Ray Longo wants the UFC to give Chris Weidman an opportunity to go out on top.
Weidman (15-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) returned from an over two-year long layoff after suffering a gruesome leg break in April 2021, but fell short in a unanimous decision loss to Brad Tavares (20-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) at UFC 292. He fractured his left leg in the loss, but doesn’t expect it to sideline him for too long.
UFC president Dana White urged the former middleweight champion to retire, but Weidman insists he’s not done yet. Longo hopes the UFC gives Weidman a good matchup for his next fight.
“He’s got some decisions to make,” Longo said on the Anik & Florian Podcast. “I think he wants to go out on a win. But I think I’d like to see them set up one last fight that’s fair, and then that’s it. Then it’s over. Just go out – I think he deserves it. He beat the greatest of all time twice, and I think he was a company man.”
Weidman, 39, has had a Hall of Fame-worthy career highlighted by his two title-fight finishes of all-time great Anderson Silva. When it’s all said and done, Longo would like to see Weidman celebrated for his achievements.
“The (Lyoto) Machida fight was great, the (Vitor) Belfort fight, and he had some really good fights,” Longo said. “(He) came around at the right time, dethroned (Silva) before he started to slip. That guy was on top of the world when Weidman got rid of him, and then you saw (Silva) flounder after that. So I think that’s a Hall of Famer, for sure, and I hope they treat him like one. I think that’ll make him happy.”
