FOX’s Jay Glazer on Chris Weidman: ‘His shtick is that he has no shtick’

Jay Glazer has been a sports broadcaster with FOX since 2004. During that time he he’s learned a thing or two about spotting talent, and when looking at UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, he sees MMA’s next superstar.

“He has the potential to be the next star,” Glazer told MMAjunkie. “He’s a good-looking guy, and he’s as down to earth as you’re ever going to get. The sport can change some people, and it hasn’t to him.”

Weidman (11-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) puts his185-pound belt on line against Lyoto Machida (21-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 175 event at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center. The event airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

The contest marks Weidman’s second title defense and first against an opponent not named Anderson Silva. Nearly a dozen fights into his professional career, Weidman has made few mistakes to this point. He’s outclassed essentially everyone he’s faced, and he’s stopped his opponents in all but two of his UFC victories.

The sky’s the limit for 30-year-old Weidman. And as he continues to develop as a fighter and champion, Glazer, who will be part of FOX Sports 1’s full week of UFC programming, thinks he’s going to pick up a significant amount of supporters.

“The guy is a more violent version of Chael Sonnen with better standup,” Glazer said. “His pace is great. … People don’t consider him (a top) pound-for-pound (fighter) yet, but he has the knockout punch, he has takedowns, he has the submissions, and he has the chin. There’s nothing in particular that’s wrong with him.”

Weidman’s well-rounded skillset has led him to becoming the UFC’s lone undefeated male champion. However, it’ll come under serious threat against Machida in this weekend’s headliner.

Some doubt still lingers around the legitimacy of Weidman’s title reign after his unforgettable second match with Silva. “The Spider” broke his leg in horrific fashion in the duo’s rematch back in December.

That win followed Weidman’s first victory over the champ, in which Silva ultimately got caught with a punch while clowning around. Glazer, though, hopes a definitive victory over Machida will silence all of Weidman’s naysayers and lead to his ultimate acceptance as a top UFC champion.

“Machida’s tough for everybody,” Glazer said. “He’s a matchup nightmare no matter who you are. I just want Chris – if he wins – I just want him to get the respect he finally deserves.”

A victory over Machida would certainly help since, with his two wins over Silva, Weidman would have defeated arguably the two most successful Brazilian fighters in UFC history in back-to-back fights.

Glazer believes Weidman has all the attributes that are needed to be the face of the UFC. Now, it’s simply a matter of getting the right exposure and continuing to perform inside the octagon.

“I think he is a star, but he’s not yet polished,” Glazer said. “He’s the future, and he’s legitimately one of the sweetest human beings you’ll ever meet in your life. His shtick is that he has no shtick.”

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