Chris Weidman and Jon Jones share many similarities in the ring: Jon Jones launched his MMA career in 2008… Chris Weidman a year later in 09… both men plundered UFC gold by dethroning respected Brazilian champions; Jon Jones took out Rua while Chris Weidman usurped ‘The Spider’, and both have ruled the roost in their respective divisions.
The All-American Chris Weidman – or the crusher of Brazilian legends – seems to have finally convinced MMA pundits of his claim to the 185 lbs. throne. His back-to-back slayings of former divisional kingpin, Anderson Silva turned many against the Serra-Longo product, but since news broke out of Silva’s failed drug tests and Weidman’s continued dominance in the middleweight fold, many have begun to ‘join the team’ and rally for the good guy.
It seems Dana White has officially joined the team, as the UFC president expressed his admiration for the undefeated champion:
“It takes time. You look at Anderson Silva and how long it took for him to even resonate. He really blew up after he beat Vitor, so maybe Vitor is the launching pad for all these guys. He’s on a Jon Jones-type run right now in the 185-pound division. The thing is with Jon Jones is that he went four years taking out all the best 205-pounders in the world. Weidman is beating straight killers right now,” White told UFC.com.
Weidman’s victory over Belfort at UFC 187 in Las Vegas marked the 30-year-old’s third title defense. Former middleweight ruler Anderson Silva defended the belt ten times while Jon Jones added eight championship feathers to his cap before being stripped of the title in April. Chris Weidman will be gunning for a fourth championship victory against either Luke Rockhold or ‘Jacare’ Souza in the near future.
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