Matt Serra believes his pupil Chris Weidman has what it takes to defeat UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Serra spoke to MMAJunkie about Weidman.
If you go back, I did a video blog ages ago. He was getting ready for a local fight and I was getting ready for a fight with I think Chris Lytle or something. I said, ‘This kid’s gonna be champ one day. You’ll be watching these video blogs saying, ‘Hey, I said it.’ It’s not that I’m a genius. I’m no Nostradamus. I just think this kid is that talented.
When he’s up here saying he wants Anderson Silva, he’s not doing it for just a paycheck. He’s doing it because he truly believes he can beat and finish Anderson Silva. He has the same approach to sparring, to rolling. He wants to – you want to spar with this guy, this guy’s tough – he wants to feel it. I believe he will be champion.
Chael is similar in a sense to Chris. Chris is just a little younger and he’s a stud. Submission wise, he’s a freak. You’re talking about a kid who went to Abu Dhabi [Combat Club grappling tournament] after six months of training, and he’s battling it out with black belts over there. He’s that good. He really is. For people to not think so, or think maybe he’s not ready, look what he’s done so far. Look at the guys who Mark Munoz fought.”
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