UFC News: Chris Weidman Offered to Fight Jon Jones at UFC 151

Upcoming middleweight title challenger Chris Weidman has been nothing but confident heading into his UFC 162 showdown with Anderson Silva, and apparently, that trait isn’t something he just developed. In an interview with Bloody Elbow’s Steph Dani…

Upcoming middleweight title challenger Chris Weidman has been nothing but confident heading into his UFC 162 showdown with Anderson Silva, and apparently, that trait isn’t something he just developed. 

In an interview with Bloody Elbow’s Steph Daniels, “The All-American” revealed that prior to the now infamous cancellation of UFC 151 in September, he offered to step up and fight light heavyweight champ Jon Jones. 

I’m the type of guy that loves big opportunities. I like when the cards are against me, and people think that I have no chance. I believe in myself, so when that fight (with Jon Jones) came out that it was in jeopardy, I called my manager and asked if there was a possibility that I could get the fight because I think I could take it. He was like, ‘Really?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He said give me a couple days, and I told him I was ready to go … So, he called Joe Silva, and he was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I think Joe liked the fact that I did that. So he said he wasn’t going to tell Dana and them unless I called my coaches to make sure it was all 100%. I called Matt and told him that I wanted to this. They were all on board, so I called back my manager, and he tells Joe Silva, and he thought it was awesome, so he called Dana White, but then they ended up throwing the fight out, and then the whole card out.

While anyone reading this article is probably quite familiar with the UFC 151 saga, here’s a quick recap: 

Jones was booked to defend his title against former PRIDE and Strikeforce titleholder Dan Henderson. Eight days before the event, “Hendo,” citing a knee injury, withdrew from the contest and the event was ultimately canceled.

Chael Sonnen, Henderson’s long-time friend and training partner, stepped up to fight “Bones” on short notice, but Jones refused the matchup, via Yahoo! Sports

Jones eventually met Sonnen in the cage at UFC 159 last month, running through him en route to a Round 1 TKO.

Despite a loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 157 in February, Henderson could still make a title run if he gets past a former light heavyweight champion in Rashad Evans at UFC 161. 

Meanwhile, Weidman boasts an undefeated 9-0 professional MMA record heading into his July 6 title bout with “The Spider.” 

He boasts six finishes in those nine fights and has defeated top contenders in Demian Maia and Mark Munoz. 

Of course, Silva will be the stiffest challenge of his career, with an unheard-of 16-0 record inside the Octagon and also setting the UFC middleweight record with 10 successful title defenses. 

Would Weidman vs. Jones have been preferred to a canceled pay-per-view event in September?

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.

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Chris Weidman: Silva Deserved Fine, I’m Doing Most of the Promotional Work

Chris Weidman takes no offense to Anderson Silva coasting on promotional duties for UFC 162, but there are certain appointments that even the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world must uphold.In May, UFC President Dana White fined Silva $50,000 for …

Chris Weidman takes no offense to Anderson Silva coasting on promotional duties for UFC 162, but there are certain appointments that even the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world must uphold.

In May, UFC President Dana White fined Silva $50,000 for missing a planned media event serving as promotion for UFC 162, which is scheduled for Fourth of July weekend, on July 6.

Silva told Brazilian media outlet Veja—via MMAjunkie.com—that he was completely unaware of the media day. He reinforced his excuse by mentioning that he has never missed any commitment with the UFC and his media schedule was blocked so he could focus on training for Weidman.

During an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Weidman was asked whether or not Silva deserved to be fined for missing the scheduled event. Weidman refused to say anything negative about his upcoming opponent, but he certainly didn’t shy away from his opinion regarding the promotional work being put into UFC 162:

It’s all good. He got fined and that sucks for him. It was definitely fair. It’s part of his job to do the media, especially since it was setup and they spent a lot of money. Oh yeah, I’m sure [I’ve had to do more media than Silva leading up to the fight].

Weidman has emerged as a bold, young contender capable of dethroning arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history.

Fans often underestimate how big of a fight this is for Weidman. A win would make him an instant star in the sport, and his name would be forever etched in UFC history. The media attention is new for Weidman, and he is soaking it all in and enjoying every moment of it.

Silva, on the other hand, has been on this rodeo more times than you could count on two hands. He has completely dominated every legend and top contender placed in front of him.

While Weidman agrees with the fine, he won’t hold it against Silva for flaking on the media
promotion:

I’m the challenger, and this guy has been doing this for I don’t know how long. You can tell me, 11 title defenses or something like that? I don’t know. So he’s done a lot of media in his time, and he’s probably a little more sick of it than I am. So I have no problem picking up the tab.

If he manages to knock off Silva, all of the extra media work will have paid off big time for Weidman, who would quickly become one of the UFC’s biggest stars. Unfortunately, a loss would only validate the one thought on the minds of most fans:

Weidman is just another opponent not worth Silva’s time.

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The UFC Rumored to Have Interest Booking Silva vs. Jones Super Fight in October at Cowboys Stadium

According to fight business uber reporter Dave Meltzer, the UFC is considering making a super fight between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones happen this fall in Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Of course, Silva would have to beat Chris Weidman this July and come out relatively unscathed for the super fight to remain viable and Jones himself would have to of healed from his grisly toe injury.

After a recent visit to the doctor, it looks like Jones could be healthy in time for a super fight. More on that later in the post. First, the scuttlebutt.

“There is an idea floating around to try and put on the biggest show in company history at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas this fall,” Meltzer reports in his Wrestling Observer newsletter.

“The idea would be to have Silva vs. Jon Jones and Velasquez vs. Dos Santos at the stadium, in October, at the same time as the state fair of Texas, perhaps on 10/12 or 10/19. That much is known to be at least something talked about. With Madison Square Garden seeming more and more unlikely for November, this show could be billed as UFC 20th anniversary show, with the idea of trying to repeat the success of UFC 100.”

According to fight business uber reporter Dave Meltzer, the UFC is considering making a super fight between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones happen this fall in Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Of course, Silva would have to beat Chris Weidman this July and come out relatively unscathed for the super fight to remain viable and Jones himself would have to of healed from his grisly toe injury.

After a recent visit to the doctor, it looks like Jones could be healthy in time for a super fight. More on that later in the post. First, the scuttlebutt.

“There is an idea floating around to try and put on the biggest show in company history at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas this fall,” Meltzer reports in his Wrestling Observer newsletter.

“The idea would be to have Silva vs. Jon Jones and Velasquez vs. Dos Santos at the stadium, in October, at the same time as the state fair of Texas, perhaps on 10/12 or 10/19. That much is known to be at least something talked about. With Madison Square Garden seeming more and more unlikely for November, this show could be billed as UFC 20th anniversary show, with the idea of trying to repeat the success of UFC 100.”

Of course, Chris Weidman will have his say in this whole situation, but it has to make him nervous hearing that the UFC may have a mega-event that would make them huge money planned if he is to lose. As for Jones, he just met with his foot doctor and tweeted that he now has to decide whether to jump into a training camp in three weeks or to let the toe heal more.

Evidently, Jones has gotten at least preliminary clearance to resume full training in three weeks. As for Anderson Silva, he isn’t thinking much about Jones or even Georges St. Pierre.

During a recent interview with the New York Post, the middleweight champion who will defend his title at UFC 162 in July made clear that he is focused on…Roy Jones Jr.? Oh, for goodness sakes, not this again. Silva likes to have fun with the media from time to time and hopefully that’s what he’s doing this time around.

Anderson first talked about fighting Roy Jones about four years ago, when the former boxing pound for pound king was already well past his prime. Bringing it up again now just seems mean spirited.

Jones Jr. loses more than he wins these days and is getting badly hurt as he sticks around too long. Anderson says that he is much more interested in fighting Jones Jr. than either St. Pierre or Jones.

“That’s something I’d really be interested in,” Silva told the Post.

“Maybe [UFC president] Dana [White] should do this fight.”

Silva said he’d like to fight Jones Jr. in one MMA fight and one boxing fight. I’m not sure Roy would do well in either one at this point in his career.

What do you say, nation? Will Anderson get past Weidman and if he does, will Uncle Dana be able to convince he and Jones to each rush into the biggest fight of their careers for a mega event in the fall?

Elias Cepeda

UFC 162 Video Preview: Uriah Hall Breaks Down Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman

Ponder this: When was the last time UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (33-4) had a title fight coming that fans and fighters were seriously debating that he might lose? I’m not talking the lip service that gets paid in these situations whe…

Ponder this: When was the last time UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (33-4) had a title fight coming that fans and fighters were seriously debating that he might lose?

I’m not talking the lip service that gets paid in these situations where the challenger’s fans blather on about how this is the fight that their guy shows Silva is done. I’m talking where fans, fighter and pundits honestly believe that Silva may lose his title. When was the last time that happened?

It may have been the Chael Sonnen rematch at UFC 148, but I think a lot of that talk was due to Sonnen being a great salesman and convincing people that he had a chance to defeat Silva. Of course, this line of thinking totally discounted the fact that while Sonnen was selling his awesomeness, Silva was most likely working away on exactly how to not allow himself to be in the position he was in during the first meeting with Sonnen at UFC 117.

So, back to reality. The last serious debate regarding Silva losing his title may have been ahead of the Dan Henderson bout at UFC 82, but even there, the odds were in favor of Silva.

Heading into UFC 162, the odds are once again titled to the side of the champion, but many are disregarding those odds and siding with the challenger, Chris Weidman (9-0). Even UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is getting in on the act.

According to UFC president Dana White, St-Pierre is saying that there is no way a superfight between he and Silva will take place, because he positively knows that Weidman is going to come out the victor at UFC 162.

Rick J. Lee caught up with Uriah Hall, who has a loss on his record to Weidman, and got his feelings on the fight.

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UFC 162 Video Preview: Uriah Hall Breaks Down Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman

Ponder this: When was the last time UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (33-4) had a title fight coming that fans and fighters were seriously debating that he might lose? I’m not talking the lip service that gets paid in these situations whe…

Ponder this: When was the last time UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (33-4) had a title fight coming that fans and fighters were seriously debating that he might lose?

I’m not talking the lip service that gets paid in these situations where the challenger’s fans blather on about how this is the fight that their guy shows Silva is done. I’m talking where fans, fighter and pundits honestly believe that Silva may lose his title. When was the last time that happened?

It may have been the Chael Sonnen rematch at UFC 148, but I think a lot of that talk was due to Sonnen being a great salesman and convincing people that he had a chance to defeat Silva. Of course, this line of thinking totally discounted the fact that while Sonnen was selling his awesomeness, Silva was most likely working away on exactly how to not allow himself to be in the position he was in during the first meeting with Sonnen at UFC 117.

So, back to reality. The last serious debate regarding Silva losing his title may have been ahead of the Dan Henderson bout at UFC 82, but even there, the odds were in favor of Silva.

Heading into UFC 162, the odds are once again titled to the side of the champion, but many are disregarding those odds and siding with the challenger, Chris Weidman (9-0). Even UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is getting in on the act.

According to UFC president Dana White, St-Pierre is saying that there is no way a superfight between he and Silva will take place, because he positively knows that Weidman is going to come out the victor at UFC 162.

Rick J. Lee caught up with Uriah Hall, who has a loss on his record to Weidman, and got his feelings on the fight.

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Ok, So No One Really Knows What’s Up With Jon Jones’s Toe Yet

(Thursday’s media scrum with Dana White, via MMA Heat)

Just a couple days after floating the possibility that middleweight champion Anderson Silva and light-heavyweight king Jon Jones could meet in a super fight within the year, UFC President Dana White gave the media another tantalizingly qualified statement pertaining to the matchup.

“[Jones and I] talked [Wednesday],” White told assembled media during a scrum Thursday after the UFC 160 press conference. “His thing is, he says he feels great and the toe’s healing good. But the problem was that ligament. That ligament popped. Anywhere you tear a ligament, blood flow helps the thing repair itself and heal, and you don’t get a lot of blood flow at the toe.”

Jones injured his toe in his successful title defense over Chael Sonnen last month. He is currently in Russia but White says that when Jones returns, he’ll get an MRI to get a sense of how soon his toe might be ready for training and fighting again.

“Who knows – this thing could be six weeks, or it could be six months,” White said. “It’s a pain in the ass. It’s always some crazy little thing. He’s in Russia, and when he gets back he’s getting an MRI done on his toe again.”


(Thursday’s media scrum with Dana White, via MMA Heat)

Just a couple days after floating the possibility that middleweight champion Anderson Silva and light-heavyweight king Jon Jones could meet in a super fight within the year, UFC President Dana White gave the media another tantalizingly qualified statement pertaining to the matchup.

“[Jones and I] talked [Wednesday],” White told assembled media during a scrum Thursday after the UFC 160 press conference. ”His thing is, he says he feels great and the toe’s healing good. But the problem was that ligament. That ligament popped. Anywhere you tear a ligament, blood flow helps the thing repair itself and heal, and you don’t get a lot of blood flow at the toe.”

Jones injured his toe in his successful title defense over Chael Sonnen last month. He is currently in Russia but White says that when Jones returns, he’ll get an MRI to get a sense of how soon his toe might be ready for training and fighting again.

“Who knows – this thing could be six weeks, or it could be six months,” White said. “It’s a pain in the ass. It’s always some crazy little thing. He’s in Russia, and when he gets back he’s getting an MRI done on his toe again.”

So there you have it, ‘taters: Anderson Silva and Jon Jones will totally, maybe, fight each other this year. Silva just has to beat Chris Weidman in July and Jones’ mangled toe has to heal very quickly. Then all that will be left is for the two to want to fight each other which, you know, they haven’t shown any particular interest in doing for the past couple years.

So close.

Damn it, elusive super fights. Why can’t we quit you?

Elias Cepeda