- Chris Weidman won’t walk unassisted for eight weeks after his horror injury Saturday.
- The American middleweight broke bones in his leg at the UFC 261 event in Florida.
- He won’t be able to train properly for up to 12 months, he said in an Instagram vlog.
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American fighter Chris Weidman won’t train for up to 12 months after his horror leg break in a UFC match Saturday in Florida.
Weidman fought Uriah Hall in a 185-pound bout in front of a sold-out crowd at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Florida.
But Hall won the fight without throwing a shot, or attempting a takedown. All he did was check a low kick from Weidman in such a way that the impact broke his bones, leaving his ankle hanging from his leg.
Weidman did not seem to notice straight away but fell to the floor in agony as soon as he put his foot back onto the canvas and buckled under the pressure.
He was stretchered out of the arena, rushed to a local hospital, and had successful surgery Sunday.
The 36-year-old gave an update on his recovery to his Instagram followers Monday.
“I just want to let everybody know I’m so thankful for all the love and support,” Weidman said in a video.
“I think it’s gonna be eight weeks until I can walk without crutches. As far as actually training, I don’t know. They said between six and 12 months, I’ll be good to go.”
The loss saw Weidman’s pro MMA record retreat to 15 wins (six knockouts, four submissions, and five decisions) against six losses.
Reliving the moment, he said: “Honestly, as soon as it happened and I hit the floor and seen what happened to my leg and the pain started hitting me, I was just trying to put my mind on something positive that’s gonna come out of this.
“Hopefully, something’s gonna come out of this that’s good. But man, this is not fun, I can’t believe it happened.”
On the surgery itself, he said: “They put a titanium rod through the tibia, they go through the knee and they put the rod in. They drill it through the tibia and make it straight and hard.
“My fibula was broken as well, but I guess when they put the tibia back together and my leg was straight, the fibula kind of matched back up to where it was broken and they feel like that could heal on its own as long as I’m not putting weight on it and stuff.”
Watch his Instagram vlog here:
This follows a statement from Weidman’s wife Marivi, who said Sunday that her heart breaks after his horror injury, but added that the surgery went well.
“While this absolutely sucks in the moment and for some weeks to come, we are completely overwhelmed by the love and support we have far and wide and are very aware how blessed we are,” she said.
