After two years away from the Octagon, Chris Weidman will make his return at UFC 292. Coming off a broken leg injury, ‘The All-American’ wants to prove a point in his comeback fight. He recently appeared in an interview on The MMA Hour and told Ariel Helwani that his dream is to fight Israel Adesanya.
Chris Weidman is a former champion who boasted an undefeated MMA record until he lost to Luke Rockhold at UFC 194. Since then things have only gone downhill for the New York native as he racked up only a couple of wins with six losses. But he’s hoping for positive results when he returns on the 19th of August.
Chris Weidman is gunning for a fight against Israel Adesanya
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Chris Weidman will make his comeback against Brad Tavares, who’s lost three of his last five fights. However, ‘The All-American’ is more focused on carving a route to the two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. He said, “That’s the dream, man.” Weidman also mentioned how none of the current fighters in the division, except ‘The Last Stylebender’, has made an impact that equals his accomplishments inside the eight-sided cage.
He added, “No one [currently fighting on the roster] has accomplished what I have accomplished in the middleweight division besides Israel Adesanya as far as title defenses and all that.” Weidman won the middleweight title over 10 years ago after knocking out UFC G.O.A.T. Anderson Silva in the second round of their fight. Furthermore, he also successfully defended his title thrice.
Can Weidman shock the world once again?: Fans’ take
One fan expressed his love and respect for the former middleweight champion but he doesn’t feel like watching him fight now.
I REALLY like Chris but I can't watch his fights anymore. He's done.
— stephen 1 (@Deadon775) June 15, 2023
One fan said, “This man departed Earth many years ago”.
This man departed Planet Earth many years ago.
— Mike Annas (@Epicurean_Mike) June 15, 2023
Another Twitter user shared a negative response in terms of the ‘All American’ posing a threat to Israel Adesanya.
Bro is not in the same stratosphere as Izzy now. He had a good run tho…….but his camp need to talk him out of this thinking
— Miguel Cabrera HOF 2029🐯 (@HJ_TheThird) June 15, 2023
One user fan suggested that Weidman should consider retiring from the sport.
Bro should retire not get a title shot😭
— Will (@bonesbilly04) June 15, 2023
Another user highlighted the fact that Weidman’s UFC record as of late doesn’t suggest he’ll be getting a shot at the championship.
The same Weidman who’s lost 6 of his last 10 fights? The same Weidman who has 2 wins since 2015? Unfortunately for him, he wont even get close to a match up with Adesanya.
— Pagan (@IPagan91) June 15, 2023
i mean if he actually uses his wrestling to his advantage he could make something work but i kinda don’t see that happening
— chort gorgis (@ChortGorgborg) June 15, 2023
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Moreover, another fan pointed out that Weidman has a good wrestling game going on. But that still won’t be enough for him to overcome the current contenders in the division.
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Chris Weidman assured Helwani during the interview that he is not taking his fight against Tavares lightly. However, he wants to enjoy the remainder of his career in the UFC, and perhaps taste championship gold once again. We will have to wait and see how that pans out for the former middleweight champion.
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