UFC 173 prediction: Chris Weidman versus Lyoto Machida fight

UFC 173 features Lyoto Machida challenging Chris Weidman for the UFC middleweight title.

Weidman has always been very confident, but that has been magnified exponentially through his perfect record, including two victories over Anderson Silva. He won four out of four rounds against Silva, and was able to knock him out, drop him in another round and almost finish him, and then checked Silva's leg kick which ended up snapping Silva's shin and ending the fight. Weidman now brings his brilliant BJJ skills, ever-expanding striking acumen, and over the top and well-earned confidence to the table against Lyoto Machida.

Machida was able to come back extremely strong after losing a close decision to Phil Davis at 205, rebound, win two fights at 185 against Mark Munoz and Gegard Mousasi, and then get a title shot. He lucked out in that Vitor Belfort had to be taken off the UFC 173 card, and now Machida can make history by joining Randy Couture and BJ Penn as the only fighters to be champions in two UFC weight classes, should Machida pull off the victory over Weidman.

Weidman's strengths are his ground game and the fact that his striking is so effective, and at the same time somewhat of a mystery. Weidman has pulled off incredible feats on the feet in his very short UFC career. He knocked out Anderson and dropped him on another occasion, and also has a brilliance knockout via elbow against Mark Munoz. Weidman seems to be able to figure out tough puzzles in the cage, like Anderson Silva, so that ability should help him in this fight with Machida, who is a very tough juggernaut for many fighters to solve.

Ultimately, I would have to give an edge to Machida because he is good at hitting and not getting hit. He will likely turn the fight into a kickboxing battle with limited time on the feet. Weidman is good at striking and avoiding getting tagged in the process as well, but I just feel that Machida's kickboxing experience and effectiveness in the cage will be just a little bit too much for Weidman to be able to win on a judges' scorecard. Machida will win enough rounds to get the decision and one again have UFC gold wrapped around his waist.