UFC Boston: Chris Weidman Outlines Why he Could Lock up Bout With Jon Jones Friday

Chris Weidman has yet to compete in the UFC’s light-heavyweight division. But, as he gets set to do so on Friday night, the former middleweight champ has outlined why he believes he could lock up a fight with the 205 king, Jon Jones.

Weidman’s move to 205

Weidman has been talking about fighting at light-heavyweight for quite a while. In fact, when he was sitting atop the UFC’s middleweight division, the decorated wrestler repeatedly said he wanted to fight Jones at some juncture.

But, in recent years, Weidman has had a series of setbacks. Since he lost the 185 title to Luke Rockhold in 2015, he’s gone 1-3. Following his stoppage loss to “Jacare” Souza last November, Weidman decided the time was right to make the jump to 205. On Friday night at UFC Boston, he’ll battle rising contender, Dominick Reyes.

Weidman’s case for a title shot

Leading up to this Friday’s fight, Weidman has made it clear that he’s still targeting a fight with Jones. Case in point, at UFC Boston’s media day, the 35-year-old said this (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“I think so, because of what I accomplished in the past and coming in against a guy who’s undefeated ranked fourth in the world in that weight class,” Weidman said. “If I go out there and do what I believe I can do, I don’t think you can really deny it. Especially because Jon Jones has faced most of the top guys and beat most of the top guys. Why not?”

“I always believed I had the ability to beat him,” Weidman said. “I always imagined defending my belt until I decided to stop, and then going up and beating him, too. Obviously, it didn’t work out as planned for me. This new plan works out just fine. He definitely looks very beatable after watching his last two fights against two 185 pounders.”

So, does Weidman have a point? In terms of securing a title shot if he beats Reyes? Maybe right?

If Weidman wasn’t facing a fighter who has some hype, and who isn’t ranked in the top five, then maybe not. But, Reyes is ranked #4 and many believe he could lock up a fight with Jones if he records an impressive win.

But, when you consider Weidman is 1-4 in his last 5 contests, he’ll likely need to score a decisive win if he hopes to move into the title shot conversation. Johnny Walker and Corey Anderson are fighting at UFC 244, November 2nd, and the winner of that fight will likely be in the title shot mix as well.