Chris Weidman, the former UFC middleweight champion, suffered a nasty leg break against Uriah Hall in UFC 261 and has been out of the octagon for nearly two years as a result of that injury.
After having four surgeries, this 38-year-old is now set to return to the promotion at the end of June. Prior to his return, he spoke with MMA Hour about his future plans with the UFC.
“I’m not coming back to be a B-rated fighter or a gatekeeper or anything like that. 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.”
Though this 15-6-0 middleweight lost six of his last eight UFC bouts, he still thinks that he is returning to be the champion again, and for that, he considers that he just had to beat some of the top guys within the weight division whom he has closely observed during these two years.
“I think my skill set matches up really great with the top guys, and I’m excited to get there, and yeah, I think there’s a road to that. I beat someone in the top 15, then fight someone in the top 5, and I’m there.”
Weidman said his biggest motivation for being the champion again is his admirers, who believe that he will beat the big names again.
“I have a lot of work to do, and I’m excited about the challenge. I’m not putting myself through this crap just to come back and like fight some guys that I know I can beat or have a big-name fight. I’m trying to shock the world again.”
Weidman became champion after beating UFC legend Anderson Silva at UFC 162, after which he defended the title several times.
