UFC 292 results: Brad Tavares spoils Chris Weidman’s comeback with vicious leg kick attack to win unanimous decision
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Brad Tavares played spoiler on Saturday night as he secured a unanimous decision win over Chris Weidman in the featured prelim at UFC 292.
It was Weidman’s comeback after a devastating broken leg nearly ended his career but he was determined to fight again. Despite his best effort, Weidman just had no answer to a blistering series of leg kicks from Tavares, who was chewing him up from the first second of the fight until the last.
All three scorecards read 30-27 as Tavares got the victory, which also put him back on track following two losses in a row.
As Weidman was getting his feet wet after more than two years away, it was Tavares who landed the first big shot of the fight after the clipped the former middleweight champion with a stinging right hand. In return, Weidman looked to close the distance to snatch a takedown but Tavares shrugged him off with his first pair of attempts.
As the first round continued, Tavares started targeting Weidman’s lead left leg — the opposite leg that suffered the devastating injury — and he was really starting to mount damage both inside and outside. The leg kicks really started paying dividends with Tavares continuing to chop away and Weidman just had no answer.
Tavares unloaded another nasty leg kick to start the second round and this time Weidman limped away from the exchange, which also forced him to switch stances on the feet. That forced Weidman to get more aggressive and he finally started tagging Tavares with some hard punches while backing him up against the cage but he still couldn’t connect with the takedown.
With five minutes remaining, Tavares got fired up and really started digging into more of those leg kicks with Weidman wearing every single one he absorbed. The pounding continued with Weidman trying his best to avoid further damage but Tavares was relentless with his attacks.
It was a valiant effort from Weidman but Tavares was just the better fighter at UFC 292 as he gets the job done for one of the biggest wins of his career.
