Chris Weidman wants to rebuild his career to challenge Israel Adesanya

C. Weidman should return to middleweight in 2020. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @chrisweidman

Although he is far from the best phase of his MMA career, Chris Weidman continues to look for motivation to resume his victorious trajectory in sport. After failing his test at light heavyweight (up to 93kg), the athlete returned to middleweight (up to 83,9kg) and already has a new target for the future: the current champion, Israel adesanya.

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“I think he (Israel) is a very talented guy. He is the new champion. He has the strength of a star and, as he always said, I want to face all the best middleweights. I think I accomplished that and I think Israel is one of the guys I haven't faced yet,” said Weidman.

With just one victory in his last six fights, Chris understands that it is necessary to win again to return to the organization's radar. The athlete, however, believes that his history within the company can facilitate his rise towards the top, given that the North American has on his resume, in addition to battles against big names in MMA, two victories over Anderson Silva.

“Obviously, I come from defeats. I don't want to say too much, but I think he (Adesanya) would be a good opponent for me. I was knocked out by Yoel romero, he no. But I engaged much more. In your last fights, if you compare my fight against Kelvin Gastelum, I dominated him and then finished. I defeated Anderson Silva twice and he (Israel) had an even fight against 'Spider'”, he explained.

Weidman, finally, tried to explain his logic when considering that he could face one of the biggest names in the UFC today. For the North American, his experience in grappling could be his secret weapon.

“I’m a guy who could take him down and control him. I'm very dangerous with my submissions and I could still knock him out. I would love to have a chance now, but I'm far away, at least from what I see. I have a lot of work to do, but that’s the goal”, he concluded.

With 19 fights as a professional in MMA, Chris held the middleweight title between 2013 and 2015. The athlete defended his belt three times before losing it in a confrontation against Luke Rockhold, at UFC 194.