Chris Weidman still doesn’t believe that Michael Bisping is worthy of the UFC middleweight title.
Chris Weidman has never truly acknowledged Michael Bisping as a serious threat in the middleweight division.
‘The Count’ pulled off a stunning upset against then-champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 and went on to defend the title against Dan Henderson at the Manchester Arena earlier this month. The Brit also beat MMA legend Anderson Silva in a Fight of the Night at UFC London.
Despite this, ‘All-American’ thinks Bisping is undeserving of his No. 1 spot and believes he should be the underdog against every fighter in the top 10.
“It’s crazy because the middleweight division right now, you’ve got probably one of the toughest divisions – except the champion,” Weidman told Ryan Gerbosi of Newsday in a recent interview. “I feel like the champion is kind of the odd ball out. I think he’d be an underdog to all the top 10 guys.”
Weidman also thinks Bisping should have lost his belt at UFC 204 and makes the argument that ‘Hendo’ won rounds one, two and five.
“I thought Dan Henderson won the fight, I thought he won rounds one, two and five,” Weidman said. “I thought he should have got a 10-8 round, he had the guy finished in the first round and it could’ve been stopped.”
“I think [Derek] Brunson beats him, I think Mousasi beats him. There’s a lot of guys that beat him. I have to look at the rankings, but he’s just at the door with the top 10 guys.”
Weidman, 32, lost the championship to Rockhold last year and will look to spring back into the winners column against Yoel Romero on Nov. 12. The former champion has almost spent an entire year away from the Octagon but will look to re-establish himself as the next #1 contender.
Bisping, who has entertained Weidman as his next possible opponent, has come under fire for also calling out Nick Diaz, who hasn’t fought in almost two years and is currently unranked on the UFC roster.
Weidman vs. Romero, which takes place at UFC 205, could establish the next middleweight title challenger and takes place on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.