It didn’t take long for Jack Hermansson to move on from losing out on a fight with Chris Weidman.
Hermansson (20-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) was slated to face Weidman, the former UFC middleweight champion in the main event of the May 2 card in Oklahoma City, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, he drew Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event of the UFC’s July 18 card at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, a matchup that he views as much more beneficial than the Weidman bout.
“I’ve just put that to the side because I was so happy when I got the Gastelum fight,” Hermansson told MMA Junkie. “But basically the fight was never going to happen because with travel and visa issues and so on. The fight couldn’t happen in the States and then I don’t think Chris was ready to fight on this card or whatever.
“Anyway, Gastelum wanted to fight me, I wanted to fight him. We asked the UFC if we could make it happen and we could. I think the outcome was even better than where we started, so I’m super happy with this fight so looking forward to it.”
Gastelum (15-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) has lost his last two – a “Fight of the Year” contender vs. current UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 236, then a lackluster decision to Darren Till last November.
But Gastelum’s losses have come to top-level competition and Hermansson thinks he’s still quite relevant in the division.
“Gastelum is a little bit more up to date,” Hermansson said. “Weidman has a big name but it’s a little bit about the rankings as well, and I want to move forward, and I feel like Gastelum is the right fight to do.”
