Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman isn’t done yet.
At UFC on ESPN+ 32 on Saturday, Weidman (15-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) earned a unanimous decision victory (29-27, 29-27, 29-28) over Omari Akhmedov in the card’s co-main event.
In the first round, Weidman looked for a takedown. Akhemdov (20-5-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) angled to keep it on the feet. In Round 2, both fighters utilized their striking while also looking to drag the fight to the ground.
The third round was all Weidman. After working for a rare stretch submission, Weidman mounted Akhmedov. From there, Weidman worked for an arm triangle submission but was never able to really muster up a deep attempt.
The dominant position was enough to earn a unanimous decision and return Weidman to the win column for the first time since July 2017. Weidman is now 2-2 in his most recent four outings. Weidman dropped back down to middleweight for the fight after a one-off at 205 pounds.
As for Akhmedov, the loss to Weidman snapped a three-fight winning streak. Akhmedov had not lost in six fights entering Saturday night. His most recent loss before Weidman came against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at UFC on FOX 19 in April 2016.
The middleweight bout was the UFC on ESPN+ 32 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 32 results include:
- Chris Weidman def. Omari Akhmedov via unanimous decision (29-29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
- Darren Stewart def. Maki Pitolo via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:41
- Yana Kunitskaya def. Julija Stoliarenko via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Beneil Dariush def. Scott Holtzman via TKO (spinning back fist) – Round 1, 4:38
- Tim Means def. Laureano Staropoli via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Kevin Holland def. Joaquin Buckley via TKO (punch) – Round 3, 0:32
- Nasrat Haqparast def. Alexander Munoz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Andrew Sanchez def. Wellington Turman via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:14
- Gavin Tucker def. Justin Jaynes via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:43
- Youssef Zalal def. Peter Barrett via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
- Irwin Rivera def. Ali Alqaisi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
