On Saturday at UFC 292 former champion Chris Weidman will return to the Octagon for the first time since he suffered a gruesome leg break at UFC 261 in 2021.
His progress back to fighting didn’t go as quickly, or as seamlessly as he’d hoped but he’s not letting that get him down just days before stepping back into the cage.
“It definitely helped me put things in perspective,” Weidman said of the injury and recovery while speaking to CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri. “It helped me realize what’s most important in life and that’s my family. My family and close friends. My family was there. They supported me the whole time. They’re always around and kind of gave me a glimpse into what life would be like after fighting. Who’s going to be around because going from a world champion, losing some fights, then breaking your leg in half, you get to see who the real ones are. It definitely was been helpful to see that. There are a lot of blessings in disguise. To be able to come back and feel as good as I feel right now, I feel like I’m in my prime and I’m ready to prove that. People think I’m just coming back for like a paycheck or to just see how it feels. I’m coming back to take over this whole damn thing. It’s very exciting.”
Chris Weidman reflects on long journey to return after ‘hopes just crashing down’
When a leg break happens, one of the big looming questions is … will it happen again? And Weidman was open about the fears he had in his recovery process.
“From day one, as soon as I was limping inside the gym, I knew the one thing I was going to be afraid to do was kick,” he said.”So I just made sure I kicked. I started with the heavy bag. I started kicking that thing a little harder, a little harder. Next, I started sparring with people that I trust. People I know aren’t going to check me and I’m throwing leg kicks at them. Nice and light just feeling it out. It’s been a long two years of recovering and getting to the point where I’ll kick through someone’s leg right now. I don’t give a crap.”
And he spoke of the many times he felt the urge to fight, but wasn’t fully recovered yet.
“We’ve had four surgeries, infections, in and out of hospitals, tons of ups and downs,” he said. “Hopes and then hopes just crashing down. So there’s just been a lot of ups and downs and a lot of focus on focusing on each day and winning each day as opposed to being like, ‘I need to get into a fight’ and being upset that I’m not there yet. I just kind of put that all out. I couldn’t control it. And every day I just tried to get my leg a little bit stronger, a little bit more healthy and here we are.”
Weidman will face off with Brad Tavares on Saturday night from Boston, MA.
https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufcnews/chris-weidman-4-leg-surgeries-infections-video