Chris Weidman: I’m Still Here, Right At The Top
Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman has hit some rough times as of late, losing three consecutive bouts to the likes of Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero and Gegard Mousasi, three of the very best middleweights in the world.
Weidman, however, believes he could’ve won all three of those fights and he still feels as if he’s the ‘best in the world’:
“Every one of those fights I lost, I was winning those fights and it isn’t like those guys showed they have more potential than me or that their ability is better and I wasn’t in their league,” he said in an interview with Yahoo! Sports. “There were times in those fights where it might have looked the other way, where I was leaps and bounds above them. All of them. They got their hands raised that night. They figured out a way to win,” he added.
“They got their hands raised and I didn’t, but that doesn’t dictate my potential or where I am in the division. I feel like I’m the best in the world. I just have to go out there and be relaxed and be confident and I don’t think any one of these guys could beat me.”
The 33-year-old Long Island native will get the chance to rebound this weekend when the UFC makes its Long Island debut at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Weidman will face rising contender Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC on FOX 25.
Despite having a tough test in front of him, Weidman is focused on proving he’s the ‘best’:
“I respect Kelvin and he’s beaten some good guys in the middleweight division, no question about it,” Weidman said. “I just know what I can do and what I am capable of. I lost those three fights and that changes the way other people look at me, but not the way I view myself. There are different reasons I lost each one of them and to be honest, I had the worst night of my life three nights in a row.”
“I feel people are going to see the old Chris Weidman on Saturday,” he said. “I don’t even want to say the old Chris Weidman, because that kind of makes it seem like I’ve been gone. I haven’t. I’m still here, right at the top. That’s just how I feel. I’m prepared to go out there to prove I’m the best.”
Do you expect Weidman to come out on top this weekend?
