Hermansson is sixth in the world ranking in the middleweight (84 kilos) and is Sweden's highest ranked MMA fighter.

The fight against Weidman will be the main match at the gala in Oklahoma on May 2, and it will be Sweden's third straight "main event", something that only one Nordic fighter has had before, Alexander Gustafsson.

- It will be fucking fun to meet Weidman, who is a legend in the sport. Although he was heavily involved lately, he was the one who dethroned Anderson Silva from the throne after all these years, Hermansson tells SVT Sport.

The American Chris Weidman forever wrote himself in the history books when in the summer of 2013 he knocked the MMA world's biggest poster name, the brass Anderson Silva.

Weidman defended his UFC title three times and was considered to be one of the world's best fighters before falling into a heavy form.

Now he has lost five of his last six games, all of which are knockout losses. Albeit against ideal world-class resistance.

In October he tried to change the weight class to light heavyweight and therefore lost his middleweight ranking, where he now returns.

- I'm at the top of my career right now and he's probably a bit past his peak. I think that will be the difference. We both have a wrestler background and are evenly matched, but I think my standing game is better. There I am faster, a little more unpredictable and have a higher tempo than him, says Hermansson.

The Swede had four straight wins in the UFC, and six in seven matches, before losing heavily on a technical knockout against Jared Cannonier at a gala in Copenhagen in late September.

- Afterwards it has been difficult to get a new match. There has been a lot of damage to the top names and some have not wanted to meet me. But now I felt it was time and then Weidman was the best option so I'm happy anyway.

How do you think about meeting an undefeated coward in your position?

- Although it is not a step in the right direction in terms of ranking, Weidman is still a big name and this match will get a lot of exposure. It's a good chance for me to show off to the fans in a new main game.

- My goal is to become a UFC champion and I always want the matches that lead me in that direction. I always ask the UFC for as high a opponent as possible, but this time Weidman was the biggest name available.

"The Joker" is now looking forward to taking revenge 2020 for the tough end of last year.

Before the loss, the Swede approached a title match in the tough middleweight division. For example, opponent Jared Cannonier was allowed to act as a reserve for the next title match on March 7 before he injured one chest muscle and was forced to pull out.

- If I win over Weidman now I have the opportunity to make a little bigger demands and then I will push to meet Darren Till who is currently fifth in the rankings.

ARCHIVE: "They thought I had a smile like the Joker in Batman" (April 19, 2019)

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