Chris Weidman reveals the reason he was given for being passed on for the next middleweight title opportunity.
Weidman may be a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title holder and he may have scored a submission victory over the 185-pound number one contender, but he isn’t getting the next title shot. That opportunity will go to Kelvin Gastelum. Champion Robert Whittaker and Gastelum will serve as opposing coaches on season 28 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” It’ll lead to a middleweight title bout in early 2019.
Chris Weidman Reveals Why He Isn’t Getting Title Shot
Weidman was being considered for the title shot and even Whittaker believed he’d be going one-on-one with the “All-American.” During a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Weidman said UFC officials had fears over his thumb injury (via MMAMania.com):
“They were saying they couldn’t depend on me with my hand. They were worried about my hand not being ready in time. They were initially saying they were going to fight at the end of the year show, and I was telling them I’d definitely be ready. And they said they couldn’t really justify putting money into the Ultimate Fighter show with the chance of me not being able to fight.”
A rematch between Weidman and Luke Rockhold is reportedly in the works for UFC 230 in November. That event will be held inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. In their first encounter, Rockhold earned a TKO victory to capture the UFC middleweight title. It was Weidman’s first professional mixed martial arts loss.
MMA News will keep you up to speed on the middleweight title picture. You can also count on us to provide live coverage of UFC 230 as well as the championship bout between Whittaker and Gastelum.
Do you think the UFC made the right decision?
