Weidman planning to stop skid at home on Long Island
Ex-champ grew up miles from Coliseum
Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman has always dreamed of fighting on his native Long Island. He finally gets the chance Saturday and hopes to reward the hometown fans with a victory.
At this point, he’ll take a win anywhere.
Weidman lost the belt to Luke Rockhold in December 2015, the start of a three-fight losing streak. The skid includes a loss to Yoel Romero in the first UFC card at Madison Square Garden in November, spoiling the memory of another dream fight for Weidman.
He hopes to put an end to the losing streak when he fights Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC on Fox 25 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
“Every one of my fights, I’m desperate to prove to myself and the world how good I am,” he said Thursday.
“So I am desperate. I’m desperate to show everyone.”
Despite the setbacks, Weidman remains confident. He thinks he’s still the world’s best middleweight and is eager to prove it after suffering the first three losses of his career.
“People are going to see on Saturday night who the best guy in the world is,” Weidman said. “Whether they accept it or not, people are going to see the truth, and the truth speaks volumes. I don’t have to say a word. They’re going to watch my performance and see who the best 185-pounder in the world is.”
Gastelum will have something to say about that. He has been on quite a run, even though his win over Vitor Belfort in March was overturned because of a positive marijuana test.
After beating former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks in July 2016, Gastelum moved up to middleweight and knocked out former Strikeforce champ Tim Kennedy in December before defeating Belfort in the first round.
Gastelum thinks another win Saturday should strengthen his case for a title shot.
“If I win, it will be the fourth former champion I’ve beat in a row,” he said. “I don’t see why I wouldn’t get a title shot.
“I want to be the one that keeps this division (strong). I’m 25 years old, and I have at least 10 years left in the sport. I could very well be the future of the division.”
That was Weidman’s tag for much of his career. The former All-america wrestler took the middleweight division by storm when he won the first 13 fights of his career, including two victories over Anderson Silva and ones over former champs Belfort and Lyoto Machida.
Now he hopes to regain that form at a building just down the street from where he’s lived his entire life.
“I love Long Island,” he said. “I have a lot of pride in being from here, and I’m excited to put on a show in front of my people. I can’t wait to feel the love. It’s a bit looser, but my mind is so razor sharp and focused. I’ve got big work to do on Saturday night. I really think everyone knows I’ve got every tool in the book to be the best. I’ve just got to go out and do it, and there’s nothing that can stop me.
“I know I have a fight in front of me that I have to go out and dominate to show everyone who the real Chris Weidman is.”
The main card will be televised live on Fox at 5 p.m., with the preliminary card airing live at 3.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@ reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.