Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is coming fresh off neck surgery, after sustaining the unfortunate injury in preparation for a rematch with Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, and is ready to once again take center Octagon in the 185-pound division he once ruled with an iron fist.
Weidman lost his middleweight throne to Rockhold in the co-main event of UFC 194 last December, and ever since then the 185-pound division has been in a funk.
Rockhold would go on to lose his newly acquired title in dramatic fashion to the now-champ Michael Bisping at UFC 199 with a stunning first round knockout, setting up a title bout between Bisping and longtime rival Dan Henderson at UFC 204.
‘The All American’ Weidman recently joined The MMA Hour to give his thoughts on the No. 13-ranked Henderson getting a shot at the gold before he or Rockhold:
“I think it’s kind of stupid but I also don’t like complaining about something that’s already done, so it is what it is. Because it’s a done deal you focus on the facts and– it’s a cool thing for Dan Henderson, who’s 46-years-old, he has a chance to retire winning the belt.
You gotta be happy for him. I can’t complain too much, I was complaining when it mattered because I just didn’t think he deserves the shot at all.
And it’s just not the precedent for the future of the sport, it’s not good. It takes away from working your way to fighting for the title. I could go through his stats, his losses in the past recently, and I just don’t think he deserves it.
I don’t think he can argue that he deserves it, but he’s getting it so all the best to him.”
Weidman would go on to state that it is weird seeing Bisping hold the title, as he never viewed ‘The Count’ as ‘championship material’ and calling Bisping’s reign as champion an embarrassing one:
“Definitely. That is weird. There’s a chance he’s beating Dan Henderson but I don’t think there’s much of a chance he’s beating anyone else in the top five,” Weidman said.
“It’s definitely surreal to walk around and people ask who the champion is in my weight class and I say Michael Bisping. It’s a little embarrassing.
All power to him he went out there on short notice and beat Luke Rockhold and knocked him out in the first round, all power to him. But I just don’t think he is the best champion– he’s not like — I never thought he was championship material to be honest with you.
It was far fetched for him to get a title shot ever again, he happened to be at the right place right time when I got injured, and he had the opportunity to step up and fight for the belt and he made it work.
But before that he was in the UFC for how long, and he never fought for the belt? So now for him to fight for the belt and become champion out of nowhere is definitely a weird thing.”
In regards to his Octagon return coming off injury Weidman says he has yet to hear a word from the UFC regarding his return to action, but still holds out hope for a big name fight at Madison Square Garden:
“Nope haven’t heard a word. I’ve reached out, haven’t heard anything. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’d like to have the biggest fight I can possibly have at Madison Square Garden, it’s been a dream of mine to fight at MSG.
I would like a fight that everyone can get excited about, a fight that everybody really wants to see. And I don’t really know who gives that to me, I think the redemption on Luke Rockhold would probably be the biggest in my eyes and I think maybe the fight I want.
Maybe a Jacare or Yoel Romero, and you have some of the other old timers with the big names– Anderson Silva and other guys like that. I don’t know who it’s going to be honestly, I’m just gonna put it in the UFC’s hands whoever they decide they decide to give me they’ll give me.
But if I had the fight to pick it’d be Luke because I want that — I think we’re the two best in the division and I would like to fight the best guy, and especially a guy who beat me. I wanna get that one back, especially in front of my home crowd at MSG. That’d be a great one.”
When asked if he’d be okay with the fight only being only a three round fight, as opposed to a five round main event, Weidman had this to say:
“Obviously when I always visualize me fighting at MSG I was champion and defending my belt, and in the main event. But things have changed, so I’m not expecting anything.
I’d love to be the main event, that’s what I want to happen, but I don’t know what’s going to happen it depends.”
The UFC is set to make it’s Madison Square Garden debut on November 12, 2016, a perfect timetable the highly-anticipated return of Weidman. The question remains, however, who will be standing across the cage from the former middleweight king when it’s time for him to return to his old stomping grounds?
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