Chris Weidman “still wants to kick some ass in the UFC”

Las Vegas – Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is optimistic about the state of the division he once dominated.

Speaking to Cageside Press during UFC X, part of this year’s International Fight Week, Weidman (16-7) said the flexibility of the weight class is what keeps things interesting.

“It’s fun to watch. It’s always exciting when you have a kind of fluid division where there’s not just one champion at the top,” Weidman told us. “The belt has changed hands a lot.”

With Dricus Du Plessis’ first attempt at defending his title coming up in August, Weidman certainly gave the South African credit for helping to keep the division hot.

“Dricus Du Plessis, there were so many doubts about that guy because he has such an unorthodox style and often looks tired. But he’s really proven that he’s a worthy champion,” Weidman said. “The upcoming fight against Adesanya, I’m super excited about it. You’ve got a traditionally much more polished striker, really athletic and just with great technique, against a guy who kind of thrusts forward, his chin in the air. So it’s going to be interesting to see how that tangle works.”

Du Plessis vs. Adesanya takes place in August at UFC 305, and Weidman will no doubt be watching. Meanwhile, an old rival of “The All-American” recently made it into the Hall of Fame for the second time. Anderson Silva was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing this year (for his first fight with Chael Sonnen), although he still competes as a boxer.

Boxing against “The Spider” would be interesting for Weidman, if his services were not at least no longer available.

“100%. I’ve actually gotten calls. But I’m still in the UFC, I have a UFC contract, so you can’t just do that. But I would love to do that. That would be fun.”

While Weidman, the family man, is currently heavily involved in his child’s sporting activities, he has yet to fight in the MMA arena himself and just defeated Bruno Silva. “I’m still training and I want to kick some more ass in the UFC,” he concluded.

Watch our full interview with UFC middleweight and former champion Chris Weidman above.