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#6 ranked Middleweight Jack Hermansson is set to return to the Octagon in two weeks after almost 11 months away. His last appearance in UFC saw him on the receiving end of a vicious knockout by Jared Cannonier in their headlining fight.
While Jack Hermansson was originally scheduled to face Chris Weidman in a headliner on May 2nd, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented it from happening. However, the Swede-Norwegian Middleweight is happy with the way things worked out.
In an interview with MMA Junkie, Jack Hermansson revealed that the Chris Weidman fight wasn't going to happen and felt that the former Middleweight Champion wasn't ready:
“The fight was never going to happen anyway because of travel issues and visas and stuff,” Hermansson said. “I don’t think Chris was ready to fight on this card. Gastelum wanted to fight me, I wanted to fight him. We asked the UFC if we could make it happen, we could so I think the outcome was even better than I thought so I’m super happy with this fight. I’m looking forward to it.
Jack Hermansson also revealed why he was much happier taking a fight against Kelvin Gastelum:
“Gastelum is a little bit more up-to-date. Weidman has a big name, but it’s a little bit about the rankings as well. I want to move forward and I feel like Gastelum is the right fight to do that.”
Where does Jack Hermansson fit in the Middleweight division?
Had Jack Hermansson defeated Jared Cannonier, he would surely have only been a fight away from a title shot. As of now, it's the Brazilian Paulo Costa who's set to take on Israel Adesanya in the next Middleweight Championship fight.
Jack Hermansson could still climb the ranks once again if he beats a big name like Kelvin Gastelum. One thing is for sure - the next two years in the Middleweight division are going to be extremely exciting.
