Chris Weidman might have received a bit of backlash over his comments towards Israel Adesanya over the weekend, but the former middleweight champion isn’t backing down.
Weidman remarked on Adesanya’s win over Anderson Silva with a brief tweet stating he felt the up and comer was overrated, and that a win over a 43-year old Silva wasn’t as impressive as the fan reaction would have you believe.
Following that remark, plenty of fans shot back at Weidman, telling him to reconsider his position — an offer he declined to take.
“Got a lot of Twitter fingers coming at me about saying Israel is a little overrated,” Weidman wrote. “Just my opinion. He hasn’t fought 1 top 5 guy. No top wrestler or jitsu guy. Was a -700 fave over Silva??? According to odds after seeing fight showed he was overrated. Close fight.”
Got a lot of Twitter fingers coming at me about saying Israel is a little overrated. Just my opinion. He hasn’t fought 1 top 5 guy. No top wrestler or jitsu guy. Was a -700 fave over Silva??? According to odds after seeing fight showed he was overrated. Close fight
— Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman) February 12, 2019
Weidman then expanded on his position, telling fans that if you compared his own performances against Silva to Adesanya’s, as well as the fact Adesanya’s record hasn’t gone against any of the top tier 185-pounders, people should slow down on the striker.
“He wouldn’t have much of a chance against me. Has he fought a top 5 guy yet ? A jitsu guy or top wrestler?” Weidman wrote.
He wouldn’t have much of a chance against me. Has he fought a top 5 guy yet ? A jitsu guy or top wrestler?
— Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman) February 12, 2019
Interestingly, Adesanya was asked about Weidman’s “overrated” remark earlier this week, where he brushed off his fellow contender’s comments.
“I didn’t pay any mind to Chris Weidman (saying) I’m overrated,” Adesanya said, speaking on MMAFighting’s The MMA Hour earlier this week. “OK, why, because he beat Silva a little bit more handily than I did? I’m overrated? Interesting. I could say the same thing about him. Heavily. Yeah, When I get this belt in my next fight, they can all line up and they can find out how overrated I am.”
