Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman knows a lot could be riding on his next fight.
Weidman (15-5 UFC, 11-5 UFC) is scheduled to rematch Uriah Hall on Feb. 13 at UFC 258, and though he’s coming off a win over Omari Akhmedov, the reality is that Weidman has lost five of his past seven fights.
With the UFC recently letting go of some of the bigger names on the roster, such as Anderson Silva and Yoel Romero, Weidman knows his future with the promotion could be in jeopardy with a loss to Hall.
“I’m not really worried about it, but I wouldn’t be surprised,” Weidman told MMA reporter James Lynch. “There’s nothing that surprises me. I don’t think I’m more special than anybody to where they’re just gonna go like, ‘Oh, Chris Weidman’s a guy we’re just going to keep forever no matter what.’ If I don’t prove I am a world class fighter and prove that I’m still title challenger ready, then yeah, I can 100 percent see that.”
Weidman thinks a lot of the roster cuts are for financial reasons, as well as the UFC trying to groom younger talent that would be willing to take lower paychecks.
“It’s unprecedented that they’re letting guys go with fights on their contract,” Weidman said. “It really does put everybody in a position if you’re in the UFC like, ‘Oh crap.’ If you’re not winning right now, especially if you’re getting paid a lot of money, it looks like they’re trying to get rid of you and bring these younger guys up who they’re not paying as much money. It seems like they’re kind of focused on that.”
Chris Weidman ‘can 100 percent see’ UFC releasing him with loss, ‘not really worried about it’
