Chris Weidman still has some work to do before he gets a chance to prove, but the former middleweight champ believes Israel Adesanya will be in serious trouble if they ever fight.

Weidman says Adesanya is a “tailor-made” fight for him

Leading up to Adesanya’s bout this past weekend with Paulo Costa at UFC 253, the consensus seemed to be that “The Last Stylebender” would likely defend the middleweight crown. But, many people predicted that Costa’s power and pressure would test the champ, big time.

At the end of the day, however, Adesanya took next to no punishment and he finished Costa in round two. 

Since then, Weidman spoke with Chael Sonnen, and he was asked whether he believes he can defeat the champ. “The All-American” said this (quotes via Middle Easy).

“Absolutely (I can beat Adesanya),” Weidman said. “I think that’s a tailor-made matchup for me. Those athletic strikers, tall lanky guys, I’ve proven that I can beat.

I think pressure, wrestling, heavy punches and kicks…just nonstop pressure is what you need to beat them. That’s the recipe that beats those guys.

I’ve proven that with Anderson Silva twice, Uriah Hall another one. Those guys are in trouble against me.”

The 36-year-old, former champ also said this about facing Adesanya.

“I think that’s an exciting fight to make,” Weidman said. “If you look up and down the rankings, I don’t think there’s too many other fights that can excite people the way our narratives could work, and what I bring to the table.

It’s not any bullsh*t, it’s just facts.

“If you’re into MMA and you really understand the game, you look at my game and you know I present some serious trouble for Adesanya, and more than anybody’s ever had in the past.

He hasn’t really fought any other great, accoladed wrestler, other than Yoel Romero who doesn’t use his wrestling so I don’t even count that.

I’m the type of guy that will bring that pressure, and I will take him down and ragdoll him on the floor.”

Thoughts?

In light of the struggles Weidman has had in recent years – he is 2-4 in his last 6 bouts – there will likely be some fans who scoff at his comments here.

Others have argued that Adesanya’s wrestling and ground game have not been thoroughly vetted quite yet. Derek Brunson is a pretty accomplished wrestler but he went 0 for 7 in takedown attempts, before being stopped by Adesanya.

Romero is unquestionably the most decorated wrestler Adesanya has faced, but he only attempted three takedowns in their lackluster fight.

So, it would be interesting to see if Weidman could test Adesanya with his own wrestling and top game. Does he have the explosiveness and timing at this stage of his career, to put it to work against the dynamic Adesanya?

At the end of the day, Weidman will need to record another big or two before we get to find out.

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