Chris Weidman is the undefeated UFC middleweight champion, and during an interview with Newsday he stated he "refuses to lose." When he defeated arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, Anderson "Spider" Silva, on two separate occasions fight fans were forced to take him seriously.
Weidman is an obviously gifted fighter, but his mentality is his greatest strength according to those close to him, and the champion himself.
When asked about the phrase "Refuse to Lose," Weidman said he adopted it as his motto. "I always thought it was pretty cool, I liked it," Weidman said.
"And then when I finally understood it, it was years later when I started MMA. I decided you know what, I'm just done losing. I'm not losing to any of these guys any more, I'm done."
He referred back to collegiate losses and called himself a choke artist for never winning a national championship.
"I wasn't mature enough to be that hardest working guy in the room, and I'd lose," Weidman said. "I was like, 'I'm not meant to be the person I thought I could be. I'm not meant to be a champion and a guy that accomplishes his goals and dreams.' There was a time I thought that, that's just kind of me. MMA gave me one more shot, one more shot to change all that."
When he fought Silva, most viewed him as an unheralded afterthought. Now, when he takes on grizzled UFC veteran Vitor Belfort, he will be the heavy favorite.
"I'm the champion. Everybody wants a piece of me. Everybody's giving me their best," Weidman said.
"People want to do good against me, and I can never give anybody an inch. That's the goal for me and that's what keeps me motivated, whether it's sparring, jiujitsu, wrestling. I can't take a day off. Everybody's out to get me. I gotta win every day. That's why it becomes a habit when I step into the octagon."
That mindset will serve him well against Vitor Belfort, his opponent this Saturday at the MGM Grand.
Belfort is 38 and has 10 losses on his resume, but that should not lull fans into thinking he's a walkover for the younger Weidman. Belfort has won three straight fights since falling to Jon "Bones" Jones in 2012, and all of them are knockouts against well-regarded UFC stars.
[Newsday]
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