Chris Weidman feels he’ll get an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title shot if he defeats Jacare Souza.
Weidman was initially set to compete against Luke Rockhold in a rematch at UFC 230. Rockhold pulled out due to an injury. The UFC yanked Souza from his bout with David Branch and put him up against Weidman. The two will meet inside Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 3.
Chris Weidman Wants Title Shot With Win Over Jacare Souza
The “All-American” recently appeared on ESPN’s Ariel Helwani MMA Show. Weidman said that he’ll defeat Souza and go on to challenge the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum:
“I win this fight, I’m fighting for the title. I was obviously close to fighting for the title before this fight, beating [Kelvin] Gastelum and finishing him. It was between me and him, who was going to be fighting [champion Robert] Whittaker. They decided to go with Gastelum.”
Weidman hasn’t been seen in action since July 2017. The former UFC middleweight champion submitted Gastelum. Weidman has dealt with multiple hand surgeries since that time. Gastelum was given the next title opportunity with wins over Michael Bisping and Souza as well as Weidman’s inactivity.
UFC 230 will be headlined by a heavyweight title bout between champion Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis. Israel Adesanya will go one-on-one with Derek Brunson in a grudge match. Branch will now be taking on Jared Cannonier.
Do you think Chris Weidman will receive a UFC middleweight title shot next year?
