Chris Weidman says he’s a ‘nightmare’ matchup for UFC interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya

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Prior to Israel Adesanya winning the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight title following a memorable bout against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 (highlights), Chris Weidman wasn’t convinced “The Last Stylebender” warranted all the hype.

And even though “All American” gave propsto Adesanya for the fight and capturing UFC gold, he is still confident he’s the better fighter of the two. Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Weidman said he is a “nightmare” match up for Adesanya, taking the time to address his previous criticism of the kickboxer.

“Look, people were going nuts on Israel. He’s a very talented guy, he’s got great stand up and now I know that he is super tough after that last fight. Before he fought Anderson Silva, he fought Derek Brunson, he fought Silva who is 44 and is known as a stand up guy, which is a perfect match up for him. It was a very close fight,” Weidman said.

“At that point people were talking about him like he’s the next best thing, and at that point I just thought he was overrated and he hadn’t been able to prove himself yet. He hasn’t gone against a top wrestler, hadn’t fought guys in the top five. I just felt people were getting ahead of themselves. But that was it,” he explained.


“I’m a fan of the guy, I like watching him fight and I would love to fight him. I think I’m a nightmare match up for him if you look on paper, just based on the paper with my wrestling and my jiu-jitsu. With my size, I think I will be a real problem for him,” he added. “But, I think the guy is awesome, I wasn’t trying to put him down, I was just being realistic in the situation because he hadn’t fought a top five guy yet up until Kelvin.”

https://www.mmamania.com/2019/4/22/...rim-middleweight-champion-israel-adesanya-mma
 
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Prior to Israel Adesanya winning the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight title following a memorable bout against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 (highlights), Chris Weidman wasn’t convinced “The Last Stylebender” warranted all the hype.

And even though “All American” gave propsto Adesanya for the fight and capturing UFC gold, he is still confident he’s the better fighter of the two. Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Weidman said he is a “nightmare” match up for Adesanya, taking the time to address his previous criticism of the kickboxer.

“Look, people were going nuts on Israel. He’s a very talented guy, he’s got great stand up and now I know that he is super tough after that last fight. Before he fought Anderson Silva, he fought Derek Brunson, he fought Silva who is 44 and is known as a stand up guy, which is a perfect match up for him. It was a very close fight,” Weidman said.

“At that point people were talking about him like he’s the next best thing, and at that point I just thought he was overrated and he hadn’t been able to prove himself yet. He hasn’t gone against a top wrestler, hadn’t fought guys in the top five. I just felt people were getting ahead of themselves. But that was it,” he explained.


“I’m a fan of the guy, I like watching him fight and I would love to fight him. I think I’m a nightmare match up for him if you look on paper, just based on the paper with my wrestling and my jiu-jitsu. With my size, I think I will be a real problem for him,” he added. “But, I think the guy is awesome, I wasn’t trying to put him down, I was just being realistic in the situation because he hadn’t fought a top five guy yet up until Kelvin.”

https://www.mmamania.com/2019/4/22/...rim-middleweight-champion-israel-adesanya-mma
Nightmare match, perhaps because there is no glory left in beating him
 
Weidman will never get close to a title shot again
 
Weidman's gonna need to prove it at this point.
 
Weidman will initially win then lose in spectacular fashion
 
That’s another fight the Chris will be winning until he isn’t.
 
Weidman kept saying izzy hadn't fought anyone in the top 5 before getting a title shot but then I asked myself, did weidman fight anyone in the top 5 before he got his first title shot. Turns out munoz was top 3 when he fought chris.
 
He would be before the string of viscous KO losses. I don't think he can take damage as well anymore and Israel will definitely catch him. Not to mention Weidman's long history of neck issues and being injury prone. He did look sharper than ever before Jacare KO'd him though, so its interesting.

He's nowhere near deserving of that fight though.
 
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Weidman's gonna need to prove it at this point.

I can see Chris as the favorite because of his experience, wrestling and being a former champion himself. However, he's been getting KO left and right so Izzy knocking him out wouldn't surprise me.
 
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I mean, what’s he supposed to say?
 
Weidman kept saying izzy hadn't fought anyone in the top 5 before getting a title shot but then I asked myself, did weidman fight anyone in the top 5 before he got his title shot. Turns out munoz was top 3 when he fought chris.


Also Chris has been getting ko'd by the top 5 for a while.
 
If he mixed in his wrestling he’s right. If he gets into a stand up battle it’s a different story, though Weidman showed very good boxing against Jacare.
 
I disagree. Adesanya isn't an easy outing for anyone, not even a great wrestler. And Weidman is FAR too hittable. He would find himself waking up in the cage looking at the ceiling.
 
weidman does well then gets KO'd, classic.


go win a fight chris.
 
I think it could go either way

Adesanya doesn't have particularly notable power so that would *maybe* give Chris more openings to grapple and drag Adesanya to the deep end

I'd bet on Adesanya though at this point...would root for Chris if that helps
 
LOL @people saying weidman would get knocked out because he lost to top contenders that israel dodged on his journey to getting a title shot.

Chris weidman would win effortlessly.
 
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