Weidman proves doubters wrong?

It went the distance then. I don't think there was any doubt about the scoring, and despite Machida's rally in the fourth and right at the end Weidman looked in control. Does that display dispel the doubts that may have lingered in some quarters over the manner of his two wins against Silva?

Belfort up next? Or Rockhold?

Decent performance, anyway.

Machida looked decent when he escaped from the relentless pressure forward from Weidman - he'll be a tough match for anyone else in the MW div. Who next for him?

No arguments in the scoring, Weidman looked Barry good and will dispel the stupid stigma of 'lucky' wins against Silva.

Weidman has a long list of contenders with Belfort top of that list for me. Personally I would have of have Rockhold fight Jacare to determine the next challenger but I see Jacare is fighting Mousasi so Rockhold may need another fight otherwise he'll have a long wait.

Perhaps Belfort next then Jacare/Mousasi winner vs Rockhold/Kennedy winner to sort out the order of things?

Machida was competitive enough in defeat that I wouldn't begrudge him getting another shot if he can get 2-3 more wins against ranked opponents.

I have to say before the Silva fights I hadn't actually seen Weidman and I was very impressed him in those fights. Dare i say it but i did get caught up in the hype surrounding him after the first Silva fight, I kind of thought a peak Weidman beats a peak Silva.

I do think the way those fights panned out kind of took the shine off the wins. Not Weidmans fault Silva fooled around & hung his chin out in the first nor was it his fault Silva broke his shin in the second, but we were denied two potentially great fights.

Full credit to Machida for hanging in there & coming on strong in the last two rounds, never really been a fan of him but he fought well & showed toughness. Weidman though was just to big, to strong & to smart, he just closed him down in the first 3 rounds, busted him up and kept coming on. Full credit to Weidman, Machida is a mightmare opponent

Just to add some context to the amount of punishment Lyoto inflicted on Weidman, the list of injury checks required for Weidman & Machida is as follows:

Chris Weidman: Suspended until Jan. 2 , 2015, because of possible left jaw, right elbow, right ribs and right ankle injuries (need x-rays) unless an orthopedic doctor clears him to return sooner. Minimum suspension (and no contest) until Aug. 20, 2014, and no contact until Aug. 5, 2014.

Lyoto Machida: Suspended until Sept. 4, 2014, and no contact until Aug. 20, 2014, because of a facial laceration.

Dude took some punishment!