Weidman wants eventual title shot against Adesanya: ‘I’m a bad matchup for him’

Chris Weidman makes the walk to the cage to take on Dominick Reyes at UFC on ESPN 6. | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

“I do know I’m bad matchup for him, and when I’m able to prove it to everybody, peopl…


UFC Fight Night: Reyes v Weidman
Chris Weidman makes the walk to the cage to take on Dominick Reyes at UFC on ESPN 6. | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

“I do know I’m bad matchup for him, and when I’m able to prove it to everybody, people are going to want to see it.”

Chris Weidman knows he is at least a couple of wins away from title contention but, when the time does come, ‘All-American’ thinks he has the perfect style to beat Israel Adesanya and reclaim the middleweight throne.

Weidman will take on Uriah Hall this Saturday at UFC 261 and, although he isn’t overlooking Hall, the former UFC middleweight champ admits that he has his sights set on an eventual title shot against ‘The Last Stylebender’.

Adesanya’s loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 only further reinforced the idea that Weidman has the blueprint to beat him.

“Seeing that (Blachowicz) fight, seeing how a strong guy was able to out-grapple him and get the takedowns, it definitely reaffirmed the thoughts that I had on that fight,” Weidman told the media (h/t MMA Junkie). “That being said, I have some work to do. I got Uriah Hall. I don’t expect to be fighting Adesanya next. I do know I’m bad matchup for him, and when I’m able to prove it to everybody, people are going to want to see it.”

“I don’t expect it to be right after this Uriah Hall fight, I expect to fight another big name after that, and if it takes another one, it takes another one,” Weidman added. “But I think win two fights in spectacular fashion and I get to show my potential, I think people are going to want to see me fight for the title.”

Weidman, who is fresh off a decision win against Omari Akhmedov, will take on Hall — 3-0 in his last three fights — on the UFC 261 main card. The highly anticipated pay-per-view takes place Saturday, April 24 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.