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Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman believes his fellow ex-champion has “tarnished” their legacy.
During a recent episode of Weidman’s “Won’t Back Down” podcast, the former UFC 185-pound champion gave his take on Tyron Woodley.
Woodley is a five-time 170-pound champ, winning the UFC belt in 2016 and holding it until 2019. However, “The Chosen One” finished his time with the promotion going 0-4 before transitioning to boxing earlier this year.
And he’s now 0-2 as a boxer, losing twice to social media sensation, Jake Paul. They fought in August 2021 via Showtime and “The Problem Child” edged the scorecards, winning by split decision. They rematched earlier this month and Paul emphatically put a stamp on their rivalry, knocking Woodley out cold in the sixth round.
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GettyJake Paul (R) knocks out Tyron Woodley in an eight-round cruiserweight bout at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, on December 18, 2021.
With two losses to Paul, especially with the last one being a savage KO, Weidman believes Woodley’s legacy has taken a massive hit as well.
“Damn, Tyron Woodley is going to have to live with that,” Weidman said via MMA Junkie. “They’re just comparing him to Ben Askren now. He’s not going to get another chance – like, that’s it. I don’t know who he’s going to fight that would give him the draw and excitement that he would need to elevate him back to where he would feel like people gather behind him and think he’s legit again. I think his legacy has definitely been tarnished, which sucks to say.”
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Weidman Wants to See Paul Box Anderson Silva
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GettyAnderson Silva (L) and Tito Ortiz (R) pose during the weigh-in ahead of their fight on September 11 at The Harbor Beach Marriott on September 10, 2021 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
For Paul’s next opponent, “All American” said he’d like to see The Problem Child box Anderon Silva.
Weidman and Silva have a history as All American was the one to take Silva’s middleweight title in 2013. He also defeated Silva in an instant rematch that year. Their second fight ended with “The Spider” snapping his leg, courtesy of Weidman’s check.
Silva successfully transitioned to boxing this year, going 2-0 in 2021 by decisioning former boxing world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and knocking out ex-UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. At 46 years old, The Spider has revitalized his combat sports career and is searching for another big fight in 2022.
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Weidman Doesn’t Think the UFC Will Play Ball With Paul
After his KO over The Chosen One, Paul expressed interest in boxing multiple UFC superstars, including Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal. However, they’re under contract with the UFC and would need permission to box The Problem Child, something Weidman doesn’t see them getting.
“I would love to see him fight Anderson Silva,” Weidman said. “He’s calling out all these fighters with UFC contracts. I don’t think he’s really – none of those are really going to happen at this point. The UFC would have to get behind it almost like a Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather type match. But unless you’re drawing in $500 million like the Mayweather and Conor McGregor fights were doing, the UFC’s not doing that because they want to split it. They would split it, but if it’s not that type of money, they’re not doing it. So (we’re) wasting our time even talking about (Nate) Diaz, (Jorge) Masvidal and (Kamaru) Usman.”
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