Chris Weidman says he’s “not done” following loss to Brad Tavares at UFC 292
UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman says he’s “not done” following his recent decision loss to Brad Tavares at UFC 292.
Weidman was making his return to the Octagon for the first time since April 2021, when he suffered a horrendous leg break against Uriah Hall at UFC 261. While it was incredible to see him return to the cage after such a long time away, the fight against Tavares did not go well for him. Although Weidman did land some big punches during the fight, the majority of the 15 minutes saw him getting outstruck by Tavares. He was mostly kicked in the legs, and while he made it to the end of the fight, he took a lot of damage in it.
Following UFC 292, UFC president Dana White said that he wanted Weidman to retire after suffering a major knee injury against Tavares. But for Weidman himself, as he told ESPN, he’s not done just yet.
“I’m not done. I’ll be back better than ever, but this was a good opportunity for me to get back in the Octagon,” Weidman said (via MMAjunkie.com).
As far as how the actual fight went, Weidman admits that he was suffering from some ring rust.
“There was hesitancy. There was probably a little bit of ring rust. No excuses. I told Brad after the fight he’s an awesome dude. We kind of stood there the first round. I guess he was kind of worried about my takedowns and I was just kind of getting a feel to be in there again,” Weidman said. “I can’t believe he leg kicked me. When he started leg kicking me, I was like, ‘You b*stard. You’re such a nice dude, why are you freaking leg kicking me?’ Then when he kicked my surgery leg, that’s kind of what pissed me off.”
Do you think Chris Weidman should fight again following his loss to Brad Tavares at UFC 292, or do you think he should retire?
