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Chris Weidman became the king of the middleweights back in 2013 when he knocked out the great Anderson Silva at UFC 162. Weidman was 13-0 and the champ with the world at his feet when he was supposed to defend his title against top contender and one of the very best in the world Luke Rockhold at UFC 194. Rockhold dethroned Weidman and handed him his first professional loss.
Since then the former champ has never been the same. He went 1-5 in his last 6 bouts with the latest loss being his debut in the light heavyweight division against title challenger Dominick Reyes who knocked out Weidman inside 2 minutes.
The former "All American" is set to return to middleweight, a division he ruled in the past, this weekend against high flying contender and 11th ranked Omari Akhmedov who is unbeaten (5-0-1) in his last six outings. The Russian fighter has put together some solid performances to make himself noticed in a stacked middleweight division.
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In a recent interview with bjpenn.com Weidman appeared pretty confident on his chances in the coming match up and promised to break his opponent mentally and physically.
“I match up great. He is a tough guy like a caveman from Russia, swings heavy and wild. He’s on a nice win streak, I think a six-fight win streak. Not that he is super known or anything but he has been doing his thing in ’85 pound division. To be honest, I think I’m better everywhere, he gets tired and swings heavy,” He explained. “Not that he is knocking too many people out, he doesn’t have many knockouts. He does swing wild a little unorthodox but he gets tired. I just think I can pick him apart on the feet, create a crazy pace and mentally and physically break him.” Weidman was quoted saying.
A win over a high flying contender will certainly put the former champ back in the mix again in a division full of killers. As for Akhmedov a victory will certainly be the biggest of his career and put him amongst one of the division's elites.
Nonetheless the stakes are really high for both men next weekend. And with the former champion beaming with confidence it will no doubt make up for an entertaining fight to watch for fans around the world.
