Chris Weidman believes he would beat the UFC champ: ‘I’d ragdoll him!’

Chris Weidman

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman (15-5) is back in the news today after some recent comments. Weidman has never lacked for confidence over the last few years despite going through some tough times in his UFC career.

Weidman was once the undefeated UFC middleweight champion. Then he went on to lose five out of six fights by knockout. During that stretch, Weidman explored a move to light heavyweight, but was quickly knocked out by Dominick Reyes at UFC on ESPN 6.

Following that loss, Weidman decided to move back down to middleweight. Weidman was able to defeat Omari Akhmedov by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 6. The win was a massive victory for Weidman who seems more motivated than ever to get back to UFC gold.

Weidman currently doesn’t have his next opponent setup. However, that hasn’t stopped him from having his eyes focused on the top of the middleweight division. The All American sees himself as a nightmare matchup for UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya (20-0).

Calling out the UFC champ

In an interview with Chael Sonnen, the former UFC middleweight champion said, “I think that’s a tailor-made matchup for me. I’m the type of guy that will bring that pressure, and I will take him down and I’ll rag doll him on the floor.”

Those are some strong words from the former champ to the current UFC middleweight champion. For years, people have thought that the key to beating Adesanya would be getting him to the ground and keeping nonstop pressure on him.

I think Weidman is right in the sense that that’s how you could beat him. However, I’m not sure Weidman would be the best guy in the UFC to implement that game plan. Still, Weidman pointed out his success against fighters like Adesanya as his reasoning.

“Those tall athletic strikers, I’ve proven that I can beat them. I think wrestling, heavy punches and kicks, and nonstop pressure is what you need to beat them. That’s the recipe that beats those guys. I’ve proved that with Anderson Silva twice, and Uriah Hall. Those guys are in trouble against me.”

Weidman still has a ways to go before he’s ready for another UFC title shot. Who knows, Adesanya might not even be in the division anymore by the time Weidman gets a crack at UFC gold. However, if they fight, Weidman sure believes he’s the perfect guy to beat Adesanya.