Chris Weidman says Derek Brunson turned him down, eyes January showdown with Paulo Costa

Chris Weidman is looking to fight Paulo Costa after Derek Brunson turned him reportedly turned him down.

Weidman returned to the win column back in August with a hard-fought decision win over Omari Akhemdov. After that, he began calling for a fight against a top contender and was offered to fight against Brunson which he accepted. However, the former middleweight champion says Brunson turned him down.

“They had offered me Brunson for mid-January which is when I told them I’d be ready. I said yes, and the UFC said alright, it is not a done deal we have to talk to Brunson,” Weidman said to Submission Radio. “From what I’ve heard, he turned that fight down, he didn’t want to fight me. Supposedly, I don’t think he thinks I am worthy of his presence at this point. He is trying to fight guys higher in the rankings which is crazy to me… I just think it would be a good fight.”

Chris Weidman says he has several names in mind for his next fight and even asked to fight Khamzat Chimaev. Yet, after Brunson turned him down, he believes a fight against Paulo Costa makes a lot of sense for him.

“Yeah, I think that would be a good option. Anybody that can elevate me, I’m in,” he said. “He just got finished fighting for the title and so yeah absolutely.”

The former UFC middleweight champion snapped his two-fight losing streak in August and has already talked about fighting the champion, Israel Adesanya. So, for Weidman, a fight against Paulo Costa certainly makes sense as if he beats the Brazilian, he could very well earn another title shot. Whether or not Costa is interested in that fight is uncertain at this point.

What do you make of Chris Weidman saying Derek Brunson turned him down and wanting to fight Paulo Costa?