If he’s advertising, there’s still plenty of room on the Chris Weidman bandwagon.
The UFC middleweight champion voiced a bit of frustration in the Octagon after dolling out a first-round TKO of Vitor Befort at UFC 187, telling fans it was his ‘last invitation’ to ‘join the team.’
UFC president Dana White doesn’t sound too worried.
“It takes time,” White told UFC.com. “You look at Anderson Silva and how long it took for him to even resonate. He really blew up after he beat Vitor, so maybe Vitor is the launching pad for all these guys.”
In terms of pure pay-per-view pressure, Weidman still hasn’t been thrown into the deep end. As a champion, Weidman has still never been in the lone title bout appearing on a PPV card.
Enjoying the company of women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey at both UFC 168 in 2013 and UFC 175 last year, Weidman served as the co-main event UFC 187 on May 23 in Las Vegas.
“He’s on a Jon Jones-type run right now in the 185-pound division,” White said. “The thing is with Jon Jones is that he went four years taking out all the best 205-pounders in the world. Weidman is beating straight killers right now.”
5 MUST-READ STORIES
MMA Beat. The panel discusses the UFC 187 aftermath, new issues with the Reebok deal, Wanderlei Silva, and much more.
Digging deeper. Bethe Correia says she regrets her suicide comments directed to Ronda Rousey. ‘I was just showing [Rousey’s] weak psychology for sports.’
Scrap for strap. Thiago Alves says he’s willing to fight his teammate Robbie Lawler for a shot at the UFC’s welterweight title.
‘It’s gonna be fast-paced and violent.’ Carlos Condit, who will fight Thiago Alves in the UFC Fight Night 67 main event, discusses the Reebok deal, “spinning sh*t,” his comeback from injury, and more Thursday.
Money. UFC responds to Sara McMann’s accusation that the Reebok deal is discriminatory to women. ‘Women fighters with limited bouts under the tenure model are treated the same as other experienced men or women new to UFC from other organizations not included in the tenure model.’
MEDIA STEW
UFC Fight Night: Alves vs. Condit open workout highlights.
Looking back at Matt Hughes.
Bruce Buffer says UFC fighters are compensated plenty well.
Highlights from around the U.S., featuring Mike “Biggie” Rhodes.
Episode 3 of Mike Swick’s UFC 189 vlog.
Jessica Aguilar shopping different offers.
Excited for a Ken Shamrock documentary?
Long watches.
Ronda Rousey on Her Fights, Her Book and ‘Entourage’ (full WSJ fan Q&A)
…
TWEETS
He back.
Back to work. #teamweidman pic.twitter.com/fek25A9qIz
— Chris Weidman (@ChrisWeidmanUFC) May 28, 2015
ICYMI.
@RondaRousey Never knew what happened to ur dad.I’m humble enough to ask u for forgiveness. Family is a godly bless to me. See u in #UFC190
— Bethe (@bethecorreia) May 28, 2015
Cuttin’.
Maybe the single coolest DIY weight cut setup I’ve seen. @jasonwittmma feeling great! pic.twitter.com/S9xKPqPwRP
— James Krause (@TheJamesKrause) May 29, 2015
159.4lbs I can enjoy some fruit & water now.. Easy cut pic.twitter.com/JscQiIEynq
— STORMIN NORMAN PARKE (@norman_parke) May 29, 2015
Cutting weight, easy work ! http://t.co/8WwMq7P08n @TheDolceDiet @AmericanTopTeam Best coaches and gym in the biz pic.twitter.com/T8BpDzTeLc
— Mirsad Bektic (@MirsadBekticMMA) May 29, 2015
Scary.
Woooow. Russia. Saratov. Heeeey @ufc when you come to Russia ???? ???????? ? ??????? ? … https://t.co/jsDzXJEQu2 pic.twitter.com/1Yt4ArDX5Y
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) May 28, 2015
Very cool.
Had a visit from one tough kid today @tristan_brockbank. Showed him a few moves and hooked… http://t.co/qILKwb351h pic.twitter.com/ghix5ZV8eI
— Dan Henderson (@danhendo) May 28, 2015
Damn.
Hey guys…So I had a very serious injury going into my fight at #UFC187 hear me explain to @meganolivi pic.twitter.com/sM9u2FbanC
— Joseph Benavidez (@JoeJitsu) May 29, 2015
Wonder what’s in that shake.
Cold plunge @cmpunk @suga_rashadevans trying to act all happy . @ForrestGriffi…. http://t.co/Ub70DX7jjy pic.twitter.com/QoxSWaHDFb
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) May 29, 2015
This Week in Struggle.
Some days it’s a struggle
— Scott jorgensen (@Scottjorgensen) May 28, 2015
Champ @dc_mma & @LukeRockhold hard at work today while away from the gym. haha.. #WellDeserved #TeamAKA #TeamSleep pic.twitter.com/nY9sjGlWbR
— AKA HQ (@AKA_HQ) May 28, 2015
It is hot out today. https://t.co/hpmh8ePPFT pic.twitter.com/uLcU03ppv2
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 27, 2015
When you don’t wanna do shit, but you do it anyways cuz that’s what makes you better! Thanks… https://t.co/UHdwBbt8AL
— Michelle Waterson (@karatehottiemma) May 28, 2015
Can’t forget recovery. (Needling) 3 inches in my hammy’s so deep my toes started twitching…… https://t.co/DyTcMY7zJw
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) May 28, 2015
OK so who wants to let me use their HBO GO to watch last nights G.O.T……. Don’t all line up at once
— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) May 25, 2015
Hangry can make you agro! Some things need not be said, but a t-shirt will suffice mynz84… https://t.co/GpKRFacpYC
— Alpha Cat Zingano (@CatZingano) May 26, 2015
Been boxing and kickboxing and Bjj but haven’t been doing grappling with ground and pound in a while…. https://t.co/IjxxNUvwfp
— Cole Miller (@colemillerATT) May 27, 2015
Wow, I said big, not that. They need to re read their headlines before posting pic.twitter.com/mwKoKVEftY
— Ryan Bader (@ryanbader) May 27, 2015
@thefrankmir leans back and his chair breaks mid photo this morning… I am lucky enough to catch the moment hahaha pic.twitter.com/LFlLLI25mt
— Ricky Lundell (@Rickylundell) May 27, 2015
Bruise on the heel?! It’s time for New Kicks on the road! #bruise #pain #heel #no #shoes… http://t.co/nWwWLJOoXm pic.twitter.com/KusQxfQ8BF
— Joanna Jedrzejczyk (@joannamma) May 24, 2015
Pretty cool seeing @ALIAQUINTA making big business moves. First his training log, now a hotel chain! Good work bro! pic.twitter.com/cpJqIe13ZM
— James Krause (@TheJamesKrause) May 28, 2015
@TheJamesKrause hahahha been kicked out of all the hotels, so I started my own
— Al Iaquinta (@ALIAQUINTA) May 28, 2015
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (May 28 2015)
Willie Gates vs. Darrell Montague at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale
Jessamyn Duke vs. Elizabeth Phillips at UFC on FOX 16
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes via DocCassidy.
Al Capone didn’t go down for murder.
I read the article about Sara McMann and the Reebok deal, as well as the comments, with a great deal of interest. Generally speaking, I try not to involve myself in threads involving gender and minority equality/ equity om MMAFighting, as it’s a really polarizing topic and just too draining. I have in the past, but I reached a point where I wasn’t interested in it. That aside, I think that a large portion of the comments were arguing a point that no one had expressed, particularly McMann. Unfortunately, people, especially males, tend to hear a couple of words and thus begins a Pavlovian response that really doesn’t address the actual issue or topic.
McMann is talking about equity, not equality. While they sound the same, there is a difference. Equality is very simple in that everyone is treated the same. That generally appeals to most people as it sounds “fair”, but in reality simple equality affects different peoples disproportionately based on a variety of circumstances. As an example, let’s look at a flat tax, a concept that has become popular amongst anti-gov’t enthusiast over my lifetime and even adopted as part of the platform for more than a couple Presidential candidates. If you were to institute a flat tax of 10% and apply to everyone with no exceptions, no loopholes, no tax shelters, etc., you’d be applying it equally.
…
Check out the rest of the post here.
Found something you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me up on Twitter @SaintMMA and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s column.