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Some guys hype a fight by asking for a medium-rare steak.
Others do it by balancing their budgets, like Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight number one contender Chris Weidman, who is passing on the opportunity to negotiate a new contract until after he defeats Anderson Silva in the main event of UFC 162, booked for July 6, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Because that's when the "All American" (via MMA Junkie) will be worth the most.
"I think we're just going to keep the contract. I'm definitely okay with making what I was making. I think I was making $24,000 (to show) and $24,000 (as a win bonus). I want to do that because then after I beat Anderson like I plan on doing, then obviously the contract will jump up more than if I was to rip up the contract now. I'm ready to put all my eggs in one basket and put my money where my mouth is. When people hear that, it's almost like I'm talking smack. But I'm just confident, and I really believe I can win the fight. I think it's a fight that people want to see. People say I don't have that many fights, which is true, but I've never had an easy fight. Even when I was in Ring of Combat, we always wanted to get the best guys because I wanted to get that experience. Guys like Uriah Hall, who's coming up on 'The Ultimate Fighter,' I fought that guy in my third fight. I put myself in a lot of risky positions fighting good guys. I could have fought 50 guys at this point and smoked every one of them, and it would be against nobodies, which a lot of guys do. But I always chose the toughest competition because I knew that was going to make me the best I could be."
He's certainly rich in confidence.
By the time they actually step foot inside the cage, it will be a full year since "The Spider" defended his title, a second-round technical knockout win over Chael Sonnen last July. The Brazilian took time from his vacation to beat the 'roids out of Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153 but since then, has been keeping busy with personal projects like this one.
And, like his younger foe, Silva also passed on a new contract ahead of UFC 162.
Weidman is talking the talk, but has also been riding the pine for quite some time. After his house was swallowed up by Hurricane Sandy (see the video here), the former collegiate wrestling champion went under the knife to repair a bum shoulder.
Kinda hard to overlook when facing the top pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. But maybe that's the gamble? I wonder how much of that projected $48,000 he'll put on these odds.
You know the old saying, money talks ...
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