Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Chris Weidman’s move up to Light Heavyweight didn’t pan out as he would’ve liked, as “All American” suffered a first round knockout loss to Dominick Reyes at UFC on ESPN 6 a few weeks ago (see it again here) in Boston, Mass.
The loss was the former Middleweight champion’s second in a row, and five of six overall. And while it’s easy to start throwing out the word “retirement” after such a skid, Chris has no plans on hanging them up anytime soon.
“Yeah, I’m definitely continuing to fight. That’s not a question at all and I feel great,” he said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.
“At the end of the day, when I do retire, I’ll know I gave everything to this sport, everything to the sport of wrestling. I’ve been through hell, to my body with 23 surgeries. But I feel good right now, and that sounds crazy. But I feel really good, my body feels good and the fact that I can go right back into training to do what I love to do,” said the ex-185-pound king.
Despite his rough patch dating all the way back to 2015, Weidman (35) says he is still confident in his talent and skill set to make some noise on the biggest stage. And if all of the doubters and haters out there want to count him out, he is ready to prove them wrong.
“I just feel like I am still capable of some big things. And for all of you haters out there, you may not see it now, but, I plan on proving that,” he added, while admitting he doesn’t have too much time left in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).
“I don’t know how much longer I have, not that much longer. I am excited to move on and do other things. I see that in the future, but not yet,” he said.
As far as in what weight class he will fight in next, Chris isn’t too sure, as he says he still has to sit down with his coaching team to see what is best moving forward. Granted, making the cut down to 185 isn’t easy, but Weidman is confident he can still do it.
As far as fighting at 205 pounds, Chris says he didn’t feel weak when compared to Reyes, so fighting bigger and stronger men isn’t an issue either. That said, what division do you want to see “All American” compete in next?