Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman (15-6) is starting to gear things up for his return to the octagon. It’s been almost a year since we’ve seen Weidman and the last time we saw him, he had to be carried out on a stretcher due to a horrific injury.
Weidman was taking on Uriah Hall at UFC 261. It was the first PPV event for the UFC where there was a full audience. Weidman was rejuvenated after the struggles he had in previous years. He was coming off of a big win against Omari Akhmedov and was looking to use the Hall fight to establish himself as a contender again.
However, the fight would end seconds after it started. Weidman opened with a powerful low kick that Hall checked. When Hall checked the kick, Weidman’s leg completely snapped in half. Weidman fell to the ground and it looked like his career could’ve been over.
However, Weidman had surgery and he’s been working hard on making a comeback. He’s had some setbacks, but the former UFC champion is closer than ever to making a return. He recently appeared on Fighter vs. Writer on MMA Fighting to talk about his return.
Weidman’s last UFC run
In the episode which can be listed to here, Weidman talked about his desire to make one final run. He talked about the fact that he’s looking sensational in the gym and he truly believes that he can compete with the best in UFC right now.
Weidman mentioned that he didn’t want to put a specific timeline on his return, but he said he would be returning this year no matter what. With that in mind, who should the UFC look at pairing Weidman with whenever he’s ready to make his return.
To me, there is one perfect fight if both men can make it happen with their health. The perfect fight for Chris Weidman would be a rematch with former UFC champion Luke Rockhold (16-5). Like Weidman, Rockhold is also working his way back from injury.
Rockhold was supposed to fight Sean Strickland in November but a back injury delayed his UFC return. Both of these legends match up perfectly and when they are ready to go, the promotion should put this one together.