- Chris Weidman shows off his healthy condition in recent training session with Stephen Thompson
- The former UFC champion is eyeing a 2022 return
A gruesome leg injury at UFC 261 saw Chris Weidman’s road to redemption in the UFC middleweight division cut short. After a year of being sidelined, the 37-year-old could finally be nearing his much-awaited UFC comeback.
“The All-American” is back!
UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson recently uploaded his training session with Weidman on his official YouTube channel. In it, “The All-American” looked healthy and fit as if he’s ready for his UFC return.
“I’m feeling good! I’m coming back baby! Let’s go!,” Weidman said in the video.
Weidman and Thompson did a few rounds of wrestling before going for some light sparring sessions. In the end, Weidman talked about how he and “Wonderboy” benefit from training together.
“I feel like we’re both learning,” Weidman said of training with Thompson. “I learned a lot, he’s teaching a lot, [especially] on the feet, even if he’s not opening his mouth. And on the ground, he’s learning without even realizing it. The more we train, the more dangerous we build on.”
Weidman overcame a huge setback
Indeed, Weidman is doing way better now than last year. It can be recalled that in July 2021, “The All-American” had to undergo another surgery on his leg after admitting that his “bones aren’t healing the way it’s supposed to.”
A UFC return in June?
Last month, Weidman revealed that his “goal” is to have a fight booked before he turns 38 in June. However, he also admitted that things could still be “very unpredictable” at this point.
“I want to fight before I turn 38 in June,” Weidman Said. “That’s my goal. I hate seeing the older age on the screen when I get introduced. I’ve always been like that, even when I was in my 20s. I don’t want to be 29, I want to be 28 for the next one. So I still have that in me a little bit, now I’m just way older. So if I could fight around early June, that would be great. Again, there’s a lot in the air and it’s very unpredictable.”
As it stands, Weidman is still among the top 15 middleweights in the UFC. It will be interesting to see who will he face in his return given there are plenty of contenders eyeing for a win over a big-name fighter.
