The old(ish) fighting adage is you stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.
That’s what former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is doing after a lengthy layoff that included neck surgery – just in case there’s a shot he could get a quicker shot at the title he once held.
New middleweight champion Michael Bisping (29-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC) is set to put his title on the line for the first time when he meets Dan Henderson (32-14 MMA, 9-8 UFC) in a rematch from a 2009 fight at UFC 204 in October. Weidman (13-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) said he’s got himself on alert to step in and fight the champ should the challenger be forced to pull out.
And what’s more, Weidman, from New York, said if that happened, he’d want to turn right around and fight at UFC 250 at Madison Square Garden in November.
“I’ve been healthy for the past four weeks,” Weidman today told MMAjunkie Radio. “I got completely cleared by the doctor, the surgeon who did the work. So I’ll be ready for UFC 205 easy. I’ll even be ready if someone drops out of that England fight, I’ll jump in there. And then I’ll fight a month later in New York if I have to. Actually, I would love to. That would be awesome. That would be the best-case scenario.
“If it was Dan Henderson who got injured, I’d definitely jump in there to fight Bisping, and I’m pretty sure I could get out of there unscathed. Obviously, I’d take it very seriously and try not to get ‘Rockholded.’ But I have a feeling I’d get out of there without getting beaten up, and then I have to fight at MSG. I have to be at the first event in New York. I’d love to fight a month later.”
UFC 204 takes place Oct. 8 at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. UFC 205 takes place Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City with the same broadcast plans.
Of course, Weidman’s dream scenario involves the off chance Henderson would get hurt in training and pull out of a fight – which is widely expected to be his last chance to win a UFC title. The 44-year-old Henderson himself has said he plans to retire after the fight, win or lose.
So it’s more likely that Weidman will have to wait for UFC 205 to get back to work, and take a fight that he hopes will put him next in line for the middleweight belt he lost to Luke Rockhold (15-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at UFC 194 this past December. Rockhold lost it to Bisping at UFC 199 in June.
Rockhold is on the short list of potential opponents Weidman thinks he might get matched up with in New York – but he said that rematch appears to be one of the long shots. Instead, he might be looking at Yoel Romero (11-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who is coming off a six-month suspension following a split-decision win over Ronaldo Souza (22-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC). Or maybe the UFC will match him up with Souza. Another possibility, Weidman thinks, is a trilogy fight with Anderson Silva (33-8 MMA, 16-4 UFC)
“I thought it was going to be Luke Rockhold, but I guess that’s not going to happen,” Weidman said. “You’ve got Yoel Romero, ‘Jacare’ … Anderson Silva would be a stretch. I would want Luke Rockhold in a rematch in Madison Square Garden, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. On Twitter, I’m seeing people wanting to see me vs. Yoel. I’ll take whatever fight. I’ve got to be a little selfish since this is the first event in New York. Whatever the biggest fight is, I’ll take it. That’s what I want.”
For more on UFC 204 and UFC 205, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
View full post on News | MMAjunkie