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Two years after his gruesome leg injury, former UFC middleweight champion and Long Island native Chris Weidman is returning to the octagon.
The 39-year-old from Baldwin is taking on Brad Tavares, a veteran fighter, at UFC 292 in Boston’s TD Garden this Saturday.
Weidman, who is regarded as one of the top UFC middleweights of all time, holds a pro MMA record of 15-6. His opponent is 19-9, with the most decision wins in UFC middleweight division history at 12.
On Aug. 24, 2021, Weidman suffered one of the most traumatic sports injuries in recent history.
After throwing a kick against Uriah Hall at UFC 261, his leg snapped as Weidman fell to the canvas. He had suffered a compound fracture. It was an eerily similar leg injury that happened to Anderson Silva, when Weidman defended his title against The Spider.
Weidman shared the x-rays on X (formerly Twitter), showing part of the bone actually protruding through his skin.
You can watch the full video of his injury here. Warning: it’s not for the faint-hearted.
Weidman would have multiple surgeries on the leg, but two years later, the Hofstra alum is getting ready to strap on the gloves.
“I’m excited to come back and make a splash,” Weidman said in an interview with Greater LI’s Jamie Stuart. “It’s been a long road to get to this position, but I feel great. It’s all coming together great.”
Weidman saw his first competitive action back in March, when he lost a decision to Owen Livesey in a wrestling match at Polaris 23.
“Now, I’m really hungry, man,” he told GLI. “I think having this catastrophic, traumatic injury, and everything I had to go through to get to this point, you couldn’t do it without motivation, hunger, and belief in yourself.”
While he said he’s taking it one fight at a time, Weidman says he wants to vie for another title.
“I want to wake everyone up, have them realize, ‘Wow, Weidman is still here, and he’s going to be a problem,'” he said.
Oddsmakers don’t see it that way, however. Currently, the Pride of Long Island is a +220 betting underdog against Tavares, who has been active in the UFC since 2011. Tavares, 35, is currently on a two-fight skid, losing his last fight in April by a first-round TKO.
“On my way up, this is a guy I would’ve ran through,” Weidman said on his opponent. “This is a good fight to see where I’m at.”
And don’t be surprised if his first move is a kick.
“If you get into a car accident, you don’t stop driving,” he said. “You just get back in that car and you drive.”
The fight is scheduled as the headliner on the prelims. The main card features Aljamain Sterling, a friend and teammate of Weidman’s, who will be defending his bantamweight title against “Suga” Sean O’Malley.
“He has such a great energy and momentum going into this fight,” said Weidman, who aims to use his team’s momentum for his fight.
If things go according to plan for Weidman, he’s hoping to leave unscathed and fight again at the upcoming Madison Square Garden card in November. Then, hopefully, get a title shot after that.
“I think two good wins, against impressive guys — and my wins are in dominating ways — I think people are going to want to see me fight for the belt,” he said.
The Long Islander, who now lives in South Carolina, said he wants to take on the current middleweight champ, Israel Adesanya.
“I love that fight,” he said. “I don’t like talking about it too much because I have work to do, but that is the end goal: to be a champion. I’m in this sport for one reason. As soon as I feel like I’m not the best in the world, as soon as I can’t win a world championship, is the day I’m done fighting.”
Full interview
Top: Chris Weidman celebrates a win against Kelvin Gastelum during their mixed martial arts bout at UFC on Fox 25, Saturday, July 22, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano)
