MMA is going out of 2013 with a serious bang with rematches between Anderson Silva and middleweight champion Chris Weidman and bantamweight belt holder Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate at UFC 168 at the MGM in Las Vegas. Silva suffered the serious consequences of his showboating when he fought Weidman at UFC 162 on July 5. He cajoled and stuck his chin out against Weidman and paid the price when the challenger dropped him with a left hook that ended the fight.

The Brazilian, who said in the build up to the fight that he is very motivated and has nothing to prove, knows that this is an important night. “It’s definitely a big fight,” said the Brazilian, according to MMAjunkie.com. “It’s an important fight. It’s something people have been waiting to watch. They want confirmation that Chris is the real deal. But a fight is a fight. All that changes is the date and the opponent. The octagon is still the same, and the atmosphere is always the same.”

Weidman, who comes from Long Island, New York, was dealing with the fallout of Hurricane Sandy and a long layoff from the octagon before the July fight when he shocked the world. He has had a much smoother preparation for his first defence of the belt. “For this fight there’s really no excuses for me to lose. It’s perfect timing. I’m completely healthy. I haven’t gotten out of shape since the last fight. So I was able to work on a lot of different things for this camp and it really changed a lot. … I just feel like a lot better and complete fighter,” he said, according to yahoo.com

Meanwhile, in the co-main event, bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate will renew hostilities in the octagon. The pair first met on March 3, 2012, when Rousey defeated Tate by first round submission (armbar) for the Strikeforce bantamweight title. Rousey and Tate were team captains for TUF 18 and now they will finally touch gloves to settle all the trash talk this weekend. Can Rousey continue her dominance over Tate in the octagon, or will the challenger turn the tables on the tough talking champion? Check out the promo for the event:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=F4Xu9LakbbQ