Chris Weidman is not backing down from his opinion that Israel Adesanya is “overrated.”
Weidman (14-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) the former UFC middleweight champion, ruffled some feathers in the aftermath of this past weekend’s UFC 234 event when he called Adesanya (16-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) “a tad bit overrated” following his victory over Anderson Silva (34-9 MMA, 17-5 UFC) in the main event.
Although Weidman is a former champion, his recent 1-4 slump inside the octagon has taken him out of title contention for the time being. Adesanya has made a quick rise into that territory, but Weidman doesn’t see it as warranted.
Weidman doubled down with his opinion on social media, and even predicted how a bout with “Stylebender” would unfold (via Twitter):
He wouldn’t have much of a chance against me. Has he fought a top 5 guy yet ? A jitsu guy or top wrestler?
Got a lot of Twitter fingers coming at me about saying Israel is a little overrated. Just my opinion. He hasn’t fought 1 top 5 guy. No top wrestler or jitsu guy. Was a -700 fave over Silva??? According to odds after seeing fight showed he was overrated. Close fight
Weidman is currently sidelined after recently undergoing a neck surgery. He is coming off a third-round knockout loss to Ronaldo Souza at UFC 230 in November, and although his recently haven’t been what he wants, Weidman still believes is a major threat at 185 pounds.
In response to Weidman, though Adesanya told “The MMA Hour” he doesn’t see it.
“I didn’t pay any mind to Chris Weidman (saying) I’m overrated,” Adesanya said. “OK, why, because he beat Silva a little bit more handily than I did? I’m overrated? Interesting. I could say the same thing about him. Heavily. Yeah, When I get this belt in my next fight, they can all line up and they can find out how overrated I am.”
Adesanya is on a different career trajectory from Weidman for now, but if “All American” can get back on track, perhaps he will have the opportunity to prove how overrated the unbeaten rising star really is.
For complete coverage of UFC 234, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
