Never accuse Chris Weidman of avoiding tough challenges.
That's the reason Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Middleweight champion is adamant he will not leave mixed martial arts (MMA) without fighting former Light Heavyweight champion, Jon Jones.
Because much like wanting to test himself against former 185-pound king Anderson Silva, Weidman wants to take on the best and take them out. He said as much during his recent conversation on "The MMA Hour" (via MMA Fighting).
Check it out:
"I know for a fact, I'm not leaving this sport without fighting Jon. Unless he's not coming back at all. But, if he's there, and I'm here, people are going to want to see it happen. And I want to see it happen That's nothing against Jon. It's just because I'm a competitor. I want to fight the best possible people. I want to have the biggest challenges in front of me and conquer them. That's why I wanted to fight Anderson Silva when nobody else wanted to fight him. I want the biggest challenges. I want to beat people who people think I can't beat. And Jon is definitely going to be one of those guys."
To date, Weidman (13-0, 9-0 UFC) has taken out every tough challenge put in front of him, including beating the aforementioned Silva twice, as well as waxing Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida, among others.
Up next will be a title fight against Luke Rockhold, which is expected to co-headline UFC 194 on Dec. 12, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada (details).
As for Jones, well, his challenges are much tougher (no disrespect Rockhold), as he is looking to take on looming legal battles for a hit-and-run accident earlier this year in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It's an unfortunate dilemma that forced UFC to strip Jones of his title and suspend him indefinitely.
Once all those issues are behind him, there is still no guarantee that Jones returns to action again.