Chris Weidman has UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones in his sights.
The former UFC middleweight champion will make his bow as a light heavyweight against unbeaten contender Dominick Reyes on Friday night at UFC on ESPN 6.
And if he can get past the impressive Reyes, Weidman believes a title shot could be coming his way.
“I think so, because of what I accomplished in the past and coming in against a guy who’s undefeated ranked fourth in the world in that weight class,” said Weidman when asked if he thinks he will get a title shot next if he emerges victorious on Friday per MMAjunkie.
“If I go out there and do what I believe I can do, I don’t think you can really deny it. Especially because Jon Jones has faced most of the top guys and beat most of the top guys. Why not?”
Weidman is making the step up to light heavyweight after a dip in fighting form, having only won once in his last five fights at the middleweight limit of 185 pounds.
However, ever since his days as champion, Weidman says he has long kept an eye on Jones and maintains his belief that he has the arsenal to dethrone “Bones.” In fact, his belief has grown since seeing two former UFC middleweights in Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos take Jones to a decision in his last couple of bouts.
“I always believed I had the ability to beat him,” Weidman said. “I always imagined defending my belt until I decided to stop, and then going up and beating him, too.
“Obviously, it didn’t work out as planned for me. This new plan works out just fine. He definitely looks very beatable after watching his last two fights against two 185 pounders.”
