Chris Weidman Refuses to Fight a ‘Gatekeeper,’ as He Promises to ‘Shock’ the World Upon Return

Chris Weidman, once considered one of the top fighters in the middleweight division, is set to make his much-anticipated return to the UFC after a long road to recovery. Weidman has had an adventurous career and has seen many ups and downs. The former middleweight champ went from successfully defending his title against big names like Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort to losing 6 of his last 8 matches before his gruesome injury.

Weidman has pretty much been out of the public eye for the last 2 years. After suffering a horrendous compound fracture back in 2021 at UFC 261, ‘The All-American’, as his fans call him, was stretchered out of the octagon and has since undergone four surgeries to heal the fracture. 

Chris Weidman About His Comeback Plans

Chris Weidman recently appeared at ‘The MMA Hour’ With Ariel Helwani, where he discussed his future UFC return. After a 2 year long break, Weidman will be making his return somewhere in June. However, The All-American is pretty clear as to how he wants to move forward with his UFC career.

“I went through all this hell not to just come back and be like that. I’m going to come back and try to get back what is mine, try and get that belt,” said Weidman as he shed some light on his plan to fight for the title in the near future.

“I’m not coming back to be a B-rated fighter or a gatekeeper or anything like that.”

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As reported by ‘MMA Junkie’, he said, “I’m not putting myself through this cr*p to fight some guys I know I can beat or just have a big-name fight, I’m trying to shock the world again.” It is evident from his words that Wiedman has his goals set straight. He also said that he wants a top 10 or a top 15 fighter for his return fight, which is not much to demand, considering the fact that Weidman was once considered one of the best middleweights in UFC.

Weidman’s Rise to Fame in the UFC

Weidman first gained widespread recognition in the MMA world when he knocked out the undefeated Anderson Silva to win the middleweight title. In his second match against Weidman, Silva suffered a leg break as he snapped his tibia and fibula in the second round of the fight. The fight ended in a TKO and Weidman went on to defend the middleweight title 2 more times.

At UFC 196, Weidman lost the title to Luke Rockhold. He then lost the next 5 of his 7 matches. Shockingly, Weidman suffered a very similar injury to Anderson Silva in his last fight against Uriah Hall at UFC 261.

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Even after going through one of the most gruesome injuries in MMA, Weidman seems pretty positive for the second part of his UFC career. It will be interesting to see how things will shape up for him. If Weidman gets it right and accomplishes what he aims for, it will definitely be one of the best comeback stories of the MMA world.