Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White recently claimed most of the mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters on his roster were picking Chris Weidman to upset longtime middleweight champ Anderson Silva when they collide at UFC 162 on July 6, 2013; however, the Las Vegas fight boss failed to get Tim Boetsch's opinion.
And "The Barbarian," for one, is not one to bet against "The Spider."
"I think Dana's quote was all the fighters he's talked to were picking Weidman. He didn't call me to get my opinion because I'm with Anderson Silva on this one," Boetsch told Bleacher Report.
With a record of 9-0 (5-0 UFC), the 29-year old feels his time is now, but according to Tim, he should have racked up a little more experience before he challenged the best pound-for-pound-fighter in the world.
"I'm happy for Chris that he got what he asked for, but I think he's going to find out he should have taken a little more time to get there, a little more experience," said Tim. "It would be a surprise for me if he won."
It's not that Tim doesn't believe in "All American," on the contrary, "The Barbarian" says Weidman has the tools necessary to pull off the upset. But, at the end of the day, it will be Silva's championship experience that will help him take the belt back home to Brazil.
And it will stay there until Boetsch himself gets the nod to challenge the 185-pound champion and subsequently dethrone him.
"I think Weidman has the tools to do it, but with the experience and Anderson just being the greatest fighter in the world, I think he's going to hang onto that title for a little bit longer until I get there to take it away from him."
Weidman and Boetsch were previously booked to duke it out at UFC 155, however, "All American" was forced out of the fight due to a bum shoulder. Constantinos Philippou, Weidman's teammate, stepped in to fill the void and eventually defeated Tim, ending his four-fight win streak.
Boetsch will look to start a new streak on his road to an eventual showdown against Anderson as he battles Mark Munoz at UFC 162 this Fourth of July weekend.
Discuss.