Athletes
Welcome Back Chris Weidman
After Being Away For Over Two Years Due To Injury, Former Middleweight Champion Makes His Return To The Octagon At UFC 292
After I caught up with Chris Weidman about his life in South Carolina and locked horns about our favorite Italian restaurants in his native Long Island, I asked him how tired he was of talking about the leg break that sidelined him since April of 2021.
“I'm always ready for it,” he laughed. “Bring it on.”
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That’s the class Weidman has shown from the time he debuted in the UFC in 2011, through his reign as middleweight champion from 2013 to 2015, and to the present day, with all the good, bad, and ugly he’s had to deal with along the way. Whether it was the losses in the Octagon, the loss of his home due to Hurricane Sandy or the recent injury suffered in his bout against Uriah Hall, the 39-year-old has never changed. He always took the defeats with grace, the tough questions head on, and so, when he fell to the canvas in pain after a leg kick was checked by Hall, the whole MMA community felt it. And felt for Weidman.
Now, they’re rooting for a successful return when he meets Brad Tavares at UFC 292 on Saturday night.
“It's been a long road,” Weidman said. “They didn't even show how nasty it really was. What happened to my leg, the angle that they had, it didn't show the gory part with the blood and the bones and everything coming out. It was fricking nasty. And then, afterwards, four surgeries and infections and all this crap, it's been really tough, but I've really grown mentally and physically. I feel better than ever. I swear to God, I feel like I'm in my prime right now. And I know a lot of people are thinking, ‘Oh, he's just coming back to see if he can still do it or see where he is at.’ But not really. I'm here to take over the game again.”
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It's what you wanted to hear from Weidman, but also what you expect to hear from any fighter returning from a horrific injury. The difference with Weidman is that he’s telling the truth, at least when it comes to him wanting to get to the top of the middleweight division. How am I so sure? After those rough early days of recovery, Weidman eventually got the green light to return to the gym. Then he was cleared to fight, and he went to the UFC.
He didn’t ask for a sturdy and respected veteran like Tavares. He went higher.
“I was looking for some other guys ranked higher,” Weidman said. “I was saying (Jack) Hermansson, and I was saying Derek Brunson and they both weren't going to be ready in time. So the UFC told me to wait until after International Fight Week (July). And I was going to wait, and they said they could get me back in there September, October, November. And I was ready to fight earlier, and I wanted to get back out there. And then they called me back and they said, ‘Actually, if you're interested, Brad Tavares.’ I said, you know what, that's a tough guy. That's a guy who Israel Adesanya couldn't finish. That's a guy who Dricus Du Plessis couldn't finish; he had a barnburner with him. So I would love to be able to have that opportunity to go out there and be able to finish him and show that I'm not just coming back, but I'm coming back and I'm on a different level.”
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That’s Chris Weidman. Not Chris Weidman 2.0 or 3.0, but the fighter that’s always had the attitude of fighting the best, no matter where he was at in his career. Remember, when Weidman debuted in the UFC, he had four pro fights. By his eighth, he was beating Demian Maia, his ninth, he knocked out Mark Munoz. In his tenth, he stopped future Hall of Famer Anderson Silva. And so on and so on. So while some may want to ease into a comeback, the “All-American” isn’t interested in such talk.
“I'm a prospect again,” Weidman said. “That's what it feels like. I really feel like I have a second career here and I'm trying to run up the thing. I feel like I'm back to when I was 6-0, 7-0, trying to come up and get that fight with Anderson Silva and I had to make some statements. And so these next two fights to me are my Demian Maia and Mark Munoz fights. I feel like I got two more fights and then I'm fighting for the belt and taking out Adesanya. That's the goal.”
Chris Weidman vs Brad Tavares Preview | UFC 292
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Chris Weidman vs Brad Tavares Preview | UFC 292
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It's a lofty one, but Weidman has proven again and again that he’s the last guy you want to write off. And if you do, so be it. He’ll respond on Saturday night.
“I feel like a beast right now,” he said. “I just want to run through these guys and make a statement. So yeah, it's going to be exciting. I can't wait for that post-fight interview and let the world know I'm back.”
UFC 292: Sterling vs O'Malley took place live from TD Garden in Boston on August 19, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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