Chris Weidman Says UFC 230 Win Earns Him Title Shot
Chris Weidman doesn’t believe he’s too far out from a title opportunity.
“The All American” will compete in his home state of New York next month (Sat. November 3, 2018) from Madison Square Garden. As he tells ESPN‘s “Ariel Helwani‘s MMA Show,” one more victory will solidify himself as the next 185-pound title challenger:
“I win this fight, I’m fighting for the title,” Weidman said. “I was obviously close to fighting for the title before this fight, beating [Kelvin] Gastelum and finishing him.
“It was between me and him, who was going to be fighting [champion Robert] Whittaker. They decided to go with Gastelum.”
Weidman was initially booked to rematch Luke Rockhold at UFC 230. Rockhold was the first man to ever defeat Weidman in MMA competition. The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product finished Weidman in the fourth-round of their UFC 194 meeting back in 2015 via TKO. That marked the beginning of a three-fight losing skid for Weidman.
He picked up his first victory since May of 2015 in July last year when he submitted Kelvin Gastelum. However, a hand injury forced Weidman to be sidelined for over a year. Now, Weidman is ready to get back into the cage, but with an injury forcing Rockhold off UFC 230, Weidman has received a new opponent.
Weidman will now fight jiu-jitsu ace Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in what will likely be UFC 230’s co-main event.
