Chris Weidman firms up stance, wants next shot at UFC champ Anderson Silva

Chris Weidman firms up stance, wants next shot at UFC champ Anderson Silva

by Matt Erickson on Jul 13, 2012 at 4:30 pm ET
Chris Weidman asked for his fight with Mark Munoz, and things seemed to go not bad. Not bad at all.

Now he wants another fight – an even bigger one. And he believes if given a crack at UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, he'll shock the world.

"I asked for (Munoz), and the UFC was willing to give me the fight I wanted," Weidman on Friday told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "Mark Munoz was probably the worst matchup for me on paper. He's a wrestler and he has powerful striking. But I took the test, and I was able to pass it.

"I really hope the UFC gives me this title fight (against Silva) because I think I can make some history."

Weidman (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) on Wednesday made quick work of Munoz (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 4, stopping him with a brutal second-round TKO after a short elbow to the head.

The end came after a dominant first round for Weidman, who took Munoz down early in the fight and worked for submissions against the Division I national champion wrestler from Oklahoma State. Weidman again scored a takedown early in the second, but when Munoz got back to his feet and looked to change the dynamic of the fight by coming forward with combinations, Weidman landed his elbow.

"I went through it a million times in my head leading up to the fight," Weidman said. "I saw some negative things that he could do to me, and I saw some positive things. It really went the best way I could imagine it. … I knew he really wanted to hit me, and instead of going for the takedown I went with the short elbow – and it worked out."

After the fight, Weidman asked for a middleweight title fight with Silva, who is less than a week removed from the 10th straight defense of his title, a second-round TKO of Chael Sonnen at UFC 148.

And though Weidman has just nine career fights, he and coaches Matt Serra and Ray Longo not only believe he's ready for the step up in competition, but that he's truly the top contender.

"I really feel like I deserve it," Weidman said. "Every time I've had a full training camp, I've finished everyone I've fought. I feel like there's no reason to wait. It's time to give the title over to the young and let a new champion reign. I believe I'm the next champion. I've taken short-notice fights and I've taken risks, and I feel like hard work pays off, taking risks pays off and I feel like I deserve it."

UFC president Dana White has been non-committal so far on who is next in line to face Silva. Former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard debuts with the UFC next week against Tim Boetsch. An impressive win could get him the next shot. But a loss or a lackluster decision at UFC 149 might mean Weidman will get thrown further into the fire than he already has been since signing with the UFC in 2011.

And that, he said, is more than fine with him. Even if it means going to Brazil to fight Silva on his home turf.

"I'd love to fight in Brazil," he said. "I've never really been the fan favorite because people know the guys I'm fighting more than me. But I'm pretty good at staying focused. It's just me and him in the cage when we get in there.

"I want to be the champion, and want to be the champion for a long time. I have no desire to have a (title) shot and be OK with losing. I'm going in there to win that fight."

 

I know Dana is trying to have quality fights on all his shows. And i commend him for that, but stuff like this proves there is still much to learn. TRP nailed it. This fight should have been on the undercard and Ortiz/Griffin should have been the FUEL main event.