Bisping: Weidman is a ‘wiesel’
In a recent interview with the UG’s own John Joe O’Regan for the ever awesome FIghter’s Only, Chris Weidman questioned…
In a recent interview with the UG’s own John Joe O’Regan for the ever awesome FIghter’s Only, Chris Weidman questioned Michael Bisping’s mind under pressure. The question was a reference to Bisping’s performance in high profile fights vs. Dan Henderson, Rashad Evans, Wanderlei Silva, and Chael Sonnen.
John Joe O’Regan: Bisping – under-rated or over-rated?
Chris Weidman: I know he is good and talented and he has faced some good guys but every time he has faced a top ten guy he has lost. Like with the Chael Sonnen fight he did awesome and a lot of people thought he could have won but he didn’t find the way to win.
And I am not knocking him – I think he’s a great fighter, I really do – but I question his mentality against top guys when the pressure is on. Which is pretty much what everyone says about him. He has had chances to fight for the title twice now and he doesn’t come through when the pressure is on.
JJO: Million dollar question – who is next for you?
CW: Hopefully Anderson Silva.
JJO: Really?
CW: Hmm… I’m pretty sure… you know… there’s a good chance of it happening and… yeah.
JJO: Some people are saying you are the new Chael Sonnen… well, stylistically, not in PR terms obviously.
CW: Ha! Obviously not! That guy is a genius.
Weidman’s trainer Matt Serra reminded he had said for a while that Weidman would get there.
“If you go back, I did a video blog ages ago,” Serra told MMAjunkie.com. “He was getting ready for a local fight and I was getting ready for a fight with I think Chris Lytle or something. I said, ‘This kid’s gonna be champ one day. You’ll be watching these video blogs saying, ‘Hey, I said it.’ It’s not that I’m a genius. I’m no Nostradamus. I just think this kid is that talented.
“When he’s up here saying he wants Anderson Silva, he’s not doing it for just a paycheck. He’s doing it because he truly believes he can beat and finish Anderson Silva. He has the same approach to sparring, to rolling. He wants to – you want to spar with this guy, this guy’s tough – he wants to feel it. I believe he will be champion.”
“Submission wise, he’s a freak. You’re talking about a kid who went to Abu Dhabi after six months of training, and he’s battling it out with black belts over there. He’s that good. He really is. For people to not think so, or think maybe he’s not ready, look what he’s done so far.”
“If he’s ever put in a bad position, he can persevere. You didn’t really get to see that. The closest you got would be the [Demian] Maia fight because he had no gas tank. He had no training for that fight. That alone speaks for itself. He got the ‘W,’ but he might have got some criticism because he looked a little flat and this and that. What do you expect? That’s how you look if you don’t train. You jump off the couch and took a fight. He manned up and he did it (on 11 days notice).”
“It’s the circle of life like ‘The Lion King. I’m an older guy; I’ve been in the game a long time, me and Longo. Longo worked 1,000 corners, including mine. He brought me up to the championship. In this game, experience is just so crucial. Not just as fighter, but as corner guy, as a coach, as a trainer. You get a guy as talented as Chris and you get some guys who think they know what they’re doing, it’s a recipe for a good thing.”
Bisping took the talk to Twitter.
michael @bisping
Chris the Wiesel Weidman saying I fold under pressure. Hahahahaha I needed a good laugh this morning.
Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel could not be reached for comment.
A weasel representative was reached for official comment, and he said only “Yah, well you’re a Bisping.”