Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
After early reports had Chris Weidman turning down a fight against Khamzat Chimaev, “All American” responded by saying all he wanted was a bit more time, indicating that he preferred to fight in January to take care of a lingering rib injury.
But the fight that was initially offered to Weidman was one against Derek Brunson. According to the former Middleweight champion, Brunson wasn’t feeling the fight, which he found rather odd.
“Right before they offered me Chimaev, they offered me Brunson for mid-January, which is when I told them I’d be ready. And I said yes. But UFC said, alright, it’s not a done deal, we gotta’ talk to Brunson and whatever. And then, from what I’ve heard, he turned that fight down,” said Weidman during a recent chat with Submission Radio.
“He didn’t want to fight me. Supposedly, I don’t think he thinks I’m worthy of his presence at this point. He’s trying to fight guys higher in the rankings. Which is crazy to me, because I was happy for Brunson after his last win over Edmen Shahbazyan,” he added.
“I actually direct messaged him, we direct messaged back and forth, and so I have a hard time just calling him out. I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but I just think this will be a good fight to bring both of us up. Yeah, he’s on a three-fight win streak, so I guess he’s feeling like he deserves more.”
With Chimaev now set to face Leon Edwards on Dec. 19, 2020, Weidman says he will have no interest whatsoever in a fight against “Borz” should “Rocky” take him out, saying there is no purpose in facing someone who got “exposed.”
As far as who Weidman wouldn’t mind facing, Paulo Costa seems to interest him since “The Eraser” just fought for the 185-pound title against Israel Adesanya.
“Yeah, I think that would be a good option. Anybody that can elevate me, I’m in. He just got finished fighting for the title and so yeah absolutely,” concluded Weidman.
Costa recently called for a fight against Robert Whittaker — another former Middleweight champion — though that likely won’t happen since “The Reaper” has his eyes set on a championship rematch against Adesanya.
In an odd twist, Brunson also has his eyes on Costa, though he wants the fight much sooner, which is unfortunate for Weidman.