On today ten years ago, a UFC champion cost himself his title with a baffling decision contained in the Octagon.
UFC 194 in Las Vegas ended with Conor McGregor comforting Jose Aldo after ending his iconic featherweight title reign in 13 seconds.
What some could have forgotten about one of the iconic UFC fights of all time is that it was the second of two title fights that took place on that night.
McGregor could have celebrated after becoming a UFC champion for the primary time but he wasn’t the one man who achieved this feat on the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
A title challenger’s pursuit of the gold was aided by a moment of improvisation from his opponent that didn’t end well for him.
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Name a KO that rivals McGregor vs Aldo for essentially the most iconic finish in UFC history.
Can anything match the fundamental event of UFC 194? Tell us within the comments below.
Chris Weidman didn’t blame his ill-advised kick for his loss to Luke Rockhold at UFC 194
Conor McGregor’s knockout of Jose Aldo understandably stole the headlines at UFC 194 on December 12 in 2015.
Nonetheless, the co-main event also produced some big talking points after Chris Weidman lost his middleweight title when attempting to make his fourth defense of the belt.
The person who dethroned Anderson Silva faced his first American challenger in Las Vegas when taking up the previous Strikeforce champion, Luke Rockhold.
A forwards and backwards battle shifted towards the challenger after his opponent made a choice that immediately backfired.
Weidman attempted a wheel kick, just for Rockhold to duck under it and turn out to be the primary man to take the champion down, immediately following up with vicious ground and pound that earned him the stoppage win.
When breaking his silence on the loss, Weidman said on The MMA Hour the next month that he didn’t blame that one decision for his loss and was actually pleased to have lost in order that he could learn useful lessons from his first defeat.
“I don’t regret doing that, because I’m pleased I lost,” Weidman reiterated. “Everybody has been talking in regards to the kick, and I do feel like I used to be winning the fight, but I used to be running on like two cylinders and I feel like I deserved to lose that fight, and I’m pleased I did.
“It’s not the spinning back kick that I’m really critical on myself about,” Weidman continued. “Was it a reasonably spinning back kick? Did it change the momentum of the fight? Definitely. But there’s things that I should’ve been doing that I didn’t do as soon as I hit the bottom, and there’s reasons I didn’t, and there’s things that I’m enthusiastic about to alter, to do things in another way.”
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What’s the worst decision you’ve seen a UFC fighter make contained in the Octagon?
Does anything top Chris Weidman’s spinning kick? Tell us within the comments.
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Chris Weidman was set to try to get revenge over Luke Rockhold the next yr
Chris Weidman would have had the chance to correct the mistakes he made in a rematch with Luke Rockhold that was scheduled for UFC 199 the next June.
Nonetheless, around two weeks out from the fight, the previous champion was forced to withdraw from the rematch as a result of an injury.
Michael Bisping went on to beat Rockhold for the title in a shocking upset win after taking Weidman’s place on short notice.
Weidman, who returned later that yr, was knocked out by Yoel Romero at UFC 205, leaving the middleweight division in a very different place to where it was one yr prior.
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