Top 5 Stories of the Week

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Anderson Silva will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight crown against the unbeaten Chris Weidman in the UFC 162 main event on July 6 in Las Vegas. Silva, 37, has held the 185-pound title since Oct. 14, 2006.

The Silva-Weidman headliner joins three previously reported matchups at the event: Tim Kennedy vs. Roger Gracie, Mark Munoz vs. Tim Boetsch and Thiago Silva vs. Rafael Cavalcante.

Weidman began to lobby for a crack at “The Spider” after two strong wins in 2012 which saw him outpoint grappling wiz Demian Maia and wipe out Munoz. The 28-year-old was slated to meet Boetsch at UFC 155 in December, but a shoulder injury forced Weidman to exit the event. A protégé of former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra and respect striking coach Ray Longo, Weidman has won his first nine professional bouts, five of them inside the UFC’s Octagon.

In Silva, Weidman will confront not only his stiffest test but perhaps the best fighter in MMA history. The Brazilian will enter the cage on a streak of 17 consecutive victories, having defended his middleweight belt a record 10 times. Silva last appeared at UFC 153 in October, when he moved up to 205 pounds and demolished “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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