It’s no secret that Chris Weidman has experienced a fall from grace over the last few years.
In 2013, the Long Island native shocked the world, knocking out legendary Anderson Silva with a brutal left hook to become the undisputed middleweight champion. He then defended his title three times against Silva, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort, but Weidman has now lost three consecutive fights.
Weidman last competed at UFC 210 this past April where he suffered a highly controversial loss to Gegard Mousasi. The referee had originally stopped the action because he believed Mousasi had landed an illegal knee, but the knee was then deemed legal and “The Dreamcatcher” was named the victor.
Weidman made it clear that he wanted a rematch in the aftermath of the bout, but Mousasi recently signed with Bellator, which is why it makes sense that Weidman will be taking on Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC on FOX 25 this weekend (July 22, 2017) on Long Island.
Weidman recently admitted that there was a bit of hesitation when he was offered the bout with Gastelum, but he also said that he’s ‘over’ the Mousasi rematch now:
“There was a little hesitation, because I wanted the Mousasi rematch,” Weidman told MMAjunkie. “And then we were finding out that he probably wasn’t going to (re-sign with the UFC), they offered me this fight, and I couldn’t turn it down.”
“I’m over it,” Weidman said. “He’s moved on. You don’t hold on to things. It’s the match I wanted, but he moved on; he’s doing whatever he has to do for himself, and I’ve got to focus on what I’ve got to do.”
Due to his recent losing skid, many have begun to write off Weidman, and many have certainly been doubting him. With that being said, Weidman is looking to prove why he’s still ‘the best guy in the world’ on Saturday:
“People are going to see on Saturday night who the best guy in the world is,” Weidman said. “The truth speaks volumes. I don’t have to say a word.”
Do you expect Weidman to get back in the win column in his home state?
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