Chris Weidman got a long awaited win under his belt last month against Bruno Silva and now he’s calling for a much higher profile fight against another former middleweight champion, Sean Strickland.
“I think I want a big name,” Weidman said on Michael Bisping’s podcast regarding his next fight. “I went with Bruno Silva – not a big name. I think it’s time to step up and have a fun fight that people want to see and people know me and him.
“Bruno Silva, they didn’t really know his name, and I had no right to pick my opponent. Not that I’m really going to be able to pick my opponents, but if it was up to me, I’d have a bigger name, a fight that means a little bit more with a win.”
Bisping himself had previously suggested Strickland, and that seems to fit right in line with Weidman’s thinking.
“I would love that fight,” Weidman said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Strickland. I think it would be a fun buildup. I think he would bring me out of being such a nice guy. We could trash talk a little bit, have some fun. I would love that fight. I like his style. I like that he pushes the pace. I like to push the pace. He likes to get guys tired, so I’d like to test myself against a guy like that.”
Truth be told though that’s a fight that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense right now.
The 33-year-old Strickland only just lost the middleweight title a few months ago and is still ranked as the division’s No.1 contender as he prepares to take on Paulo Costa in the co-main event of UFC 302 on June 1st.
Meanwhile, prior to his last fight the 39-year-old Weidman had lost 7 of his last 9 fights, and though he did look better in his fight with Silva, his eventual victory was controversial due the fact he’d landed multiple eye-pokes along the way, including a double-eye-poke during the fight-ending sequence.
As such, even though he still has name value it feels like Weidman still has more to prove first before he’s a viable candidate to go up against a leading contender.
