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10. Chris Weidman (Elbow) vs. Mark Munoz
UFC on Fuel TV 4
July 11, 2012 | San Jose, California
Roughly a year before he dethroned Anderson Silva and ended the Brazilian’s historic reign atop the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, Weidman was on a rung-by-rung climb on the 185-pound ladder. Munoz, a two-time NCAA All-American wrestler who had won a national championship at Oklahoma State University in 2001, wandered into his path in the UFC on Fuel TV 4 main event at the HP Pavilion. It was a bloodbath.

Weidman wrecked “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” for a little more than six minutes, sweeping him off his feet with a takedown before assaulting him with ground-and-pound. Munoz did not land a single significant strike during the match, could not complete a takedown and failed to attempt a submission. It was a shutout on all fronts for Weidman.

Munoz did not survive the second round. Weidman slipped one of his right hands and countered with a devastating downward elbow to the face that sent him crashing to the canvas. Bloodied and dazed, Munoz had neither the faculties nor the wherewithal to defend against the follow-up punches that finished the job and made Weidman the No. 1 contender for the middleweight crown.

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