Chris Weidman Respects Vitor Belfort As A Fighter, But Won’t Be Happy Unless He Finishes ‘The Phenom’
Undefeated UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman silenced many of his critics by defeating Lyoto Machida in the main event of July 5’s UFC 175 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“The All-American” sustained a bevy of nagging injuries in the bout, something that has been haunting the otherwise pristine champion throughout his short but decorated UFC career. Weidman will need to be as close to fully healthy as possible when he climbs into the Octagon for his next test, a pivotal main event title fight against controversial No. 1 contender Vitor Belfort at December 6’s UFC 181 from Las Vegas.
Last week, “The Phenom” was licensed to fight by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) after failing a February 7 drug test, which may have incited a confusing fallout when his maligned testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) was banned from MMA competition once and for all later that month.
But Weidman knows he can’t focus on all of that. Instead, he’s focused solely on what he can control in the Octagon, and that’s winning the fight in convincing fashion. He told Newsday that he’s expecting the best Vitor Belfort even without TRT:
“I respect him as a fighter. I’m going in there ready for an absolute war and ready for the best Vitor we’ve ever seen. I can’t afford to have any lack of respect when it comes to fighting. That being said, I’m going in there to get a finish. If I don’t get a finish, I’d be real disappointed.”
Weidman is respectful in his assessment of his next opponent. However, he remains intent on putting a stamp on Belfort by stopping “The Phenom” and adding him to the growing list of former champions on his resume.
It remains to be seen if Belfort can maintain the insane pace he exhibited throughout 2013, when he knocked out top-level competitors Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold, and Dan Henderson with violent head kicks. By the time UFC 181 rolls around, Belfort will have been out of the cage for over a year and without TRT for just over nine months.
That makes his fight with Weidman an extremely tough task, and it was difficult enough in the first place. How effectively Belfort will perform without the aid of performance-enhancing substances adds an interesting dynamic to this bout, and Weidman knows the questions about Belfort’s controversies are only just beginning. He said he’s ready for the media onslaught, and he believes Belfort should be, too:
“At this point, he should be pretty used to that type of talk. Nothing should bother him at this point. If it’s something that gets people excited, something to talk about, then he should be OK with it and I should be OK with it.”
Never one to get too riled up, Weidman obviously has a clear head on his shoulders. In truth, it’s Belfort who will have to do most of the worrying, because his license is conditional upon him passing increasingly strenuous drug testing from the NSAC, something he willingly volunteered for at the hearing.
Weidman recently opened as a substantial favorite over Belfort. Can “The Phenom” somehow shock the world by defeating one of the world’s top fighters in the post-TRT era?
