Although UFC President Dana White refused to commit to a No. 1 contender in the middleweight division when asked following UFC 187, it appears the division’s champion has already analyzed the available competition.
Following Weidman’s first round domination of former light-heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, the middleweight division is left with two contenders for championship gold, Luke Rockhold and Jacare Souza. The two former Strikeforce champions have been vocal about who deserves the next shot at the title, but Weidman knows whom he considers to be the tougher challenge.
“I would expect a tough fighter, but I’m running right through any of these guys,” Weidman said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “[Rockhold]’s well rounded, but he’s not great anywhere. He’s not the best striker I’ve ever fought, he’s not the best jiu-jitsu guy I ever fought. Jacare brings a different element, he’s really good on the ground and he’s probably more dangerous on the feet than Rockhold. Rockhold is well-rounded and keeps a good solid pace going throughout the whole fight. They are two completely different fighters. If I was to say who was more dangerous, it would probably be Jacare, but there are probably more holes in his game than Rockhold.”
While he would not commit to a preference, it was clear that Weidman wanted to face Jacare in the immediate future.
“I don’t know, I don’t really have a preference,” he said. “Either way I’m going to have to fight these guys at some point, and let them know they have no chance with me. I love their attitudes. I’m, as a competitor, just going to show them the truth. As far as who, it doesn’t really matter. I want big fights, both of them know that. I want big fights, they want big fights.”
Transcription taken from MMAFighting.com.
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