Yoel Romero’s victory over Luke Rockhold this past weekend at UFC 221 has made a significant impact in the middleweight division, and even before the fight even took place, former titleholder Chris Weidman was staking his claim for the next shot at the belt.
“As for who should fight Whittaker? I don’t know, I think I should,” Weidman told Submission Radio prior to the event. “I just beat – what is Gastelum ranked, top five? He’s ranked fifth? I just finished him, he’s never gotten finished in his career.”
When asked about Yoel Romero, Weidman simply stated the fact that, “He just had a loss to Whittaker,” as reason enough for him not to get the fight.
Of course, Weidman was then cage-side and witnessed Romero KO’ing Luke Rockhold in impressive fashion, which has led to many believing that he should get the title shot.
However, the fact does remain that Romero lost by unanimous decision to Whittaker back in July of last year, and due to injury the champion hasn’t even had another fight since then.
So, perhaps there is still a chance for Weidman to get the opportunity instead, but it does seem as if Romero has now seized the momentum, and meanwhile the former champion is being held back by a thumb injury that will keep him out of action for at least another couple of months.
