UFC Long Island to be headlined by Chris Weidman vs. Kelvin Gastelum

[nuraknu]

"He went to junior college across the street from Long Island’s most well-known venue for athletics. He then earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the college across the other street. The gym where he trains — and now co-owns — is a two-minute drive.

"Now, former UFC middleweight champion and four-time All-American wrestler Chris Weidman will get to fight inside Nassau Coliseum.

"Weidman will headline the UFC Long Island fight card against Kelvin Gastelum at the renovated Nassau Coliseum on July 22. The middleweight main event, which airs on Fox, was announced Friday at the UFC’s summer kickoff news conference in Dallas ahead of Saturday night’s UFC 211 event on pay-per-view...."

More: Weidman to headline UFC Long Island

 

[Robbie Hart]

Good fight, but strong island wins this fight

 

[nuraknu]

I'm so glad he took it even though it's NY. I bet that headliner bonus $ sold it.

 

[nuraknu]

But actually, he could use a year off right now - this could be very bad.

 

[Robbie Hart]

But actually, he could use a year off right now - this could be very bad.

Weidman will win, he's been screwed by the mousasi fight and Yoel for getting lucky (which scared bisping to death, lol).......he's a better fighter

 

[Lukewarm Carl]

I really don't like this matchup.

 

[dacofty]

I really don't like this matchup.

i dont think its gonna sell many tickets

 

[Lukewarm Carl]

i dont think its gonna sell many tickets

I agree. I guess we'll find out how much pull Chris really has in Long Island.

But it's so strange. Either Kelvin gets his momentum killed again or Weidman loses his 4th straight and basically kills his career at 185. I'm just not seeing much benefit to it.

 

[La Paix]

Risky fight for Chris. Anything short of a finish isn't going to help his stock.

 

[Joemacka]

Kelvin is gonna run right through Weidman. Weidman should have took an easier matchup like Jacare.

 

[Sheepdog]

Let's go fat boy!

You've already knocked off my most hated fighter, and deserve to be Knighted for it. But smack down the 2nd one and I will petition to have you canonized.

 

[Pitbull9]

You all know Chris is my boy but I think his career might be almost over which is crazy to say. I don't think he is Beating Kelvin or any top MWs anymore. Wow crazy to think that.

 

[Joemacka]

You all know Chris is my boy but I think his career might be almost over which is crazy to say. I don't think he is Beating Kelvin or any top MWs anymore. Wow crazy to think that.

The only middleweight he matches up well with in the top 5 is Jacare everyone else he gets flogged against.

 

[Mix6APlix]

when did the jersey boy move to heavy weight?

 

[FadeToBlack]

Surprised to see so much skepticism for Weidman. Granted I was drunk but I remember him beating Romero until the KO and he was beating Mousasi until the knee. It's a volatile sport and unless you're a prime JBJ or Fedor, you're going to get beat.

 

[teamquestnorth]

Hope this event tanks.

Whats the capacity of that arena?

Could be the biggest gathering of D bags in history.

 

[Hong Kong Phooey]

 

[Lukewarm Carl]

Surprised to see so much skepticism for Weidman. Granted I was drunk but I remember him beating Romero until the KO and he was beating Mousasi until the knee. It's a volatile sport and unless you're a prime JBJ or Fedor, you're going to get beat.

And it's been his gas that led to both situations against guys that don't push the pace nearly as hard as Kelvin does. You have to look great for more than 1 round and that's something that hasn't happened in his last 3 fights.

 

[GSPTrainingInAPool]

And it's been his gas that led to both situations against guys that don't push the pace nearly as hard as Kelvin does. You have to look great for more than 1 round and that's something that hasn't happened in his last 3 fights.

And this fight will be 5 rounds... If it goes the distance Chris will be throwing spaghetti arms. Kelvin has so much better cardio than he does

 

[Chromium]

I agree. I guess we'll find out how much pull Chris really has in Long Island.

But it's so strange. Either Kelvin gets his momentum killed again or Weidman loses his 4th straight and basically kills his career at 185. I'm just not seeing much benefit to it.

This was the first thing I thought too. If Weidman wins, the UFC has knocked off a dark horse contender without replacing him. If Gastelum wins then he gets only a tiny bit closer to serious title contention, and Weidman will have lost 4 straight, which puts him at the edge of a cliff. After 3 straight losses, a recently-elite fighter probably shouldn't get a ranked opponent. They should get a gatekeeper-type opponent that can test whether or not they still have it, or an unranked prospect.

I'm really not sure how the UFC comes ahead with this fight.

 

[kneeblock]

This was the first thing I thought too. If Weidman wins, the UFC has knocked off a dark horse contender without replacing him. If Gastelum wins then he gets only a tiny bit closer to serious title contention, and Weidman will have lost 4 straight, which puts him at the edge of a cliff. After 3 straight losses, a recently-elite fighter probably shouldn't get a ranked opponent. They should get a gatekeeper-type opponent that can test whether or not they still have it, or an unranked prospect.

I'm really not sure how the UFC comes ahead with this fight.

Who cares about the UFC? This is a good fight.

 

[Chromium]

Who cares about the UFC? This is a good fight.

While I admit that careful fantasy booking is an occasional hobby, what it comes down to is I care about the fighters. I don't think either man can benefit more than their opponent loses, and it's entirely avoidable. It's just stupid matchmaking that fucks the fighters and the division (as well as the UFC) and it's totally avoidable.