Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman has raised concerns about Conor McGregor and whether the former two-division champion can return at full strength after suffering a devastating leg injury.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is scheduled to face Max Holloway (27-9 MMA, 23-9 UFC) in the main event of UFC 329 on July 11, marking his first fight in more than five years. The Irish star has not competed since his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021, when he suffered a gruesome broken leg that left questions surrounding the future of his career.
Weidman (16-8 MMA, 12-8 UFC) understands those concerns firsthand. The former champion endured a nearly identical injury during his bout against Uriah Hall in April 2021. After spending more than two years recovering, Weidman returned for three additional fights before retiring at the end of 2024.
Speaking on the Deep Waters podcast this week, Weidman admitted he initially believed he would be able to return to competition without major limitations, but said the reality proved much different once he stepped back into the Octagon.
“It's a serious thing,” Weidman said. “I came back training, I had the right mindset. I really thought I was going to be fine coming back. And I remember hearing Rogan talk. He says this all the time: ‘You come back from one of those leg breaks, you're never the same.’ And I remember being motivated from that. I'm like, ‘I'm going to show him he's wrong.’”
Weidman recalled how difficult it became to trust his injured leg again during his comeback fight against Brad Tavares.
“And I came back and my first fight back, I'm going against Tavares and this dude starts leg kicking me right away,” Weidman said. “In training, I was leg kicking with the shin pads on and stuff and I thought I was fine. He could leg kick me, always my instinct was ‘I'm kicking back even harder.’ He kicked me and I just couldn't throw my damn kick, and I'm like, ‘F—k…oh, my God.’”
“At one point, maybe in the second round, I threw it, but I threw it, like, so scared. I barely touched him, and I'm like, ‘I can't do it.’ I couldn't throw it. It affected me way more than I thought it was going to affect me until I was actually under the lights. It's like PTSD, man. It was super traumatic, that whole event.”
Weidman said those same physical and psychological hurdles could present major challenges for McGregor when he returns later this year.
“It's going to be a lot for him,” Weidman said. “It's going to be a lot. The leg, the time off. He's got an uphill battle. I don't know what issues (he’s dealing with). I still deal with issues in my leg, now that I'm retired, I can say it, but it's a big issue.”
The 40-year-old also revealed that the long-term effects of the injury continue to impact him even after retirement.
“(I have a) weird scar and the muscles never came back,” Weidman said. “My quad is still like, I don't know, five centimeters smaller than my left. I try, I do leg extensions, and I try my best, but it just... it never came back the same.”
