Chris Weidman News

Israel Adesanya, Chris Weidman
UFC

Chris Weidman says Israel Adesanya is just another Anderson Silva without the black belt

Adam Martin - October 2, 2020

Chris Weidman took another shot at Israel Adesanya, suggesting the UFC middleweight champion is just another Anderson Silva without the black belt. Weidman, the former UFC middleweight champion, joined the long list of fighters to take a shot at Adesanya in the wake of his stunning TKO win over Paulo Costa at UFC 253. Weidman recently said that he believes he would “ragdoll” Adesanya with his wrestling if they fight and he also said he believes Adesanya is a “tailor-made matchup” for him.

Chris Weidman
Israel Adesanya

Chris Weidman believes he would "ragdoll" Israel Adesanya if they fight

Cole Shelton - September 30, 2020

Chris Weidman is confident he has what it takes to beat Israel Adesanya. Adesanya is 20-0 and coming off the second title defense of his middleweight title at UFC 253 where he scored a second-round TKO over Paulo Costa. Although he has only defended the belt twice, he has fought most of the divisions best except for the likes of Jared Cannonier and Jack Hermansson. For former middleweight champion, Chris Weidman, he believes he is the one to hand Adesanya his first loss.

Marvin Vettori
Marvin Vettori

Marvin Vettori slams “delusional” Chris Weidman, says the former champ could outrun Usain Bolt

Harry Kettle - September 15, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori continues to call out Chris Weidman in the hope of securing a fight against the former champion. Vettori was able to take his current winning streak in the UFC to three fights in June as the Italian continues to try and climb up through the ranks of the 185-pound division. Weidman, on the other hand, finally got back on the winning trail with a unanimous decision victory over Omari Akhmedov at the start of August.

Marvin Vettori
Marvin Vettori

Marvin Vettori says he's "lost all respect" for former UFC middleweight champ Chris Weidman

Tom Taylor - September 9, 2020

Surging UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori says he’s lost all respect for the division’s former champion, Chris Weidman. Vettori has been angling for a fight with Weidman for months, but so far, his callouts of the former champion have been fruitless. Now, he seems to have given up on that potential fight, conceding that he’s willing to fight pretty much anybody if he’s given five to six weeks to prepare.

Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold
Luke Rockhold

Chris Weidman dismisses talk of a Luke Rockhold rematch: “He needs to put in work”

Natasha Hooper - August 13, 2020

Luke Rockhold is ready for a rematch against Chris Weidman, but the feeling isn’t mutual. Weidman, the former UFC middleweight champion, got back to winning ways at UFC Vegas 6 on August 8. He defeated Omari Akhmedov by unanimous decision, redeeming his two consecutive losses and recent record of 1-5.

Chris Weidman
UFC

Chris Weidman hoping for quick turnaround following win over Omari Akhmedov

Adam D Martin - August 9, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is hoping for a quick turnaround following his unanimous decision win over Omari Akhmedov at UFC Vegas 6. Weidman needed a win badly and he did just that by digging deep and grinding out a decision over Akhmedov. It was the first win for Weidman since a July 2017 submission win over Kelvin Gastelum. The win over Akhmedov also snapped a two-fight losing skid that saw Weidman get knocked out in brutal fashion by both Dominick Reyes and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Prior to the Akhmedov fight, Weidman had lost five of his previous six.

Chris Weidman
UFC

Chris Weidman was not happy with his performance against Omari Akhmedov at UFC Vegas 6

Adam D Martin - August 9, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman says he was not happy with his performance in his unanimous decision win over Omari Akhmedov on Saturday. In the co-main event of UFC on ESPN+ 32, Weidman finally got back into the win column for the first time since July 2017 when he was able to grind out a hard-fought decision over Akhmedov. After a strong first round, Weidman began to fade badly in the second round and at times appeared to be on the verge of getting finished. But he was able to hold on until the third round. In the last round, Weidman landed a takedown and then dominated Akhmedov from top position on the mat to edge out a unanimous decision victory.

Chris Weidman
Omari Akhmedov

Pros react to Chris Weidman defeating Omari Akhmedov at UFC Vegas 6

Chris Taylor - August 8, 2020

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 6 co-headliner featured former middleweight champion Chris Weidman taking on surging division contender Omari Akhmedov. Weidman (14-5 MMA) was returning to middleweight after suffering a first round knockout loss to Dominick Reyes in his light heavyweight debut. ‘The All American’ had gone just 1-3 in his past four fights at 185lbs entering tonight’s event.

Chris Weidman, New York Islanders, NHL
UFC

Chris Weidman defends recent struggles at middleweight: “It’s all fights that they’re top five guys”

Harry Kettle - August 7, 2020

UFC middleweight Chris Weidman has given his thoughts on the recent struggles he’s experienced at middleweight since losing the title back in late 2015. Ever since Luke Rockhold brought his tenure as champion to an end in devastating fashion, Weidman has struggled to get back on the horse. In addition to his quick defeat against Dominick Reyes at light heavyweight, the All-American has lost to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Gegard Mousasi and Yoel Romero – with his only win since 2015 coming against Kelvin Gastelum.

Chris Weidman, Anderson Silva
Chris Weidman

Chris Weidman not interested in Anderson Silva trilogy: "I completely dominated him"

Cole Shelton - August 6, 2020

Chris Weidman doesn’t see a point in fighting Anderson Silva for the third time. Weidman and Silva fought back at UFC 162 and 168 with the American winning both. In the first fight, he caught the Brazilian with a punch to score the KO and become the new middleweight champion. They then had an immediate rematch and this time the scrap ended due to Silva breaking his leg.

Chris Weidman
UFC

Chris Weidman admits “I need to get a freaking W" ahead of Akhmedov fight

Tom Taylor - August 5, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who is now 1-5 in his last six fights, knows he needs a win when he fights Omari Akhmedov at UFC Vegas 6 this weekend. Speaking to MMA Fighting ahead of this high-stakes bout, Weidman opened up on his recent struggles.

Chris Weidman
UFC

Chris Weidman plans to "mentally and physically break" Omari Akhmedov to earn stoppage win

Cole Shelton - July 29, 2020

Chris Weidman is expecting to snap his losing streak and get back to the win column in a big way. In the co-main event of the August 8 fight card, Weidman is dropping back down to middleweight to take on the 11th-ranked contender in Omari Akhmedov. For the former champion, he knows he will the bigger man in there and expects that to be a big advantage for him.

Jack Hermansson, UFC rankings
Jack Hermansson

Jack Hermansson says a win over Kelvin Gastelum holds more weight than a victory over Chris Weidman

Harry Kettle - July 3, 2020

UFC middleweight Jack Hermansson believes a win over Kelvin Gastelum holds more value than a win over former champion Chris Weidman. Hermansson, who last fought in a losing effort to Jared Cannonier in the main event of UFC Copenhagen last September, was scheduled to take on Weidman at the start of May in Oklahoma City. Alas, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those plans were scrapped – and instead, Hermansson is now set to go head-to-head with former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum on July 18.

Chris Weidman
UFC

Chris Weidman booked against top-15 middleweight in return bout

Adam Martin - June 16, 2020

Former UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman has been booked against Omari Akhmedov for his return to the Octagon this summer. According to Igor Lazorin of TASS, Weidman vs. Akhmedov will take place at a UFC event that is planned for August 8 (via Marcel Dorff). At this time, it has not reported if this fight will be the main event of this card or part of the event’s undercard. MMAjunkie.com later confirmed the bout.

Anderson-Silva-Israel-Adesanya
Chris Weidman

Chris Weidman shares theory on why Israel Adesanya won't measure up to Anderson Silva

Chris Taylor - May 2, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champ Chris Weidman believes he could find similar success against Israel Adesanya as he did when fighting Anderson Silva. ‘The All American’ moved up to the promotions light heavyweight division for his last fight, but following a disappointing setback to Dominick Reyes, Weidman now plans or returning to the 185-pound division he once dominated.

Chris Weidman
UFC

Chris Weidman says he accepted short-notice fights against Edmen Shahbazyan and Yoel Romero

Adam D Martin - April 12, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman says he accepted short-notice matchups against Edmen Shahbazyan and Yoel Romero for UFC 250. Weidman was set to fight Jack Hermansson in the main event of UFC Oklahoma City, which is one of the events the UFC planned on holding at Tachi Palace. Hermansson was likely not able to get to the United States as an international fighter, and it appears the UFC matchmakers were working quickly to find a replacement opponent.

Chris Weidman
Chris Weidman

Chris Weidman explains decision to drop back down to middleweight, not closing door on light heavyweight

Mike Pendleton - March 18, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman most recently fought in the light heavyweight division, and things didn’t go according to plan. Weidman suffered a first-round knockout loss to recent light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes, and now “The All-American” is headed back to 185 pounds. During a recent interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on Instagram Live, Weidman explained his decision to drop back down to middleweight, citing that although he believes he can beat those in the light heavyweight division, he wants to make sure he goes and gets a win in his next fight.

Chris Weidman
UFC

Chris Weidman vs. Jack Hermansson betting odds released

Adam Martin - March 6, 2020

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming middleweight main event at UFC Oklahoma City between Chris Weidman and Jack Hermansson. Weidman vs. Hermansson headlines UFC on ESPN+ 32, taking place on May 2 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The home of the Thunder receives a five-round main event between a top middleweight contender in the form of Hermansson and a former champion on the downside of his career in Weidman.