Chris Weidman wants Vitor Belfort as the next opponent he will be facing with the UFC middleweight title on the line.
"All-American", who is the current 185-pound champion and No. 5 ranked pound-for-pound fighter, recently defeated the former light heavyweight champion Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida at UFC 175 during the UFC's Fourth of July weekend card in a grueling five-round battle.
In his most recent appearance in Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour show, Chris Weidman's intent to fight Vitor Belfort was made clear.
"I do want to fight Vitor Belfort," Weidman declared. "He's the guy who's been floating around the top for awhile now."
Vitor Belfort is one of the most decorated mixed martial arts veterans in the game today. The 37-year old fighter has been one of the UFC's pioneers, having fought at UFC 12's Heavyweight tournament. He is also a former light heavyweight champion.
That being said "The Phenom" himself believes that he should be the next in line for a title shot.
"I can only see Weidman vs. Belfort," Belfort said in a late-June interview with Tatame.com. "I can only see this. I can't talk about anything else, only about my belt. It won't get in my head.
Chris Weidman also praised Vitor Belfort for what he has done for mixed martial arts. For "All-American", his would-be opponent is one of the greats.
"He's another legend," Chris Weidman said about Vitor Belfort. "I've kind of grew to enjoy fighting legends that I got into the sport watching and admiring."
"The Phenom" is one of the fighters who have been affected by the drug-testing rules imposed by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Subsequently, he was forced out of his supposed bouts, originally against Chris Weidman, and against Chael Sonnen.
Like the gracious champion that he has proven himself to be, Chris Weidman hopes that Vitor Belfort can sort out these issues.
"Obviously he has his drug test issue going on," Weidman said. "I hope somehow he can figure it out and we can get him licensed and, I really don't know how that's working."
"But that's the guy I do want to fight," he reiterated.
