Chris Weidman Doubles Down on Light Heavyweight Move

In November, Georges St-Pierre and Michael Bisping will fight for the middleweight title at Madison Square Garden while others in the division wait. With two wins in Chris Weidman’s last five fights, combined with his division’s title picture, Weidman is looking for other options. Weidman mentioned last month that he was thinking about a move to light heavyweight, but yesterday he talked more about the potential jump. It looks like this is something he’s seriously considering.

“If 185’s not somewhere I’m going to fight for the title in the next two years or a year and a a half… who knows? If I do everything right, that’s just crazy to me. Who knows… 205 [pounds], we’ll see. I mean I’m open. I just want the belt. I would definitely consider it. I think I would be good at 205, but it would have to be the right thing. It would have to be where I know to find my way to the title. I’m not looking to fight just to fight. I want the belt. If there’s a clear path at 205, then that’s where I’ll head.”

Back to work @law_mma. @Reebok #reebok pic.twitter.com/0mnt6HB7VF

— Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman) April 25, 2017

“You’ve got [Robert] Whittaker, who’s injured and I don’t really know what his time table is, no one really knows. You’ve got [Michael] Bisping, if he wins obviously he hasn’t fought in a really long time, he’s got injuries, and it’s pretty well known he wants to hold that title as long as possible. You can start going crazy with that. I’m just going to say I’ll be ready if either GSP or Bisping if one of them gets injured. If they need somebody for November in New York, I’ll be ready to go.” – Chris Weidman speaking to FloCombat.

You can’t really blame the guy. Chris Weidman is a huge middleweight after all, so keeping his options open for a run at a UFC light heavyweight title may be a good idea. With the Jon Jones controversy, Daniel Cormier on a break, and Anthony Johnson retired, Weidman may have a quicker path to the title. He’s not jumping up yet, but he is staying ready just in case something happens to either Bisping or St-Pierre for UFC 217.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 9/2/2017.