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My new favorite line in mixed martial arts (MMA) interviews these days would have to be, “I don’t want to make any excuses but…”

It’s almost as though these athletes believe that the disclaimer makes the contradiction acceptable. This kind of cognitive dissonance used to be reserved mainly for Brazilian fighters, who would blame something being lost in translation. But these days everybody is doing it.

The latest person is Chris Weidman, the former UFC middleweight champion who was thoroughly and completely trounced by Luke Rockhold in the co-main event of UFC 194 on Dec. 12, 2015.

According to a recent interview with AXS TV, Weidman says that although he deserved to lose that night he could beat Rockhold in a rematch.

“It wasn’t me in there. I had a lot of issues going on. I had a lot of things I was going through and it wasn’t my night, it was his night. He deserved to win that fight. But he’s a guy I’m just very capable of completely running through. I was at maybe 10 to 20 percent of me and I was still kicking his ass for a while in there.”

Wow, 10 to 20 percent. Is that like the remainder of 70 percent Hendricks?

But look, Weidman isn’t whining. Seriously. He isn’t. Look at me. This is my serious face.

“I don’t like to make excuses. I’ll just say this. It was the worst camp I ever had and a lot of things were going on. But what I felt in there was a weak guy who was ready to break before it all went downhill for me with the spinning back kick.”

Despite being battered and stopped in the fourth round, Weidman reiterated the loss was a blessing disguise because he’s now free to work on his mistakes and reach his full potential. The All American added he hasn’t been this excited about his career since before his Anderson Silva fights.

“I’ve got a guy borrowing my belt right now, Luke Rockhold, and I’d like to take that, beginning of summer, take it back from him. And then whoever’s next, whether he wants another shot and have a third fight in New York we could do that. If not it’ll be somebody else.”

Let’s hope Weidman brings his 90 percent to that fight. Thoughts about these excuses comments?

After contemplating retirement, one of the remaining TUF 17 alumni will be testing the waters in a different division, with the help of a new camp.

It is commonplace for cast members of The Ultimate Fighter to change weight classes after filming, and for one member of season 17, he’ll be doing it conjunction with a location change for camp.

Clint Hester (4-2 UFC) confirmed with Bloody Elbow that he has a matchup at 205 lbs, although the date and opponent are yet to be announced. Hester recently left his gym of X3 in Atlanta, Georgia, to train with Blackzilians in Boca Raton, Florida.

“I’ll always go back and help out in Atlanta, but I gotta go where I can be pushed by the best athletes in the world, and that’s what’s down here I think. They’ve given me a renewed sense of interest in my career. I was on the verge of hanging up my gloves, and I got a call to come down and try it out. I’m excited to learn again and get back in there.”

As for the weight class change, Hester cited difficulty in cuts as the catalyst.

“The weights cuts have gradually gotten harder since coming off the show. I almost missed weight last time. It was stressful. It was stressful during camp, stressful during the week of, and I ended up fighting two fights. I gotta go up.”

Hester is 0-2 in his last two fights, after going 4-0 in the promotion. Stay tuned for more details.

Ready or not, No. 9-ranked flyweight contender Wilson Reis is coming for the elite in the 125-pound division.

After ousting Roufusport product Dustin Ortiz at UFC on FOX 18 last weekend (Sat., Jan. 30, 2016), the up-and-coming grappling wizard took his place in the official rankings. Reis’ rather one-sided victory over Ortiz marked his fourth win under the ZUFFA banner and he feels he’s ready for a more difficult challenge.

Reis told Combate (via Bloody Elbow) of his intentions of fighting sooner rather than later:

“The first thing I checked in the morning was the UFC rankings. I went from number 12 to 9. That’s all I wanted. I hope I can fight someone who’s above me. I’m not injured, I’m ready to fight soon. I want to fight in Brazil in May. I think it makes sense to fight the winner of Joseph Benavidez vs. Zach Makovsky, but it could be John Moraga or Kyoji Horiguchi. Whoever is available.”

With the win in New Jersey, the Pennsylvania-based Reis brought his Octagon record up to 3-2. His lone losses have come against ranked combatants Jussier Formiga and Iuri Alcantara.

Now looking to move up the 125-pound food chain, Reis is setting his sights high for the winner of Benavidez vs. Makovsky, which takes place on the FOX Sports 1 main card of UFC Fight Night 82 tonight (Sat., Feb. 6, 2016) inside MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“Joe Jitsu” has held court in the Top 3 of the flyweight division since its inception in 2012. Benavidez’s only “L’s” have come against current champion and pound-for-pound stalwart Demetrious Johnson.

Makovsky, on the other hand, is a former Bellator bantamweight titleholder and he has achieved mixed results since his UFC debut. While his last outing against two-time title challenger John Dodson was very close, it still went down as a loss, bringing his promotional record to 3-2.

Personally, ex-title challengers John Moraga and Kyoji Horiguchi are more reasonable options seeing as how they both do not currently have a fight scheduled. A bout arrangement with Moraga might prove difficult, though, due to the former being slowed by post-concussion syndrome.

Regardless, in a contender-starved flyweight division, Reis isn’t short of options to prove his mettle against.

For more UFC Fight Night 82 news and notes, including up-to-the-minute live results and play-by-play, click here and here.