These days, the desire for instant gratification is the norm. Everyone seems to want their every whim or desire fulfilled right now. Even worse is the fact that many individuals seem to also feel that they deserve the object of their desire. The sports world is not immune to this type of thinking. In the world of mixed martial arts, this usually manifests itself in the form of fighters feeling that they somehow deserve a title shot.
UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman has learned that sometimes being patient has its benefits. Well, being patient and having a little luck.
After Weidman defeated Mark Munoz in July, he said, “I want Anderson Silva. Every time I’ve had a full training camp, I’ve gotten a finish. Every single time. Give me a full training camp, and I’d love a shot at the man, Anderson Silva. I really think I could do pretty good. So give me a shot, please.”
Weidman’s initial pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears as he was not given his wish, instead he was booked to face Tim Boetsch, a fight that Weidman was forced from due to a shoulder injury, and that’s where luck began to play a part for Weidman.
Not that the injury was lucky, after all, Weidman had to undergo surgery to repair his shoulder, but the way the middleweight division sorted itself out was lucky for Weidman. While he rehabbed, top-ranked contenders Michael Bisping and Alan Belcher both lost, and Bellator import Hector Lombard just couldn’t seem to get any traction in the UFC. It also helped that victorious fighters such as Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami had fought and lost to Silva in the not-too-distant past.
With all the pieces falling in place for Weidman, it was announced that he would get his desired shot at Silva, facing the champion at UFC 162.
The time off seems to have done nothing but increase Weidman’s confidence, something Dana White revealed during the post-UFC 158 media scrum, which was attended by Bleacher Report. “I spoke to Chris Weidman,” White said. “He looked me right in the eye and said ‘I’m telling you, I apologize, but I’m going to f**k up all your superfights, but I’m going to win this fight. I’m going to f**k up all your superfights and be your next champion.’”
Weidman’s point being: Once you take Silva out of the mix, the superfights the UFC has been talking about for some time all disappear or at least lose a great deal of appeal.
However, Weidman did say he would do the UFC a favor after he claimed the UFC middleweight title, telling White that he would offer Silva an immediate rematch in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
Some strong words form a fighter with less total fights to his name than Silva has title defenses.
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