UFC: Chris Weidman snaps three-fight slide with hometown victory

Chris Weidman finally has the monkey off his back.

The popular former UFC middleweight champion from Baldwin, N.Y., had dropped three consecutive fights, with all three being delivered by way of bad knockouts or TKOs.

But Saturday night in the main event of UFC on FOX 25, Weidman (14-3) rallied from a near-finish against Kelvin Gastelum (14-3, one no-contest) and won via submission in the third round. An arm-triangle choke caused Gastelum to tap out at 3:45, causing a delirious reaction by Weidman's hometown fans at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y.

"Keep doubting me, people," Weidman said after his first victory in 26 months. "I know Long Island ain't doubting me. Keep doubt me, I beg you, keep doubting me."

Gastelum nearly finished the fight in the closing seconds of the opening round with a wicked left hand that dropped Weidman. But the horn sounded to end the round before Gastelum could follow up.

Weidman regained his bearings in the second round and outgrappled Gastelum. In the third, Gastelum came out swinging, but Weidman reasserted control before maneuvering into position for the winning choke.

The evening's co-feature bout was a well-contested featherweight scrap as Darren Elkins of Portage, Ind., went back and forth with Dennis Bermudez of Lindenhurst, N.Y.

Elkins (22-5) carried the first half of the fight, winning the first round with his wrestling and grappling games. Bermudez (16-6) was better of the second half, winning the second with his striking.

It came down to an interpretation of a close second round. Two of the three judges saw it in Elkins' favor and he took a split decision on scores of 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28 for his fifth consecutive victory.

The light heavyweight matchup between Gian Villante of Wantagh, N.Y., and Patrick Cummins of Dana Point, Calif., figured an interesting style clash. Villante (15-9) is a heavy hitter who gasses early and Cummins (10-4) is a wrestler with an endless gas tank. Neither boast much in the way of defense.

The fight went as advertised as Villante rocked Cummins early and nearly finished him, but Cummins regained his bearings and started to dictate the pace of the bout. That was enough for Cummins to get the better end of two out of three 29-28 judges' scores for a split-decision victory.

The win was Cummins' second in a row as he improved to 6-3 in his past nine. Villante has dropped three of his past four.

The main-card opener was a showcase for another New York-area fighter. Bantamweight Jimmie Rivera of Passaic, N.J., looked sharp in his bout with Brazil's Thomas Almeida (22-2).

Rivera's mixed of speed, timing, and precision was too much for the hard-charging Almeida, who often found himself whiffing on punches and finding himself wide open for counterstrikes. Rivera (21-1) scored two knockdowns in the opening round and landed two takedowns in the third, which was more than enough for a unanimous decision victory.

The judges' scores were 29-28, 30-26, and 30-27.

The victory was Rivera's 20th in a row and improved him to 5-0 in the UFC. Almeida has dropped two of his past three.

"This is one for the home team," Rivera said. "I want to give it up to Almeida. He's a very tough opponent. He came in here, he stood with me, I gave him my bombs and he stuck it out. I came in here, I'm 5-0 right now."