MMA

Ray Longo Says Chris Weidman Ready For Comeback

David TeesApril 7, 2017, 5:30 pm

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman will be looking to stop his losing streak against Gegard Mousasi at UFC 210.

Longtime coach Ray Longo knows that Weidman is ready to end the losing streak and return to the top of the division.

"Look, it’s always exciting working your way up to the top, and it’s really hard to hold that," he said on The MMA Hour. "Who knows, I mean I think maybe we all got scattered a little bit. But we’re all back. We’re back. I really put a lot into this camp myself as a coach, and I got a lot of help from a lot of other people, which I appreciate. I’m really psyched for this fight."

Weidman hasn’t won a fight since defeating former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 175.

The longtime coach also admits that Weidman has made life changes as he prepares to win again.

"I mean, life throws a lot of things at you," he said. "You have family, you’ve got kids, you’ve got all this stuff happening outside and you know, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. So you want guys to entertain things that they could be successful in maybe after their career is over. But again, the mantra for this was really just exclude — just focus on what you have to do. That’s what I loved about this camp. Chris really wanted to go to Brazil with his friend [Gian] Villante, but he didn’t. He wanted to be in Wonderboy’s corner in Vegas, he didn’t. He really, this was a time to get selfish, and just concentrate on your training. And I think the kid went beyond where we’ve been in a while, and I think it shows. If you talk to him I think you’ll see a different guy talking, and obviously if you look at him, the hard work just pays off. To the point that people are accusing him of being on PEDs, which I’m proud to say he’s clean as hell."

UFC 210 takes place on Saturday, April 8 from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York with Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson headlining. Fightful will be providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.