Chris Weidman secured his first victory in four years in a bout that stirred up controversy at Fight Night.
While the main event spotlight was on Manon Fiorot’s clash with Erin Blanchfield, featuring two top flyweight contenders, the most talked-about match of the night turned out to be one filled with contention.
Chris Weidman, a stalwart in the middleweight division, was seeking his first win since 2020 following a leg injury suffered in 2021. He clinched a unanimous decision victory over Bruno Silva, but not without a sequence of events that would become the subject of much discussion within UFC circles.
In the third round’s midpoint, Chris Weidman sent Silva (23-11-0) to the canvas, following which he unleashed a barrage of strikes until the referee intervened, resulting in a TKO victory for Weidman.
Silva promptly disputed the decision, with subsequent review revealing that it was actually a pair of eye pokes from Chris Weidman that caused Silva’s fall. The initial ruling of a TKO in Weidman’s favor was eventually amended to a technical decision, still awarding Weidman the win.
As the eye pokes were deemed accidental, the judges’ scorecards were consulted. Weidman was ahead on all cards, securing the victory at 16-7-0, marking a significant milestone for the 39-year-old fighter.
Reflecting on the match, Chris Weidman addressed the controversy in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping, acknowledging the eye pokes but also emphasizing the need for fighters to remain upright unless the referee intervenes.
In the actual main event, Fiorot extended her winning streak to 12 with a dominant performance against Blanchfield (12-2-0). The French fighter secured every round on all three scorecards, claiming a unanimous decision victory with scores of 50-45 across the board, pushing her record to 12-1-0.
In the co-main event, Joaquin Buckley secured a second-round TKO victory over Vicente Luque in their welterweight bout. After thwarting Luque’s takedown attempt, Buckley capitalized with a flurry of strikes, prompting the stoppage at 3:17 of Round 2. Buckley (18-6-0), transitioning from middleweight, improved his record to 3-0 since moving down in weight classes, while Luque’s record dipped to 22-10-1.
