UFC middleweight fighter Chris Weidman is all set to make his return to the octagon after a hiatus of two long years due to a devastating leg injury. The fighter will be up against Brad Tavares in the preliminary card of UFC 292 scheduled to happen on August 19 in Boston.
Weidman last fought at UFC 261 against Uriah Hall in April 2021. At the start of the first round, Weidman launched a strong outside low kick, which Hall defended with his left knee. Resulting from the impact, Weidman’s right fibula and tibia snapped upon contact. Weidman promptly fell on the canvas, leading referee Herb Dean to stop the bout and declare Hall the winner by technical knockout.
Chris Weidman was instantly rushed to the hospital after the serious injury, and one would expect the support of training partners and coaches at this crucial point. However, the fighter expressed his anger towards his coach, Ray Longo, for not being there for him in such a difficult situation.
“You would think the head coach would want to go with his guy to the hospital to make sure he is okay. Longo wanted nothing to do with it.” said Chris Weidman on Shak MMA.
He also added that his coach chose to go have a good time in a bar rather than visit him at the hospital. “While I was screaming in pain… he was nowhere to be found. He will never be forgiven for that.”
However, the 39-year-old fighter did not take it too seriously, as he respects Longo very much and is still his trains under him for his comeback fight at UFC 292. In the same interview, Weidman also showered praise on Longo for not caring about money and just being all about the fighters and their game.
Chris Weidman calls his injury a ‘blessing in disguise
Weidman recently reflected on how serious his injury was and how his mindset got affected after going through a lot of stress, both physically and mentally. The middleweight fighter expressed that the injury put a lot of things in perspective and helped him figure out what was really important to him in life.
He also discussed the graph of his career and how things can change in no time. Weidman has lost six out of his last eight fights, and that does really make his record look average, but MMA fans know what kind of legend he has been.
Weidman has dominated the middleweight division of the world’s largest MMA organization for a good amount of time, having made title defenses against legends like Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, and Lyoto Machida. As he is nearing the end of his career, the fighter would like to bid adieu to the game on a high note.