Chris Weidman has had a rough few few years in the Octagon, posting just one win from his last six fights since his heyday as middleweight champion, and he’s well aware that he needs to get back on-form on Saturday night when he fights Omari Akhmedov at UFC On ESPN+ 32.
“I need to get a freaking ‘W’,” Weidman admitted to mmafighting.com. “I need to get back on my winning ways. I think I have a lot of advantages in this fight but when you’re in there, you never know what’s going to happen.
“I’m taking it very serious. He’s tough but when I look at the guys I’ve fought, I don’t think he’s up there as far as the most talented. I think that’s a fair statement without knocking him.”
Weidman admits that he didn’t actually know who Akhmedov was before he was offered the bout, but was eager to get back in the Octagon and prove that he can still compete at a high level.
“I just wanted to fight. I honestly didn’t really hear of him leading up. I was like who’s that? Even my manager didn’t know. Then I looked him up and he’s been on his way up. He’s been in the UFC for a while, kind of going back and forth between welterweight and middleweight.
“He’s on a nice win streak and he’s ranked in the top 15. It’s one of the first times I’m not fighting someone in the top five but he’s a tough kid. I think it’s a really good matchup.”
