Faith in mom's prayers and rush to beat Israel Adesanya: Chris Weidman puts horrific injury behind in UFC return
After multiple surgeries Chris Weidman, 39, is back in business with his first fight locked against Brad Taveres at UFC 292 at TD Garden in Boston.
A tap of hands, few movements, and a strike. Just 17 seconds into the fight against Uriah Hall at UFC 261, Chris Weidman fell straight onto the ground wailing in pain. It was Weidman who struck first, however, the action turned out to be the final of the bout, leaving Weidman with a broken tibia and fibula in a compound fracture. The bone had tore through his muscle, nerves, and flesh, a sight that would definitely leave one shivered down the spine.
After multiple surgeries, Weidman, 39, is now back in business with his first fight locked against Brad Taveres at UFC 292 at TD Garden in Boston.
“I just want to let them know that my career is not done, is just gonna start right now. So, get on for the ride,” Weidman told hindustantimes.com in an exclusive interview organised by Sony Sports Network, the official broadcaster of UFC in India.
While Weidman was back on his feet in just about “eight weeks or something”, the former middleweight champion initially had second thoughts about making a comeback, which gradually disappeared.
"I think there were moments, especially in the beginning where I was deciding that fighting is not the biggest thing on my mind, it was about being able to walk again; with my kids, just be able to do every day activity for the rest of my life.
“Then once I started getting a little bit better that I could get to the gym, I was cautiously optimistic. Until some of the pain went away and I realized all right maybe my leg can work, maybe I'll still be able to perform. So I was cautiously optimistic the whole time, taking it day by day and then it got to the point where I knew I'm good to go, like all right let's do this,” said Weidman.
Straight to business
It is Weidman's first fight after the gruesome leg injury, but that has not stopped him from taking shots at the current champion Israel Adesanya.
“The goal is to get to the point to fight Adesanya. This guy is on top, he's crushing everybody right now and he's a guy I know I can beat, so I got to do whatever I can to get there. And I'm in a rush to do it. So I take out the Brad Tavares, I say one more top guy and then I'll be fighting Adesanya,” Weidman noted when asked about his ambitions of regaining the crown he once held.
For now the plan is simple, which is to have faith in god and trust the instincts. "I hang out my family, my mom always has like a list of prayers for me that I'll read a bunch of times. Other than that I just go out there and let my instincts fly and just trust my instincts,” Weidman signed off.
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