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Chris Weidman recently declared that if anyone was going to end Jon Jones’ long reign at Light Heavyweight, it was going to be him. That’s because “All American” — who once ruled the roost at Middleweight — claims to see holes in Jones’ game. In other words, Weidman doesn’t think “Bones” is as dominant as he once was and the blueprint is there to beat him.
Sure, Jones had to work a bit extra for his last two wins, as Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos both took him the distance. In fact, Santos narrowly lost a split decision despite fighting with a severely-injured knee throughout the majority of the bout. But that should be attributed to their toughness and grit … not Jones’ weaknesses. That’s why “Bones” couldn’t help but to laugh at Weidman’s callout.
“I’m just checking the news. Somebody tell Chris Weidman he don’t want to fight me,” Jones said on his latest Instagram post. “Stop. Hey Chris, just stop,” he concluded with a laugh. He also added a caption warning Weidman that staring at the target on his back could come back to “bite him in the ass.”
While a fight between Jones and Weidman would be interesting, “All American” has his work cut out for him before he can start focusing on a title bout against the greatest 205-pound fighter in the history of the sport.
First off, Weidman — who is coming off a loss and has lost four of five — must get through Dominick Reyes when the two square off in the main event of UFC on ESPN 6 on Oct. 26, 2019, marking his divisional debut.
Should he get a win there, Weidman would likely need another win or two to even get into championship consideration given his previous woes. That said, the top of the Light Heavyweight division is running thin thanks to Jones’ recent busy schedule, which saw him fight three times in seven months.
So if Weidman can rack up some wins in a hurry, he could find himself in the position to deliver on his comments sooner rather than later.