UFC fans may have been disheartened after watching the noted Youtuber-boxer, Jake Paul, defeat their legends inside the boxing ring. But, the famous UFC middleweight fighter, Chris Weidman, recently revealed that he wants to bring this to an end. Lately, ‘The All-American’ appeared on the former UFC champ-champ, Daniel Cormier’s podcast, where he talked about following his former rival, Anderson Silva’s footsteps. However, Weidman predicted that his in-ring encounter with Paul would end differently.
Several stars, including the well-known Nate Diaz and former champs, Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley, transitioned to boxing after their UFC careers. However, ‘The Problem Child’ called them out to the ring and defeated them subsequently. Interestingly, Weidman also intends to follow the same path after the two UFC fights he has left in his contract.
It was the host, Daniel Cormier, who gave Weidman the idea of going for a boxing match against Paul and “erase” him. Weidman happily agreed with an example of how Anderson Silva had taken the same path. However, Weidman also implied that he would erase Jake Paul’s legacy of defeating UFC champions by “beating his a*s.” The 39-year-old said,
“It’ll be a big money fight for me. Everyone’s dying for that fight. I would love that opportunity. I think I would beat his a*s”
Weidman’s words also revealed another reason for his interest in the Jake Paul fight. It’s the massive amount of money he can make from the encounter. It won’t be wrong to say that a fight against Jake might turn out to be his biggest payday.
Chris Weidman may be looking for a Ben Askren-like payday from his Jake Paul fight
The UFC authorities have been criticized multiple times for their meager fighter payouts. ‘The Problem Child’ has often derided the UFC head honcho, Dana White, due to the same reasons. In fact, calling retired UFC fighters to the boxing ring is one of Paul’s ways to showcase that they can make a lot more money if they choose to market themselves without the help of a promotion.
The former UFC star, Ben Askren’s words, bears testimony to this fact. Askren faced Paul inside the boxing ring after his UFC retirement on April 17, 2021. In a later interview, he admitted that the Jake Paul fight was his biggest payday.
It’s quite apparent that Weidman will also love getting such a payday after his UFC retirement. Yet, nobody except Father Time knows whether he will be able to end the streak of retired UFC fighters losing to Jake Paul.
