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Chris Weidman has suffered another leg injury, although it’s nowhere near the disaster that he had to deal with in the 2021 appearance that saw him get stretchered out of the UFC octagon.
Weidman came onto his Sirius XM radio show this week to update fans on his injury status after his unanimous decision loss at UFC 292. He said that after a series of tests, a fracture in his left leg was found – although the recovery process should only take about four weeks.
Leg kicks hurt Chris Weidman at UFC 292
When Weidman returned at UFC 292 in mid-August, it was the former UFC Middleweight Champion’s big return to action. Weidman’s previous appearance was in 2021, when he faced Uriah Hall at UFC 261.
The fight between Weidman and Hall was quick and gruesome. Weidman threw a leg kick to Hall that caused a clean break on his right shin, ending the bout in just 17 seconds. The tough defeat caused Weidman to leave the venue that night in a gurney, and guaranteed that he’d be on the sidelines for a long amount of time.
As you would expect, there was some concern when he came into UFC 292 and appeared for the first time since that injury. His coach, Ray Longo, was one of the people who had some worries. “I’m a little nervous about the injury,” Longo said in an interview with CBS Sports prior to the event.
It might have made people a little more nervous when Weidman’s opponent, Brad Tavares, starting targeting his leg during the match. Tavares landed many leg kicks throughout the match, with UFC’s official statistics recording 41 landed leg kicks from him through three rounds.
Weidman struggled with these kicks, causing him to switch stances and affect his ability to land on Tavares. In the end, Tavares walked away with a unanimous decision win.
‘Four week recovery. That’s it’
Weidman had an extensive amount of tests done after another performance that saw him take leg damage.
“I got MRIs done on my tibia and fibula on both legs. I got MRIs on both of my knees [and] x-rays. I’ve been waiting for results and I got the results back,” Weidman said on his Sirius XM Fight Nation show, Won’t Back Down Radio.
“There was no ligament tears at all. So ACL, MCL, LCL, PCL, all those L’s that you don’t want to tear because that’s like six months to a year of recovery … What did happen to me though is, I have a fracture on my left leg. So I guess he broke my leg with one of those leg kicks … But I’m pretty sure that’s when my leg broke, fractured … Recovery-wise, it’s not bad at all. Four weeks. Four week recovery. That’s it.”
Weidman doesn’t plan to leave just yet
UFC 292 continued recent struggles for Weidman in the cage. Since 2015, Weidman has won three of his last 10 appearances. Despite these struggles, the former champ – now 39 years old – claims that he is not done in MMA. Shortly after his loss to Tavares a few weeks ago, he remained confident in his plan to return once again.
“I’m not done,” Weidman said in a post-fight interview with ESPN in Boston. “I’ll be back better than ever.”
Not everyone is as enthusiastic about Weidman getting back into the cage as he is. UFC President Dana White mentioned earlier this month that he hopes Weidman retires. While White did assume that Weidman’s injuries following UFC 292 would likely cause a year to recover from, he said “Father time is not our friend at all, but definitely not for a professional athlete.”
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