On Saturday, April 8th, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman will look to snap a two-fight losing skid, as he takes on Gegard Mousasi at UFC 210 in Buffalo, New York. It’ll be another home fight for the native New Yorker, whose last outing ended in a devastating flying knee knockout defeat vs. Yoel Romero at Madison Square Garden.
With Weidman (13-2) gearing up to face the surging Mousasi (41-6-2), he appeared on The MMA Hour to talk about his ambitions for becoming UFC champion again.
“I want to get that belt back, and fighting the toughest guys in the division is the way to do that,” Weidman said (Transcription via MMA Mania). “I don’t take that last loss and think, ‘I need to beat some guy who is not on my level to get my confidence back.’ I know exactly what I did wrong in that last fight and what I have to do differently, so I don’t have to fight any of those guys to get my confidence level up. I’m just as confident as I was. I feel like Mousasi is a great fight for me to get back on my winning ways and get closer to fighting for the title again.”
Mousasi called out Weidman last month and told him. “don’t be scared.” Weidman replied by saying he was one of a few options the UFC put on the table, and as Chris told Ariel Helwani, Robert Whittaker was one of the potential opponents. Ultimately, it all aligned for the #4-ranked Weidman to battle the #5-ranked Mousasi.
Weidman was respectful of Mousasi and his abilities, but promised that he would rattle the normally composed former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion.
“What he brings to the table is that he is an experienced guy and he fights like he is experienced,” Weidman said. “He stays calm in all situations, but I am going to make him panic when he fights me. I really feel like it’s a great fight. I give him respect, I think he’s a tough guy and I expect a tough fight, but I just think it’s a great fight for me,”
(The full interview can be viewed at the 3:09:40 mark of the video.)
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