Chris Weidman just went viral after a friendly game of poker, as one of the players chose to get choked out by him instead of paying a $5,000 debt. It’s definitely not something that we can recommend; even if you ignore all of risks involved in being put to sleep it’s still not a pleasant experience. At the very least, someone with the decades of grappling training that Weidman has is probably the best bet to be able to put someone to sleep safely. The ultimate question is whether or not that’s actually worth saving $5,000 and for many people, it actually might be.
Weidman has been grappling longer than most people in the world, as he was a lifelong wrestler before he ever discovered MMA. He was a two-time NCJAA All-American and a two-time NCAA Division I All-American in wrestling during his college years, before training with Nick and Matt Serra. With just a year of Jiu-Jitsu, Weidman won ADCC Trials and earned a spot at the world championship in 2009. Although he wasn’t successful during that run, he put on impressive performances against some of the best in the world like Andre Galvao. That led straight into his professional MMA career, where Weidman enjoyed a meteoric rise to the very top of the middleweight division.
After a 4-0 run in the regional MMA circuit, he signed for the UFC and continued his undefeated streak all the way to the title. He famously ended the incredible run of then-reigning world champion Anderson Silva and defended the title three times after that. Weidman still actively competes at the highest level of the sport as well, currently holding a 16-8 professional MMA record. He’s coming off a TKO loss to Eryk Anders at UFC 310 just a matter of weeks ago and although he has faced calls for retirement, he has shown no intention of slowing down after celebrating his 40th birthday earlier this year.
Chris Weidman shared the footage of him choking out a fellow poker player instead of getting the debt repaid in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
