Fresh off an impressive victory over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Jack Hermansson is ready for another big step up in the middleweight division. His preference, as he explained on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, is a fight with Yoel Romero — though he’s also interested in meeting Kelvin Gastelum or Chris Weidman in his next outing.
“We want the big boys,” Hermansson said on the show. “I have three names in mind, Yoel Romero, Kelvin Gastelum and Chris Weidman, Those make sense for me.
“We will go by the rankings there,” he added. “Romero is probably the highest ranked. So, if you beat Romero, people will be just like, ‘he deserves the title shot.’ He is probably the hardest guy as well. He is a hard guy to beat and super dangerous. I want to beat the guy who earns me the title. So if that’s him, that’s the guy I want.”
Chris Weidman has caught wind of these comments from Jack Hermansson, and despite Hermansson’s preference for a fight with Romero, is hoping he gets to fight the Swede next.
Weidman affirmed his interest in a fight with Hermansson on Twitter.
“I Just heard “The Joker” Hermansson mention on @arielhelwani show he would want to fight me next. Would love that fight.” – Chris Weidman on Twitter.
Hermansson is currently on a four-fight streak, highlighted by wins over David Branch and “Jacare.” Weidman, meanwhile, is a tough 1-4 in his last five, with his lone victory coming against Gastelum.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 5/2/2019.