Chris Weidman finally returned to action on Saturday night after over two years on the sidelines due to a broken leg, but it proved to be another tough night at the office for the former champion.
The 39-year-old Weidman was going up against a fellow veteran in Brad Tavares, who showed no mercy for the long an gruelling road to recovery his opponent had endured as he repeatedly blasted both his legs with heavy kicks throughout the fight that visibly took their toll, to the extent that it’s now feared Weidman may have been left with a torn ligament.
Weidman showed his toughness to make it to the final bell, but that unanimous decision loss was enough for another former middleweight champion Michael Bisping to plead with Weidman to now hang up his gloves for good.
“Fighter stick around past their best, past their expiration date, and then they go on a succession of losing fights, one after the other, and it’s heartbreaking to see,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Certainly as a fan, seeing your favorite fighter that was once a champion struggling to get a win, losing and getting knocked out, choked out and submitted, whatever, it’s very, very painful to watch.
“It seems like the whole world knows this guy should retire, but they don’t. And I am, of course, talking about Chris Weidman. And I apologize, Chris, if you see this. I’m a massive fan of Chris. As we know, the guy was an incredible champion. He was undefeated, he dethroned Anderson Silva, he defended the belt against Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort, and after that lost to Luke Rockhold, and then came the knockouts. Of course against ‘Jacare’ Souza, against Gegard Mousasi, against Dominick Reyes, and then he snaps his leg against Uriah Hall.”
“…When you see someone like Weidman, who’s such a great guy, such a great champion, and now he’s struggling and losing fights, and now his body is messed up again, and there’s a potential for another surgery, what’s happening? Look, if he comes back, and he chooses to fight, and he goes on a tremendous win streak, I’ll be so happy for him. But the reality is that Saturday night he looked like he was getting a bit older. …
“I don’t enjoy saying this. I don’t enjoy saying this, but I do think Weidman should probably retire. He’s not going to become a champion again.”
Bisping wasn’t the only one who has arrived at that opinion, with Dana White also having indicated post-fight that he feels Weidman should retire.
“I love Chris Weidman – I love him, I love his family. I think he should retire,” White said at the UFC 292 post-fight press conference. “We talked to Dr. (Davidson). He thinks he blew his ACL, MCL – he blew one of the CLs.
“The guy is just coming back from a gruesome injury and, listen man: Father Time is not our friend at all, but definitely if you’re a professional athlete.
“Depending on the damage to the knee, you’re talking another year. So I would say: “Chris, I love you. Please, please retire.”
