Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman will make his light heavyweight debut this Friday night at UFC on ESPN 6 against Dominick Reyes.
And “The All American” need to make a splash.
Reyes vs. Weidman headlines the card from the TD Garden in Boston, with both the main and prelim cards airing live on ESPN2.
Dominick Reyes, Chris Weidman On NESN Together
For Weidman, this represents a way to wipe clean the ugly slate he left over the last four years at middleweight. After winning his first 13 pro fights, including title defenses over Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva after his stunning 2013 knockout of Silva, the wheels fell off the bus.
Jon Jones Watches Chris Weidman-Anderson Silva Live
Weidman was finished in the fourth round at the hands of Luke Rockhold, lost via third round knockout to Yoel Romero and was finished by Gegard Mousasi in the second in consecutive fights between 2015-17.
He finally got back into the win column in the summer of 2017 by submitting Kelvin Gastelum, but was quickly brought back down last November when he dropped a war with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
After all of that, Weidman decided he needed to make a change, and the best way to go about that was by bumping up to light heavyweight.
Chris Weidman After Finishing Vitor Belfort
For the most part, the same skills that helped Weidman go 13-0 and claim the UFC middleweight title should benefit him at his new weight class. He was a two-time All-American wrestler at the NCAA Div. I level while at Hofstra University after earning NJCAA All-American honors twice on the mats.
The 35-year-old New York native continues to train with greatness at Serra-Longo Fight Team, Renzo Gracie Academy and Ricardo Almeida BJJ, gaining instruction from Matt Serra, John Danaher, Ray Longo and Mark Henry.
Remember The Name: Dominick Reyes
He will need all of that against Reyes, who is a perfect 11-0 with UFC victories over Volkan Oezdemir, Ovince Saint Preux, Jared Cannonier, Jeremy Kimball and Joachim Christensen. He made his Octagon debut in 2017 after wins for Legacy Fighting Alliance, Hoosier Fight Club and King of the Cage.
UFC On ESPN 6: Reyes Vs. Weidman
MAIN CARD (ESPN2)
Light Heavyweight: Dominick Reyes vs. Chris Weidman
Featherweight: Yair Rodriguez vs. Jeremy Stephens
Heavyweight: Greg Hardy vs. Ben Sosoli
Lightweight: Joe Lauzon vs. Jonathan Pierce
Female Flyweight: Maycee Barber vs. Gillian Robertson
Middleweight: Deron Winn vs. Darren Stewart
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2)
Featherweight: Charles Rosa vs. Manny Bermudez
Female Flyweight: Molly McCann vs. Diana Belbita
Featherweight: Kyle Bochniak vs. Sean Woodson
Bantamweight: Randy Costa vs. Boston Salmon
Welterweight: Court McGee vs. Sean Brady
Heavyweight: Daniel Spitz vs. Tanner Boser