Monday Morning Hangover: What’s next for Chris Weidman after losing third straight?

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC 210 blew the roof off KeyBank Center last Saturday night (April 8, 2017) in Buffalo, New York.

For complete UFC 210 results and coverage click here.

Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Anthony Johnson, who was choked out (again) by Daniel Cormier in the second round of their Light Heavyweight title fight (see it again here), then retiring from the fight game soon thereafter. And Will Brooks, who was tapped out by Charles Oliveira in their Lightweight scrap (recap here).

But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?

Chris Weidman.

Going into his Middleweight bout against Gegard Mousasi, Weidman was riding a two-fight losing streak after suffering brutal technical knockout (TKO) losses to Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold. It’s a far cry from the man who defeated Anderson Silva twice, and took out the likes of Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort.

But after a bizarre ending to his fight against Gegard, “All American” now finds himself the not-so proud owner of a three-fight losing streak. After controlling and winning the first round rather easily, Weidman found trouble in round two after Mousasi clipped him with two knees to the head that rocked the former champion.

That’s when the madness began.

Referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the bout after what he deemed to be illegal knees from Armenian. While Weidman was taking the time given to him to recover after being tended by doctors, off to the side was Miragliotta having a pow-wow with members of the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC).

After what seemed like an eternity, Miragliotta’s original ruling of illegal knees was reversed to legal, which meant the action should’ve resumed immediately. Instead, Weidman was still allowed more time to recover. But, after even more discussion, the bout was ultimately called in favor of Mousasi, much to the chagrin of Weidman, and Gegard himself.

The problem?

Instant replay isn’t allowed in New York, so Dan’s earlier ruling of illegal knees shouldn’t have been overturned and the fight should have continued if Chris was able to do so, which he stated he was.

Nevertheless, it resulted in yet another mess in the state of New York; one that Weidman hopes to correct via an appeal. For Gegard, though, Chris was simply looking for a way out by trying to take advantage of the rules.

“I don’t make the rules. It was legal and I felt he didn’t want to continue,” Mousasi said. “I think everyone saw that. He didn’t want to continue. How is that my fault? I don’t give a fuck, I won. I like the guy, he’s a tough opponent, but at the end of the day, he didn’t want to fight. I felt he was getting tired. He was fatiguing. So I feel like he was trying to find a way out, and he felt maybe with a disqualification, he could do that.”

Despite the drama, Weidman now finds himself in a really deep hole. But, he may have a chance at redemption, as it wouldn’t be too farfetched to see the promotion re-book him against Gegard almost immediately due to the bizarre finish.

And since Mousasi isn’t opposed to giving him a rematch -- though he’d obviously prefer a title fight — these two men could be running it back sooner, rather later?

You interested?