Weidman Says UFC Should Fast-Track Tommy McMillen After Noche War
Chris Weidman wants the UFC to stop easing Tommy McMillen through the unranked pack after the Arizona featherweight survived a knockdown and won a Fight of the Night war at Noche UFC. Speaking on Deep Waters with Dustin Poirier, Jorge Masvidal, and Din Thomas, the former middleweight champion argued that McMillen’s chin is already a target, so the promotion might as well put him under the lights against a ranked name.
McMillen improved to 12-0 and 3-0 in the UFC on September 12 when he outlasted Marwan Rahiki by scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 29-27 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. Rahiki dropped him in the second round and nearly finished the fight before McMillen took over the third, earning both men a $100,000 Fight of the Night bonus.
The panel called McMillen a high-volume gunslinger who forces opponents into chaos. Weidman said the grappling underneath that wild striking is what people miss.
“But here’s the thing that I think that gets overlooked in all his chaos,” Weidman said. “He wrestles really well and he’s a pretty good grappler. When he gets in them positions, man, he’s really kind of tough to deal with.”
Thomas framed the style as a test of endurance. “He forces you to enter these deep waters and you can’t swim long enough with him.”
They also said the same approach creates problems. McMillen is still learning, they agreed, and his willingness to trade leaves openings that a sharper ranked fighter will find. The group compared that risk to Justin Gaethje, another volume fighter who built a career on wars and later had to tighten his defense to stay at the top.
Weidman did not want the UFC to park McMillen against another unranked prospect just because he is 28 and three fights into his Octagon run. He said the danger is already there no matter who stands across from him.
“He has just as much of a chance to lose to those guys outside the top ten, the way he fights,” Weidman said. “Like, he was dropped. He was almost finished in this fight. So why not just put him against those top guys and let him be under the big lights against top guys, where he does have a chance to win, but he also has a chance to get knocked out anyway?”
He kept going. “He could lose to a no-name, or let him lose to a guy who’s got a big name, and it’s okay. Because no matter who he goes against, they’re just gonna pinpoint that chin, put him to sleep.”
Names the panel floated included Steve Garcia, Aaron Pico, and the winner of Doo Ho Choi’s next assignment. Garcia sits in the official featherweight top 10 after a June knockout loss to Diego Lopes. Pico is booked against Arnold Allen at UFC 333 on October 24. Choi meets Patricio Pitbull at UFC 331 on September 19 in Los Angeles. Those are ranked tests, not developmental matchups.
McMillen already asked for a December date in Las Vegas after the Rahiki win, the same way he called his shot onto the Noche card following his third-round stoppage of Alberto Montes in July. That earlier fight also produced a Performance of the Night bonus and a UFC record 252 significant strikes in a three-round bout. The promotion has rewarded the noise so far. A ranked opponent would be the next step the Deep Waters crew is pushing.
Rahiki did not leave the conversation as a write-off. The 24-year-old Moroccan is now 9-1 after his first UFC loss, and the panel said he almost closed the show in round two. Poirier argued that if Rahiki had stayed cleaner instead of matching McMillen’s brawl, the result might have flipped.
Thomas and the others pointed Jamal Emmers and David Onama as reasonable bounce-back fights. Both sit on the fringe of the official 145-pound list and can strike with anyone in the division. A loss in a Fight of the Night candidate should not bury a prospect who finished his first two UFC opponents.
The larger question is how long McMillen can keep winning this way. Gaethje reached a title because he improved while taking damage. The Deep Waters group said McMillen will need the same defensive growth if the UFC does what Weidman is asking and puts him in with men who know how to find a chin. Until that booking lands, the 12-0 featherweight remains the most watchable unranked fighter on the roster and the one the veterans on the desk want to see on a bigger stage next.