Historic day on Long Island
(Uniondale, NY., July 23, 2017) – It was a wild and historic day at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday, July 22, as the newly renovated Coliseum played host to the first UFC event on Long Island.
With nine total UFC fighters residing on Long Island, six of them were on the 13-fight card, featuring a highly anticipated middleweight bout between Baldwin’s Chris Weidman and Kelvin Gastelum in front of a packed arena in Uniondale.
Weidman (14-3) saved the day as he defeated Gastelum (14-3) via arm triangle choke at the 3:35 mark in the third round.
Needing a win to put his name back into title talk, the former champion, coming off of three-consecutive losses, did exactly that and turned NYCB Live Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum into a frenzy.
Weidman dominated rounds one and two, with takedowns. He did get dropped late in round one, but the bell rang to end any more pressure from Gastelum.
In round three, Weidman dropped Gastelum early, but Gastelum quickly recovered. After an exciting exchange of punches that were dodged by both fighters, Weidman got Gastelum to the floor and got the tap he had been waiting for ever since he lost the belt in December of 2015, to Luke Rockhold.
It had been over 750 days without a win for Weidman, which is unthinkable, considering how dominant he was in beating Anderson Silva twice and successfully defending his belt for years against top fighters such as Vitor Belfort.
Growing up and attending school at nearby Hofstra University and Nassau Community College, this was Weidman’s night and he sure delivered.
“This feels like I won a championship,” said Weidman. “Coming off some losses, I had to bite my lip, bite my tongue. I didn’t want my words doing the talking. I wanted to come out here and prove myself, do what all my coaches believed I could do, and to come out here and do it.”
Weidman did indeed save the night, as the only other Long Islander to win was Chris Wade who beat Frankie Perez via unanimous decision in the first fight on the card. All other Long Island fighters lost in between.
The co-main event saw Darren Elkins beat Lindenhurst’s Dennis Bermudez via split decision.
Levittown’s Gian Villante lost to Patrick Cummings via split decision, while Selden’s Brian Kelleher lost via arm bar to Marlon Vera.
Farmingdale’s Ryan LaFlare, who came in with a 13-1 record, was rocked by a walk-off uppercut by Alex Oliveira to silence the arena.
The crowd, though, once Weidman made the walk to the Octagon, turned from a light buzz, to a complete electric 11,000 family all rooting for the same thing, a Weidman win. That’s exactly what happened, and UFC Long Island ended with the former champion moving closer to what was once his, the middleweight belt.
Between all the highs and lows, the knockouts and submissions, one thing is for sure. Long Island and MMA on Long Island is a perfect match.
MMA Long Island Magazine is published by MMA New York Media Corporation. For more information please visit www.mmalongislandmagazine.com or call (516) 318-2418
Photo Credit: MMA Fighting
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