Ray Longo Doesn’t Want To See Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva Again
UFC 183 is set to go down tomorrow (Sat., January 31, 2015) live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Former long-time middleweight champion and former pound-for-pound king Anderson “The Spider” Silva is slated to make his return from a gruesome leg injury he suffered at UFC 168 in the main event against fellow returnee Nick Diaz.
UFC president Dana White has said multiple times recently that with a win, Silva, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the middleweight rankings despite being out for over a year, would earn yet another title shot. “The Spider,” however, has said that he believes he is three or four fights away from another shot at gold and there seems to be another man who doesn’t want to see him get another shot at current champ Chris Weidman. That man is none other than Weidman’s trainer and head coach of the growing Serra-Longo fight team, Ray Longo:
“I don’t want to see the fight,” Longo told MMAFighting.com. “Me personally as a trainer, I don’t want to see the fight. And the guy is getting older. At this point, you have nothing to prove. I don’t get it. I don’t want to see the guy get hurt. You’re putting a talented, one of the greatest of all time, up against a strong, huge, fierce fighter. It’s not like Weidman is deficient in any area. He’s proven it.”
Longo could be right when he says Silva has nothing to prove, as Silva is widely considered to be the greatest fighter of all time and held the belt for seven years before being knocked out by Weidman at UFC 162 in 2013. Besides not wanting to see “The Spider” get hurt or lose again, Longo also doesn’t agree with the UFC’s thinking giving the Brazilian another title shot with a win this weekend:
“I don’t get it,” Longo said. “And it should be vice versa. If Nick Diaz wins, then he should do it. I don’t like when they say one guy is gonna get it and one guy’s not.”
For Weidman himself, he can’t afford to focus on Silva. “The All American” is set to defend his belt against another Brazilian in Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort at UFC 184 next month in Los Angeles. Longo also spoke on Weidman’s camp, saying that the champion brought in Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson as a training partner, as well as decorated collegiate wrestler Ed Ruth.
Longo also has some up and coming fighters to focus on, specifically Al Iaquinta, who is taking on Joe Lauzon at UFC 183 tomorrow night. Aljamain Sterling, a rising bantamweight, is also a member of the team, who Longo believes is a future champion. When it comes down to it, the head trainer says all of the rising guys in the gym have a great role model to look up to in Weidman:
“He’s the pinnacle,” Longo said. “He puts it all together. The mental side of this game can never be underestimated and Weidman is probably the toughest guy I’ve ever known. And when you’re mentally tough and you have the attributes to back it up, it just makes for a vicious guy.”
Do you think Silva will be victorious tomorrow night, and if he is would you like to see the G.O.A.T try to get the title he held for so long back around his waist?
