Chris Weidman would love to complete his trilogy with Anderson Silva inside the squared circle.
On Saturday night (March 30) the former middleweight world champion will return to the Octagon for a clash with Bruno Silva at UFC Atlantic City. It will be just the second time ‘All America’ has competed since coming back from a horrifying leg break he suffered against Uriah Hall back in April 2021.
Former UFC champ Chris Weidman makes weight ahead of his second fight back from a leg break at #UFCAtlanticCity.
He's in search of his first win since August 2020. pic.twitter.com/zZKKLkbMEZ
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) March 29, 2024
With only two fights left on his contract, Weidman is looking forward to the future and a possible run in boxing where a lot of big-money matchups await. Speaking with Daniel Cormier on the UFC Hall of Famer’s YouTube channel, Weidman expressed interest in running it back for a third time with P4P great Anderson Silva in the boxing ring once his obligations in the Octagon are squared away.
“I love the UFC, but there are boxing matches out there where I could make a lot of money and I wouldn’t mind ending my career with that,” Weidman said. “I love boxing and who wouldn’t want to see Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman in a boxing match? Can he get some revenge on me? There’s some cool fights out there.”
Weidman famously KO’d Silva at UFC 162, snapping the Brazilian’s 17-fight win streak and claiming the 185-pound crown. They would run it back five months later at UFC 168. However, this time, Silva would go down after snapping his own leg in the second round. Silva returned a little more than a year later, but he never earned another crack at the middleweight strap.
Another potential opponent for Weidman in the sweet science is Jake Paul. The YouTuber turned boxer has made a name for himself throwing hands with ex-UFC stars, including Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva, and Nate Diaz. Weidman recognizes that it would be a massive opportunity to fight ‘The Problem Child’ from a financial perspective, but is uncertain as to whether or not Paul would actually accept the challenge.
“I don’t know if he would,” Weidman said of Paul. “Obviously, that would be a big money fight for me. Everyone is dying for that fight. I would love that.”
Paul is currently scheduled to compete against former unified heavyweight world champion and “the baddest man on the planet,” Mike Tyson, this July in a fight that will broadcast live on Netflix around the world.
Chris Weidman is Not Keen on a Career at the Commentary Table
Aside from a potential run in the world of boxing, Weidman could also be in line for a broadcasting career with the UFC once his days as a fighter are over. ‘All American’ is already a regular on the promotion’s highly entertaining weigh-in shows with Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier, and Laura Sanko.
Asked about his interest in pursuing a role at the commentary table, Weidman was honest in his response, suggesting that the obligation to be away from home for every UFC event may be what keeps him from testing out his skills in the booth.
“Honestly, I look at you and your career — what you’ve been able to do, but it took a lot of hard work for you to get where you are,” Weidman said of Cormier’s post-fighting career. “People see where you’re at now and they’re like, ‘Oh my god, look what DC did,’ but we forget about the Fox days. Every single week on fight night. You’ve done so much to get where you’re at. I don’t think I have that in me, honestly.
“I would have to be the b*tch boy for a while. I would have to do all the small shows. Work my way to and eventually become a commentator. I don’t know if that would be okay because every weekend, I would probably have to leave which means I’ll miss all my kids’ sports because everything is usually on the weekend and I don’t want to be in that position. So for me, as much fun as it is to do commentating… I think I could be good at it, but I just don’t want to take away from the family.”
Watch the full episode below:
