Many fighters in Chris Weidman’s position would be considering their futures in mixed martial arts if they sustained an injury like he did.
At UFC 261, Weidman became the third man to snap his leg in UFC history when his leg kick was checked by Uriah Hall just seconds into their middleweight title. Weidman has since undergone surgery that saw a titanium rod into his leg.
The former UFC middleweight champion has a long road to recovery ahead of him. However, he says he is not looking to hang up his gloves just yet.
“It’s just so frustrating, and I know how much work it’s gonna take, but yeah, this is what I want,” Weidman told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani [H/T MMA Junkie]. “I just know how good I am, and I want to be able to prove it. I don’t have many more years left of being able to do that.
“My body never felt so good before this fight. I just can’t believe this happened. It just sucks. I was really excited to show the world how good I am, to put it out there, but this happened. So I just want an opportunity to go out there and do what I know I’m capable of while I still can.”
At the time of writing, Weidman is unable to even walk, let alone train, as he plots his return to the Octagon. That’s likely to remain the case for the next couple of months according to the Long Island native.
The 37-year-old talked of his desire to make a run to the 185-pound belt again ahead of his fight with Hall, even outlining how he would approach – and win – a championship bout with today’s UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. This faith in his abilities remains in place.
“If I can get my body back to where I feel like I’m that guy again, I 100 percent want to fight. I want to be able to demonstrate the talents I have and put on a show and also be able to inspire other people.
“Coming back from this is not gonna be easy, and it’s way tougher of a recovery already the first 10 days than I could have ever imagined. So it’s gonna be a long, long road. I’m not gonna be able to walk for, I think, two months, put weight on it and stuff, so I am completely bedridden.”
