Chris Weidman has experienced a setback in the recover from his catastrophic leg injury.
Weidman (15-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) infamously suffered a nasty broken leg in his UFC 261 fight with Uriah Hall in April. Previous updated indicated his rehabilitation was going smoothly, but now he’s discovered that’s not the case.
The former UFC middleweight champion Weidman revealed on Wednesday that the bones in his leg are not healing properly, and he must undergo a follow up surgery to correct the issues.
“I’m actually getting another surgery – I just found out,” Weidman told “MMA Today” on SiriusXM. “I’m getting another surgery most likely on Aug. 11. They’re going to have to plate the fibula bone because it’s considered a non-union, so the bones aren’t healing the way it’s supposed to, which kind of sucks.
“I did expect setbacks and issues with this type of traumatic injury, and I’ve been through a lot.”
🎙️"It's very easy to look at someone else who has it worse and then realize you have nothing to complain about and you can't be feeling sorry for yourself." — @chrisweidman reveals to @MieshaTate and @RyanMcKinnell that he'll unfortunately need another leg surgery 🔊
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/1usdAZcPly
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) July 28, 2021
Weidman did not comment on what his timeline for a return to fighting may look like, but it appears there’s a lot of grueling recovery still ahead for the 37-year-old.
He’s not beating himself up over the situation, though. Weidman said his next surgery will be the 25th of his life, so he’s familiar with the process. This injury is seemingly more complicated than anything he’s endured previously, but Weidman is still keeping a positive mindset as he takes his next step.
“At the end of the day, I guess my mindset is: I’m just a positive person to begin with,” Weidman said. “Not that I don’t have moments of negativity and laziness and lack of motivation, but I’m usually a glass half full type of person. I think that helps. If I ever feel bad for myself, it’s very easy to look at someone else who has it worse and realize you have nothing to complain about it and you shouldn’t feel sorry for yourself.”
