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UFC 187: Chris Weidman endures early flurry, KOs Vitor Belfort in thriller

LAS VEGAS – Chris Weidman uncharacteristically got into Vitor Belfort’s face Friday at the weigh-in prior to their middleweight title fight Saturday in UFC 187 at the MGM Grand Garden.

Weidman angrily said Belfort was using performance-enhancing drugs and that his testosterone levels were still too high.

Chris Weidman pounds Vitor Belfort during their UFC 187 fight. (AP)
Chris Weidman pounds Vitor Belfort during their UFC 187 fight. (AP)

But before he stormed off the stage Friday, Weidman vowed he’d beat Belfort no matter what the veteran Brazilian had been using.

Weidman then went out and backed up his talk. He survived an early onslaught from the veteran Brazilian, scored a takedown and pounded Belfort with shots from the top until referee Herb Dean stopped it at 2:53 of the first round.

Belfort had become something of the poster boy for the steroid era of the UFC, and though the Nevada Athletic Commission said he’d passed all of his pre-fight drug screens, Weidman accused him of cheating at the weigh-in.

He said it wouldn’t matter, though, and it didn’t. Weidman blasted Belfort with a series of punches and elbows from the top before Dean mercifully stopped it.

He then grabbed the microphone and shouted to the roaring crowd.

“Stop doubting me!” he said, as the crowd thundered its approval. “It’s enough! Stop doubting me! Join the team!”

The fight was contested at an extremely quick pace. At one point, Belfort backed Weidman against the cage and was firing punches, several of which got through.

He seemed in position to stop Weidman and become only the third fighter in UFC history to win a championship in two divisions.

But Weidman weathered the storm and, once he got the takedown, the fight was essentially over.

Weidman said Belfort “hit me with some good shots,” but was confident he’ll pull through.

“I was thinking he’d tire himself out,” Weidman said.

Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort trade blows during their UFC 187 bout. (AP)
Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort trade blows during their UFC 187 bout. (AP)

Weidman took matters into his own hands. He took Belfort down with a double leg in the center of the cage and never let up. He quickly got top position and didn’t waste it.

Belfort simply couldn’t escape.

“I’d said if this was a grappling match, I’d dominate and that’s what I did,” he said.

The 30-year-old New Yorker, who improved to 13-0 with the third first-round stoppage of his UFC career, said he no longer had hard feelings toward Belfort, though he didn’t back down from his comments at the weigh-in.

He said “there are some things about those [testosterone] scores [of Belfort] that are off,” but then said the win ended the feud.

Belfort, who briefly held the light heavyweight title in 2004, was gracious in defeat.

“He’s a great fighter," Belfort said in tribute to his conqueror.

Weidman said his goal is to be the best ever. He’s got a long, long way to go to even get into that conversation, but it was a big step on Saturday.

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