediction: Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida
The most tantalizing bout is often hiding somewhere lower on the card, but even when it comes to this jam-packed event, the intrigue of Weidman vs. Machida is impossible to pass up.
Champion vs. former champion. Rising star vs. legendary veteran fighting to stay on top of the sport. Ground-and-pound vs. slippery defense.
MMA writer Adam Martin put it simply:
Defeating Anderson Silva twice would seemingly vault any fighter into superstardom. The Spider defeated his previous 17 bouts and is one of the best ever to step inside the Octagon. But the way in which those bouts came to an end has left some doubt surrounding the All-American's legitimacy as a champ.
Against Machida, he has a chance to end that talk once and for all. And as he said on The Great MMA Debate podcast, via Yahoo Sports' Elias Cepada, he's going to attempt to do so in spectacular fashion:
"I feel like anyone at middleweight, when I have a full training camp, I'm going to go out there and finish them. That's my mentality. I won't stop. The whole fight will be me trying to finish him. If it goes five rounds, I'm not losing the decision because I'm almost finishing him the whole time. I'm always prepared for a war, but I'm looking for the finish the whole time. I won't be happy unless I finish him.
"
It won't be easy, though. After losing his light heavyweight title in 2010 and continuing a roller-coaster ride through the division, Machida moved to middleweight in October.
He proceeded to nearly decapitate Mark Munoz with a first-round knockout and clinically pick apart Gegard Mousasi.
"Lyoto was knocking out 205 pounders so what he's done at 185 shouldn't surprise anybody," UFC on Fox commentator Daniel Cormier said, via Fox Sports' Damon Martin. "He's a special talent."
Moreover, while Weidman has a well-rounded skill set, Machida's elusiveness and takedown defense has the potential to give the champ some problems.
No matter how it plays out, though, this is the ideal finale for a captivating card.
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