Tim Boetsch Weighs-In on Chris Weidman-Vitor Belfort, Doesn’t See Latter “Surprising” the Champ
By Kelsey Mowatt
Although Vitor Belfort has finished three of the UFC’s most respected and dangerous middleweights in a row, the Brazilian star will be a considerable underdog when he battles champion Chris Weidman on Saturday night. So much so, it seems like most people are already debating who the American will defend the belt against, post-UFC 187.
Recently one of the UFC’s middleweight contenders, Tim Boetsch, appeared on Full Contact Fighter Radio, and relayed he also believes Weidman’s reign will continue on Saturday.
“I believe so,” said Boetsch, while discussing the fact most observers are predicting Weidman to be victorious on May 23rd. “I believe Chris is so dynamic; he’s good at everything. I don’t see Vitor surprising him in any way, and I think Chris will be victorious in that fight.”
Since the consensus is that Weidman will defeat Belfort this weekend, there’s been no shortage of speculation as to how the accomplished wrestler would do against Luke Rockhold. Following Rockhold’s impressive and one sided win over Lyoto Machida in April, the well rounded fighter has moved into the #1 contender spot at 185.
Boetsch is pretty familiar with the abilities of Rockhold, since he faced the AKA fighter last April and was submitted by the former Strikeforce champ. So how does Boetsch see Rockhold faring against the champion?
“He’s one of those guys that is so athletic, that he’s capable of anything” said Boetsch, who is scheduled to fight Dan Henderson on June 6th. “I definitely think he’s next in line, and certainly deserving, he’s one of the top guys for a reason.”
“I think it will be a great fight. It’s kind of one of those things. It’s a roll of the dice in that fight I think,” furthered Boetsch. “It’s whoever can push the pace, and really dictate what happens. If he’s able to dictate what he wants, he wins. If Chris is able to dictate what he wants, he wins…”
Boetsch is looking to rebound from a submission loss to Thales Leites versus Henderson, rise up the ranks and possibly into a rematch with Rockhold.
“That’s one of those fights that I hope down the road, I get to square off with him again, because I have a real sour taste in my mouth with how our fight was.”
Stay tuned to Full Contact Fighter for more from Boetsch and his thoughts on his upcoming fight with Henderson.