County Honors Baldwin Native, UFC Champ Weidman

The accolades continue to roll in for Baldwin resident and UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano was joined by Sen. Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, and Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray as he honored the newly crowned middleweight champ at the Coral House Tuesday night and proclaimed it "Chris Weidman Day" in Nassau County.

The Long Island native completed his “Rocky”-like story by knocking out and upsetting arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all-time, Anderson Silva, on July 6 to grab the UFC middleweight championship.

Mangano referred to Weidman, a former New York State champion wrestler at Baldwin High School and All-American at Nassau Community College and at Hofstra University, as a "true hometown hero."

Weidman has proven himself to be more than a UFC champion, as he and his wife organized a food and clothing drive to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Of note, Weidman’s own home was devastated by Hurricane Sandy and he and his family moved in with his parents for four months.