UFC 175: Weidman's win answers questions, while Rousey's widens the gulf

We’ll remember UFC 175 as a tale of two title fights. One was every bit the back-and-forth war it was billed as, and the other was more of a blitzkrieg, the kind of shock-and-awe affair that would have the U.N. shaking its head at this sudden and unforgivable outburst of devastation.

UFC middleweight Chris Weidman answered what lingering questions we may have had about his suitability for the throne, while women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey just reminded us of the tremendous gap between herself and virtually every other fighter in the division.

The question is, who would you rather be, all things considered? Because Weidman (12-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) may have had to put in 25 hard, brutal minutes against former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (21-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) , but he also emerged having checked off a few more boxes in the minds of the more skeptical fans, with those still doubting him now a part of a rapidly shrinking minority.

On the flip side, the only damage Rousey (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) suffered was to the fist she used to pummel Alexis Davis (16-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) into unconsciousness at the end of a 16-second fight that was somehow even less competitive than oddsmakers thought it would be. Maybe Rousey won’t complain about getting in and out of the cage in less time than it takes most people to complete a halfway decent parallel parking job, but it doesn’t add much to her legacy or allure to outclass an opponent who put up a tougher fight against the referee who had the unenviable job of trying to stop the bout.

They’re both spectacular performances, when you think about it, just in completely opposite ways. Weidman proved he can take a punch. Rousey reminded us why she very rarely has to.

For Weidman, this was exactly the fight he needed. After a couple bizarre endings in his pair of title fights with Anderson Silva, there were bound to be those who’d write him off as a fluke champion, the beneficiary of some good timing and frail bones. He needed to be pushed, both physically and psychologically. He needed to prove that he could handle one of the trickiest opponents in the organization, and still leave with a smile on his face.

Weidman did all that, and also a little more. He took it on the chin when he had to and gave back more than he got. He also now gets to say that he followed up back-to-back wins over the greatest fighter in MMA history with a victory over a former champ from a higher weight class, and all before he even had 15 pro fights to his credit. If you’re trading tales of athletic heroism in a Long Island bar, you’d be hard-pressed to top that.

But Rousey? What she did was incredible in a different way. The way she demolished Davis made you wonder if this one should have even been sanctioned. Then you go back and look at Davis’ 3-0 run in the UFC leading up to this title shot and you kind of have to admit that she was the most legit 135-pound woman available just then. She earned that fight, according to every metric we use to determine that stuff, and yet it was still about as competitive as some of the match-ups we see on “Shark Week,” when a seal takes on a great white.

Davis deserved that fight, and still she wasn’t up to it. She wasn’t even close. If not for her hand bursting open on impact with Davis’ skull, Rousey could have followed up a win over the UFC’s No. 2-ranked bantamweight with wins over No. 3, 4 and 5, all in one night. That’s how far ahead of the field Rousey is at this point. And that might also be part of her problem.

See, when a guy like Weidman beats a guy like Machida, you can appreciate what it means. It’s like hearing that somebody climbed a mountain after you’ve stood at the base of it and seen it for the monster that it is.

But the way Rousey blows people away, it’s sometimes hard to tell if she’s really that good or if everyone else is really just bunched up in one mediocre heap. While much of the women’s bantamweight class still seems to be going out there and hacking away at each other with primitive stone tools, Rousey is mowing them all down with a chainsaw.

In Miesha Tate, at least she had a rival. Now what she needs is a challenge.

Because as Weidman showed us, sometimes it helps to have someone who can push you a little, if only to prove to everyone else that you didn’t get to the top by accident. Dominance might be fun to talk about, but it’s not always as thrilling to watch. Especially not when it’s over that quickly.

For complete coverage of UFC 175, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Chris Weidman)

* * * *

Check out MMAjunkie reporter John Morgan’s instant analysis of UFC 175:

view original article >>