Why did they match up Dominick Reyes with Weidman?

[Hirashin]

Weidman is on a terrible skid at 185, he fought murderers and got killed multiple times. He is desperate to push his career forward, so he goes to 205. That's ok, but why are they matching him up with Reyes. Reyes has already beaten Volkan, Canon and OSP. Our boy will probably get killed one more time. Should have they chosen an easier match up for our boi? Look what happened to Luke.
Also Reyes is #3 guy in the division and Weirdman is not ranked. This is a step down for Reyes, he should be fighting Agent Smith.
This fight doesn't seem well planed.

 

[Skeptic_Zero]

Because Reyes agreed to fight.

 

[Russ82]

Probably because he is injury prone. Why waste a training camp for an 'easier' fight. High risk, low reward.

 

[kingJohn]

Weidman wanted a high ranking guy and Reyes wanted a guy with a big name.

 

[mst-dot]

Weidman asked.

 

[Ace70 V2]

Weidman wanted a high ranking guy and Reyes wanted a guy with a big name.

This

 

[Deleted member 510653]

They are trying to get Weidman out of there and think Reyes will put him in the same box as Rockhold so they can ship it to Bellator First Class

 

[yekmurat]

Weidman is former champ and he asked for a top 5 fighter whats weird with that??

 

[scytheavatar]

Cause the UFC is desperate for opponents against Jones, and they probably see Reyes as more sellable than Walker, Jan or Corey Anderson. TBH Reyes reminds me of Zabit, highly skillful but the combination of pillow fists with meh cardio makes me question how he's going to win a 5 round fight against a competent opponent. I would not be surprised to see him lose against Weidman.

 

[Hirashin]

They are trying to get Weidman out of there and think Reyes will put him in the same box as Rockhold so they can ship it to Bellator First Class

Nah, if they wanted to kick Weidman out they'd done it already. He is 1-4. Its obvious they want to keep him around.

Weidman is former champ and he asked for a top 5 fighter whats weird with that??

He can't make it past top 10 MW, so its not a good idea to match him against top 5 LHW.

Cause the UFC is desperate for opponents against Jones, and they probably see Reyes as more sellable than Walker, Jan or Corey Anderson. TBH Reyes reminds me of Zabit, highly skillful but the combination of pillow fists with meh cardio makes me question how he's going to win a 5 round fight against a competent opponent. I would not be surprised to see him lose against Weidman.

LHW is extremely weak, nobody expects Reyes to put out competitive fight against Jones. But maybe they want to build his name by having a win over Weirdman, that should be enough for people to start talking about his title shot. Jan was unknown fighter from somewhere, he destroyed Luke and now he is getting a TS.
I think I got an answer to my question.

 

[sampuncher]

Even though he's on a 3 fight skid, beating Weidman is debatably a bigger name to hold a win over still than Walker, Rakic, Santos etc.

 

[masfonos]

More sellable than Johnny W, hell no!

 

[ejazahmednit]

I hope Weidman wins, i dont care about the division, just want my boi to win

 

[Jojomojo]

What i find weirder is that there is noclear #1 contender fight.

 

[fortheo]

Because despite losing a lot, People actually know who weidman is.

And despite winning a lot, most people don't know who reyes is.

So either weidman gets a nice win over a top guy at LHW, or Reyes finally gets some name recognition.

 

[felmmando]

They are trying to get Weidman out of there and think Reyes will put him in the same box as Rockhold so they can ship it to Bellator First Class

Is Rockhold going to Bellator?

 

[Hirashin]

What i find weirder is that there is noclear #1 contender fight.

Its LHW:

Because despite losing a lot, People actually know who weidman is.

And despite winning a lot, most people don't know who reyes is.

So either weidman gets a nice win over a top guy at LHW, or Reyes finally gets some name recognition.

And Weidman only became known becase he is the guy to dethrone Anderson.

 

[Maori]

First off im thinking reyes believes its a winnable fight with a credible name attached.Also gives Reyes a decent wrestler to test himself against before tackling jj.

Seems the most obvious answer without knowing the thought process of Reyes’s camp

 

[Deleted member 510653]

Is Rockhold going to Bellator?

Not officially but I think he's on the way there

 

[Martialbeef]

Reyes better finish Chris if he wants to impress me. That Volkan fight left a bad taste in my mouth.